New flashing yellow turn signal could save lives

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. - Leave it to an engineer to get excited about a new traffic light.

According to Brian Shields, the city traffic engineer for Overland Park, Kan., the federal government recently allowed cities and states to use a new flashing yellow arrow signal.

It's exactly what it sounds like. The left turn signal at 127th and Antioch will now follow the green arrow with a flashing yellow one.

"The yellow arrow will now flash and that just means 'Hey, pay more attention' because we have a lot of accidents where people turn left," he said.

You don't have to tell that to Carl Vanwinkle. He was the passenger in a left turn accident at the same intersection in 2009.

It's taken years of therapy to get where he is today.

"He had dysarthria which is where ... all the muscles in the mouth don't work, so he had to learn to talk again and he lost five teeth and everything, so it was a long recovery," Angel Friday, Carl's mother, explained.

"This accident proved to me there's definitely a God," Carl said.

He considers it a miracle he's still alive. So he's thrilled to see that what he went through has resulted in something being done that can save others from the same experience.

"I feel very proud. This will save a lot of lives," he said.

This is the first signal of its kind in Overland Park. The city is evaluating other intersections to see if they could benefit from the new signals.