A 3-minute lesson from the Pennsylvania course. Read the rules and examples, follow the handbook page references, and check your understanding before you move on.
Traffic signals control vehicles and pedestrians at intersections. Each color, and each arrow, tells you exactly what you may do. Solid (steady) lights and arrows are covered here; flashing signals come next.
Know the rule
Vertical signals always have red on top and green on the bottom. Horizontal signals always have red on the left and green on the right.
Steady red: stop before the marked stop line or crosswalk. If there are no lines, stop before entering the intersection. Wait for green before you start.
Steady yellow: a steady red will soon appear. Slow down and prepare to stop. If you are already in the intersection or cannot stop safely before it, continue through carefully.
Steady green: you may drive through if the road is clear, and turn right or left unless a sign says not to, but yield to vehicles and pedestrians within the intersection.
The same turns on red that are allowed at a steady red light are also allowed at a steady red arrow. On a steady yellow arrow, you may finish a turn you started if you're in the intersection or can't stop safely.
You're first in the left-turn lane on a one-way street, the light is red, and you want to turn onto another one-way street heading left. With no sign prohibiting it, stop completely, yield to pedestrians and traffic, then turn.
Check your understanding
Read the question, decide on an answer, then open it to check the explanation. These are Roadwise study questions based on the source handbook.
When traffic signals are arranged vertically, where is the red light located?
On the bottom
On top
In the middle
On the left
Answer: On top
In a vertical arrangement, red is always on top and green is on the bottom.
