Traffic Signals and Signalized Intersections
Traffic signals assign right of way by color, arrow, and flash pattern. The exam tests steady versus flashing indications, protected versus permissive turns, and pedestrian signal meaning.
Core rules
- Steady red: stop at the stop bar or crosswalk. Right turn on red is allowed after a full stop unless a "NO TURN ON RED" sign prohibits it. Left turn on red is allowed only from a one-way street onto another one-way street where state law permits.
- Flashing red: treat as a STOP sign - full stop, then proceed when safe.
- Steady yellow: the signal is about to turn red. Stop if you can do so safely; do not accelerate to beat it.
- Flashing yellow: proceed with caution; yield to conflicting traffic.
- Steady green: proceed if the intersection is clear; yield to pedestrians and to vehicles already in the intersection.
- A green arrow is a protected turn. A flashing yellow arrow is a permissive turn: you may turn but must yield to oncoming traffic and pedestrians.
- Pedestrian signals: walking person = start crossing; steady hand = do not start; flashing hand = finish crossing, do not start.
Worked example
You are in a left-turn lane with a flashing yellow arrow. Oncoming traffic is heavy but has a green light. You may enter the intersection and wait for a gap, but you must yield to oncoming vehicles and to pedestrians in the crosswalk. The arrow does not give you the right of way; it only permits the turn when clear.
Traps
- Treating a flashing yellow arrow as protected.
- Turning right on red without a full stop, or ignoring a no-turn-on-red plaque.
- Speeding up on yellow.
- Confusing a flashing red with a flashing yellow at a dark or malfunctioning signal.