Advance Yield Markings address the primary problems associated with crosswalks at uncontrolled locations with a high ADT, particularly those that traverse multiple through lanes carrying vehicles traveling in the same direction. That concern is the screening effects of vehicles that yield to close to the crosswalk. Essentially, these vehicles produce the same effect that is seen when a pedestrian enters the roadway from behind a parked car or steps into the roadway from the front of a bus. The series of drawings below illustrate the three ways that yielding too close to the crosswalk can adversely effect pedestrian safety. First, a vehicle approaching in the next lane the pedestrian has to cross will not see the pedestrian until it is too late to respond. Second a vehicle following behind the yielding vehicle may try to pass and will not see the pedestrian until it is too late to respond. Third an inattentive driver traveling behind the yielding driver crash into the stopped vehicle driving it into the pedestrian.

The use of advance yield markings can reduce the change of all three types of crashes because it provides a clear zone ahead of the crosswalk which allows motorists and pedestrians to see each other, and it provides space to protect the pedestrian from being struck by a vehicle driven forward by a rear end crash. The clear zone cuts down on the cognitive workload of both the driver and pedestrian.