Green Light, Raised Palm: Officer, Box Junction and Zebra
At 08:40 on a wet Saturday you approach the Tinkune junction in Kathmandu from the Maitighar side in a Category B hatchback with two passengers. The signal for your lane is green. A traffic police officer in a raincoat stands in the middle of the junction, blowing a whistle, left palm raised toward your lane and right arm waving cross-traffic through. Ahead of you, the yellow box marking is partly occupied by a microbus whose exit beyond the junction is blocked by a queue. Your stop line is 6 m ahead, and a pedestrian with an umbrella is waiting at the zebra crossing on your left. The road surface is wet and reflective. A scooter is filtering between the lanes on your right. Your passenger says, "The light is green, just go."
1. The light is green but the officer is signalling you to stop. Which instruction applies, and what exactly do you do in the next few seconds?
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The officer's direction overrides the signal head. Police are empowered to direct traffic when signals are faulty, when the junction must be cleared, or when an emergency vehicle or VIP movement needs a path. A green light gives permission to proceed only when it is safe and lawful; it does not give you a right to drive over an officer.
Actions:
- Ease off the accelerator early because the road is wet and stopping distance is longer.
- Check the mirror before braking so the scooter behind is not surprised.
- Stop before the stop line, not inside the junction, and keep the crossing clear.
- Watch the officer's hands for the next signal rather than the light.
- Do not argue with the passenger or creep forward to "test" the officer.
If the officer waves you on later, move only when you can see your exit is clear.
2. Should you follow the microbus into the yellow box once the officer waves you on? Explain using the markings and the blockage ahead.
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No. A yellow box means keep the area clear. You may enter only if your exit beyond the box is clear, so that you can drive straight through without stopping inside it. The microbus has entered while its exit is blocked by the queue, which is exactly the behaviour the marking exists to prevent.
If you follow it you will stop inside the box and block the cross-traffic the officer is trying to move, and you may also block the pedestrian crossing. That is both an offence and a practical cause of gridlock.
Judgement: wait at the stop line even if the officer's wave seems to invite you forward. The officer cannot see the queue beyond the junction as well as you can. Hold back, leave a gap, and move when there is space on the far side to clear the box completely.
3. As you finally move off, the pedestrian steps onto the zebra crossing. What is your obligation, and how does the wet road change your action?
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You must give way. A pedestrian who has stepped onto a zebra crossing has priority, and this duty is not cancelled by a green light. Stop before the crossing, not on it, and do not edge forward to hurry the person along.
The wet surface changes three things:
- Your braking distance is longer, so you should already be travelling slowly enough to stop within the distance you can see to be clear.
- The paint on the crossing is slippery when wet, so brake progressively rather than stamping on the pedal.
- The pedestrian may be hurrying and may slip, so leave extra room and be ready for them to hesitate or step back.
Do not wave the pedestrian across other lanes, because the scooter filtering on your right may not have seen them.