Traffic Signals and Pavement Markings
Traffic Signals and Pavement Markings
Signals and markings divide the roadway and tell you when to move. Michigan questions here often combine the two - a flashing yellow arrow over a lane, or a stop bar set well back from a crosswalk - so learn each element alone before combining them.
Signals
- Steady red: stop at the stop bar or crosswalk and stay stopped. Right on red after a full stop is allowed unless posted; left on red only one-way to one-way.
- Flashing red: treat it as a stop sign - stop, then proceed when clear.
- Flashing yellow: proceed with caution; crossing traffic may have a green.
- Steady yellow: the light is about to turn red. Stop if you can do so safely; otherwise clear the intersection rather than stopping in it.
- Green arrow: protected movement; oncoming traffic is stopped.
- Circular green: you may turn left only after yielding to oncoming traffic and pedestrians.
- Dark or failed signal: treat the intersection as an all-way stop.
Markings
- Yellow lines separate traffic moving in opposite directions. Broken yellow on your side means you may pass when safe; solid yellow on your side means do not cross to pass. Double solid yellow prohibits passing both ways.
- White lines separate lanes moving the same direction, mark the right edge, and outline crosswalks and stop bars.
- Temporary orange markings in work zones override the permanent lines.
Worked example
You see a broken yellow line on your side and a solid yellow line on the other side. The broken line permits you to pass when the road ahead is clear; the solid line means oncoming drivers may not cross into your lane to pass. When your broken line becomes solid, your passing zone has ended even though the markings look similar.
Traps
Treating a flashing yellow as a protected green arrow. Turning left on a circular green without yielding. Reading white dashes as a passing zone. Stopping past the stop bar so the vehicle blocks the crosswalk.