Dead signal, live officer at a Janakpur T-junction
You are riding a 150 cc motorcycle south toward the east–west highway at a T-junction in Janakpur. It is 6:40 p.m. in late November, the light is nearly gone and your headlamp is on low beam. The signal head at the junction is dead-the controller has failed and no power is reaching it. A traffic police officer in a reflective vest is standing in the middle of the junction. As you approach at about 35 km/h he turns to face you, raises his right arm with the palm toward you, then sweeps his left arm across his chest and points toward the east. On the road you can make out the faded outline of a large yellow box junction, a stop line that has been half covered by a fresh asphalt patch, and a solid white line separating your direction from oncoming traffic. A bus is close behind you with its horn blaring, and a pedestrian is waiting to cross the east arm.
1. What does the officer's raised palm require you to do, and where exactly should you stop given the worn markings?
Read the worked answer
A raised palm facing you is a stop signal for your direction-it carries the same force as a red light, and it overrides the dead signal head. The bus behind you does not change that duty; it only changes how you execute it.
- Check the mirror, tap the brake light early so the bus driver reads your intention, then brake progressively rather than sharply.
- Stop before the yellow box and before the old stop line, even though the line is partly buried under asphalt. The box marking and the officer's position define the limit just as well as the paint does.
- Leave roughly 2–3 m of clearance so you are not sitting on the pedestrian route, and stay behind the line rather than creeping into the junction to 'make room' for the bus.
- Left foot down, right hand covering the brake, first gear selected so you can move promptly when released.
2. The officer then points east with his left arm. Does that authorise you to move, and what do you check before you go?
Read the worked answer
Yes. Hand signals from a police officer control the junction and take precedence over signal heads and road markings. Pointing with the arm across the body directs traffic to proceed in that direction, so his gesture releases you to turn left into the east arm.
Before moving off, confirm and scan:
- Eye contact with the officer where possible-if his point was aimed at a different queue his head and eyes will show it, and a two-second confirmation is cheap.
- The east arm, for the pedestrian waiting to cross and for anyone stepping off the kerb.
- The westbound lane, because vehicles released from the other approach may already be moving through the junction.
- Your mirror, because the bus behind may anticipate your move and start rolling.
Then move off smoothly; a hand signal does not suspend your duty to make sure the path is clear.
3. Explain what the yellow box and the solid white line require of you as you complete the turn.
Read the worked answer
The yellow box is a keep-clear area: you may enter only if your exit is clear. If traffic on the east arm is queued and you would have to halt inside the box, you wait behind it even though the officer has waved you on-blocking the box jams the cross traffic and is exactly what the marking exists to prevent.
The solid white line separates opposing flows and must not be crossed or straddled. It matters here because a tempting way to make a tight left turn is to drift wide into the opposing side first. Do not. Signal left, position near the left edge of your lane without crossing the line, keep your speed low enough to stop within the distance you can see, and complete the turn without stopping inside the box. Worn paint changes nothing about what the marking means.