When I first moved to Hamilton, Ontario, I sat at light ready to turn left. It turned green bt then started to blink. I sat and waited while the cars behind me started to honk. I sat in the middle of the intersection uncertain how to proceed. The cars on the other side were not going, yet there was no advance green. After careful checking, I finally proceeded through the intersection much to the relief of the drivers behind me.
After consulting with local Ontarians, I found out that a blinking green light in Ontario was actually an advanced green – normally signified by an arrow or separate bank of lights in BC (where I grew up). It took me quite some time to get to used to this in Ontario – though I find that many lighted intersections use arrows to indicate advance lefts now.
In BC, a blinking green light means a pedestrian controlled intersection. So, normally the light stays green until a pedestrian comes along and presses the button to cross the street.
September 26th, 2012 Extra-Ordinary: Trying to break myself of the learned habit of advanced lefts on blinking green lights.