When approaching a flashing yellow light, drivers should:
- Increase their speed.
- Come to a complete stop.
- Turn on their headlights.
- Slow down and proceed with caution. ✓
Answer: D. Slow down and proceed with caution.
When you approach a flashing yellow light, slow down and proceed with caution.
Why this is the answer
The Texas Driver Handbook covers this signal directly: a flashing yellow light warns drivers to slow down and go ahead carefully. It is not a stop signal the way a steady red light is, and it does not mean speed up. The handbook also contrasts it with the steady yellow light, which tells you to stop before the crosswalk if you can do so safely. With a flashing yellow, the message is simply to reduce speed and stay watchful as you continue.
Why the other answers are wrong
- A. Increase their speed. — Increasing speed is the opposite of what the handbook says, since a flashing yellow warns you to slow down.
- B. Come to a complete stop. — A complete stop is not required for a flashing yellow light; the handbook attaches the stop rule to other signals, not this one.
- C. Turn on their headlights. — Headlights have nothing to do with the handbook's description of a flashing yellow light, which only tells you to slow and proceed carefully.
Remember it
Flashing yellow means ease off the gas and keep rolling; flashing red is the one that makes you stop.
Official handbook: Texas Driver Handbook (DL-7), Chapter 4: Right-of-Way , p. 25