The left turn lane light should NOT flash yellow after it is green. It should be a solid RED to prevent this situation from occuring. The new lights have done more harm than good to this and other intersections in Clawson!

Not all Traffic lights are the same . I have seen the Red come on, and I have seen the yellow, come on, which allows for a left turn on yellow, it also hangs you out to dry, if traffic doesn't clear before red.. That my fellow tax payers, happens right here in River City,
This is more of a M-dot issue, (or county) I tot agreed, but would not say some one is using a light wrong, to me it would depend on which light. while in the 90* left turn lane, I do sit and watch people get caught........

That starts with P and rhymes with T and stands for Trouble....

Regarding left turns, several years ago I was in the NB left turn lane on Crooks following cars with a left turn green arrow onto WB Maple. A woman pulled out of the bank on the corner, looked me in the eye and promptly ran into my front left fender.
My insurance at the time did not cover collisions if I was 50% or more at fault. The Clawson officer that handled the situation said I'm going to @#$% you 20% fault because you entered the left turn lane before the little break in the yellow line. (which I could not see because I was following a trail of cars turning left). The woman that hit me was assessed 80% fault. Only none of this was on the report. When my wife went to the Clawson Police station to get the report corrected to reflect what the officer told me, she was rudely told "We don't assess blame". Here is the kicker. HE ALSO POINTED OUT THAT EVEN THOUGH YOU HAVE A GREEN ARROW TO TURN LEFT, IF YOU PASS 2 CARS THAT ARE STOPPED FOR RED TO THE RIGHT OF YOU, YOU ARE IN VIOLATION. WHEN SHE TRIED TO POINT OUT HOW RIDICULOUS THAT IS HE BECAME SO ENRAGED THAT HE WAS READY TO PUT CUFFS ON HER. Now imagine. You've got a green arrow but you can't proceed because there are 4 cars to the right of you stopped for the red NB straight through lanes. Talk about road rage. There would be altercations by the hour in SE Michigan. Just another example of DOT putting the cart before the horse, OR an uneducated officer with a bad attitude.

That rule about having to stop on a green left turn signal just because there are cars stopped for the red light straight ahead to your right is INSANE! What government imbecile ever thought up THAT stupidity?

This thread has a 3 month break, I notice.
Key words is passing on the left, (I thought the same when I first read it) What is not known, was the person in the cut out for the left turn (Green Arrow) lane? any body in the straight lane can merge into the cut out lane, when they are adjacent to it. most only do this, when the Cut out is available. This town is known for riding the left turn lane for blocks, (thus not having to blend into the through lane). then turning, left. (not saying this was this situation) I know our PD is cracking down on the middle lane abuse, which keeps the cars going in opposite direction, , from entering the middle lane.
If the said car was not in the cut out lane, and passing stopped cars, then a 2 car allowance is very liberal, PD in other cities will ticket you for improper use of lane. I am not saying this was the case, but the way I read it, leaves a lot to the thought process.

From beginning to end this situation aka scenario has more and more begun to resemble one of those mind-boggling logic puzzles that don't seem very logical at all.

The stopped traffic on the right was backed up well behind the cutout, none of the stopped cars had a left blinker on indicating that they wanted to move to the left lane. I was following two cars that entered the left lane at the same point I did.
Had I lied and told the officer I was turning into the bank I still would have HAD TO cross the yellow line to get into the left lane and still would have been passing 2 or more stopped cars on the right.. There was no, and may still not be a break to enter the left turn lane if you want to turn into the bank on the SW corner of Maple & Crooks..

I'm still not getting what is happening here; perhaps a line drawing would help, but since it could just be a complete inability to resolve the relevant spatial issues on my part alone, why bother.

your allowed to turn into the bank.place of business ......... the biggest abuse is at Coolidge and maple, 20 to 30 cars go forward and take a left turn....... troy got me in 90's at maple east turning on to North Main. ( I always just creep along, even if no cop.) entering the left turn lane before the Main intersection, is what is wrong... at the mercy of the officer

The down side is while you are sitting there obeying the law, waiting for the break in the line, a half dozen cars ignore the law by getting into the lane too early. Then when you get to the break the left lane is full. It is a stupid law in my opinion.