Before the yellow light blinked before turning red or green at ours, so we could easily figure out what's going to be next. But I guess, since they decreased the city limit, the yellow light doesn't blink anymore. So, sometimes even if I drive within city limit, I'd end up in the middle of the crossing, if I don't speed up (what I rarely do) when the light turns red exactly when I'm at the crossing line, and especially when I have someone right at my back. Usually it works when I stop, anyway, but once it just didn't. So, I usually have this dilemma. Actually, my usual preference is to stop, but I always have to pay attention what's going on around me.
Definitely a lose-lose situation on a technical standpoint. I really prefer the countdown instead so that people would have a realistic estimation of when to stop. Better to err on the side of caution if you're unsure though.