According to Andrey Mukhortikov, the head of the Moscow TsODD department, the flashing yellow signal is not fulfilling the role it was intended to play on city streets. His assessment, reported by Rossiyskaya Gazeta, points to a design gap: when a light blinks yellow, it tends to attract less attention than other signals and can inadvertently encourage risky driving behavior. The concern is that the signal does not impose a clear stop or yield instruction, which means some drivers who favor higher speeds may not slow down at busy intersections. As a result, the safety incentive that traffic engineers hoped to create with a flashing warning is missing, and the consequence is an increased likelihood of collisions at cross streets. This observation has sparked a conversation among traffic authorities about the real-world effectiveness of such signaling at a hub of road activity like Moscow, where traffic density and variability in driver behavior pose ongoing safety challenges.
In light of these concerns, Moscow planners have begun phasing out the flashing yellow at intersections where it had previously been deployed. Importantly, this does not equate to turning off the entire signal system. The red and green phases remain in operation after dark, but the duration of each phase is shortened. In practice, the signals switch more quickly through their cycle during nighttime hours, which reduces the window for driver hesitation and potential confusion that could otherwise arise from longer sequences. The aim is to maintain orderly flow while tightening the tempo of traffic control during low-visibility periods, ultimately aligning night operations with safer, more predictable patterns for road users.
To date, Moscow has led the rollout, and the process has progressed in stages beginning in 2019. Recent updates from the TsODD confirm that the city has largely completed the withdrawal of the flashing yellow from its traffic light network. The cumulative effect of this shift is being monitored through traffic data and safety statistics, with early observations indicating a reduction in incidents and a clearer signaling scheme for drivers who navigate the city’s complex intersections. In the two years following the transition, preliminary figures show a notable drop in accident frequency at affected sites, underscoring the potential safety benefits of standardized, unequivocal signal timing. When compared with the same period in 2018, before the policy took effect, the reduction in reported accidents reaches a meaningful portion, suggesting a positive trend in road safety outcomes tied to the new regime.
These developments have been framed as a practical experiment in traffic standardization, one that reflects a broader move toward consistent signaling practices across major urban centers. While the results from Moscow are encouraging, analysts emphasize that the effectiveness of such changes depends on contextual factors, including traffic volumes, driver compliance, and the availability of complementary measures such as enhanced enforcement and public education about signal meanings. The evolving approach illustrates how urban transportation agencies continuously adapt to real-world driving patterns, balancing the need for clear, timely cues with the goal of minimizing risky behavior at critical junctions. Observers note that ongoing evaluation will be essential to determine whether the gains observed in Moscow translate to other cities with different traffic dynamics and cultural driving norms.
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Photo: Artem Geodakyan/TASS