Green Arrow Under a NO TURN ON RED Sign - Tamuning
It is 6:40 a.m. in Tamuning. You are northbound on Marine Corps Drive (Route 1) in the far-right lane, signal on for the turn onto Chalan San Antonio. Traffic is bumper-to-bumper and the through lanes are holding a red ball. Bolted to the mast arm beside your signal head is a regulatory sign that reads NO TURN ON RED. As you come to a complete stop, your signal changes from a red ball to a green right-turn arrow while the through lanes stay red. A pedestrian is still finishing the crosswalk you would enter, and a power crew is working a block away because the signal at the next intersection is dark after an outage. Your passenger, visiting from the mainland, insists the sign means you can never turn right here and tells you to wait for a green ball instead.
1. May you complete the right turn while the green arrow is displayed? Explain how the sign and the arrow interact, and what the pedestrian changes.
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Yes, once the crosswalk is clear. The reasoning turns on what each control actually governs:
- The sign restricts turning while a red indication faces you. A green arrow is a green indication for that movement, so the red-turn prohibition is not triggered.
- A green arrow is normally a protected movement: conflicting traffic is held by red, which is why you can turn without negotiating with oncoming vehicles.
- Protection does not extend to the pedestrian. The arrow gives you priority over vehicles, not over a person still in the crosswalk; stay behind the stop line until they clear.
The passenger's reading would be correct only if the sign read NO RIGHT TURN, which is absolute and would override the arrow. Also finish the stop before turning; an arrow is not a rolling-stop permission.
2. At the next intersection the signal is dark because of the outage. What procedure applies, and what role, if any, does a NO TURN ON RED sign play there?
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A signal displaying no indication is a malfunction, and the default rule is to treat the intersection as an all-way stop: stop at the stop line or before the crosswalk, then yield to any vehicle already in the intersection or approaching so closely that pulling out would force it to brake. Proceed only when you can clear safely.
The NO TURN ON RED sign has no job here. It is written for a red indication, so with the signal dark it neither permits nor prohibits your right turn. What still binds you is any absolute sign - NO RIGHT TURN, ONE WAY, or a turn-restriction arrow - plus ordinary right-of-way rules.
Drive defensively: other drivers may treat a dark signal as free-flow, especially at 6:40 a.m. Ease off, cover the brake, and confirm each approach has actually stopped. A flashing red means stop-and-proceed; a flashing yellow means caution, not stop.