Green Light, Raised Hand: Conflicting Signals at a Night Junction
At 21:40 on a wet Friday you approach a signalised crossroads in Serrekunda in a saloon car with two passengers. Your light is green. A uniformed police officer stands in the centre of the junction facing you, right arm raised with the palm toward you. Braking is poor because the road is still slick after heavy rain. The stop line is worn almost away, and the word STOP painted in your lane is faint. On your left, a woman holding a small child's hand waits at a zebra crossing; its beacon is unlit. Ahead, a stalled car on the far corner has its hazard lights flashing. Your passenger says, 'The light is green - go.' The minibus behind you sounds its horn.
1. What is the correct order of authority between the officer's signal and the green light, and what exactly should you do now?
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A police officer directing traffic outranks the traffic light. A raised right arm with the palm facing you is a stop signal for traffic approaching from your direction, so the green light no longer authorises you to enter the junction. Stop before the stop line and before the zebra crossing; do not creep forward to 'make the light'. Keep your foot on the brake, watch the officer, and ignore the horn behind you - the minibus driver cannot see the officer's instruction as clearly as you can. The worn stop line and faint STOP marking still show where you should stop, but their poor condition means you should have approached more slowly. Move only when the officer gives a clear go signal, and then check the pedestrian and the stalled car before proceeding.
2. Why do the unlit beacon, worn markings and wet road matter, and how should they change your speed and scanning?
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The markings and beacon are cues, not decorations. An unlit zebra beacon does not remove your duty to give way to pedestrians already on or entering the crossing, and a worn stop line does not mean there is no stop requirement - it means the junction is less obvious to every driver, so you must rely more on observation. Wet tarmac increases stopping distance and can hide sand or oil, so approach at a speed that lets you stop within the distance you can see to be clear. Scan left and right for the woman and child, check the hazard lights ahead, and use your mirrors before any movement. Do not fix your eyes on the green light or on the officer alone; the conflicting information is exactly why a second check is needed.