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Written Exams Masterclass
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Stage 1 Lesson 2
〜Obeying Traffic Signals〜
1. Types of Signals and Their Meanings
When intending to turn right at an intersection as shown in the figure where traffic signal ア is green but traffic signal イ is red, the driver must stop inside the intersection and wait until traffic signal イ turns green.
In the situation shown in the figure, when traffic signal ア at the intersection is green, vehicles proceeding in the direction indicated by the arrow may execute a left turn even if traffic signal イ is red.
A driver must start the vehicle immediately after a traffic signal turns green, because the green signal designates "must proceed."
A vehicle proceeding towards a signal as shown in the figure may proceed straight through and execute a left or right turn.
When a traffic signal ahead is yellow, a vehicle may proceed while paying attention to other traffic.
If the traffic signal ahead is a yellow light, a vehicle must not proceed beyond the stop line. However, if the signal changes to yellow when the vehicle has nearly reached the stop line, and the vehicle is not able to stop safely it may proceed without stopping.
When the signal ahead is a red light and a green arrow pointing to the left at the same time, automobiles and general motorized bicycles may proceed in the direction indicated by the arrow, but light vehicles may not proceed.
When the signal ahead is a red light and a green arrow pointing to the right at the same time, all the vehicles may proceed to make a right turn.
With an arrow signal as shown in the figure, automobiles, general motorized bicycles and light vehicles may proceed straight through the intersection.
When the signal ahead is a red light and a green arrow pointing to the right at the same time, automobiles may make a right turn, but may not make a U-turn.
When the signal directly facing traffic is a red light and a yellow arrow, automobiles may proceed in the direction indicated by the arrow.
When there is a flashing yellow traffic light ahead, vehicles must slow down and proceed.
When the traffic signal is a flashing red light, vehicles must stop or slow down.
When the red light of a traffic signal is flashing, a vehicle must stop at the designated stop position and proceed after ensuring safety.
Where there is a signboard as shown in the figure, only buses may follow the traffic signal indicated by the signboard.
When a police officer holds his or her arms straight out to the side horizontally, this has the same meaning as a red light for traffic proceeding toward the front or back of the officer.
A officer's hand signal as shown in the figure has the same meaning as the yellow traffic light of a traffic signal for traffic proceeding in the direction of the arrows.
When the hand signal shown in the figure is made, the traffic proceeding in direction A must stop at the designated position, however, the traffic proceeding in direction B may go ahead.
When a police officer at an intersection raises his or her arms straight up vertically after holding his or her arms horizontally in an east-west direction, traffic proceeding to the east or west must not, in principle, proceed beyond the designated stop position.
The hand signals of a police officer as shown in the figure have the same meaning for traffic traveling towards the front and back of the officer.
When a police officer holds his or her arms straight out to the sides horizontally, this has the same meaning as a red light for traffic proceeding in the direction that is parallel to the officer's arms.
The hand signals of a police officer as shown in the figure have the same meaning for traffic traveling towards the front and back of the officer.
When a police officer is holding both of his or her arms straight up vertically at an intersection, this has the same meaning as a red light for traffic crossing the path of traffic proceeding parallel to the stance of the police officer.
For traffic proceeding in the direction of the thinner arrow as shown in the figure, the meaning of the police officer's hand signal and that of the traffic signal are the same.
A lamp being moved side-to-side by a police officer as shown in the figure has the same meaning as the red light of a traffic signal for traffic proceeding in the direction of the arrows.
When a police officer has a lamp straight up, this lamp signal has the same meaning as a yellow light for traffic proceeding in all directions.
If the hand signal of police officers or traffic wardens disagree with traffic signals, drivers should obey the traffic signals.
The police officer displayed the signal to proceed in the pedestrian walkways, thus I obeyed the police officer.
Where there is a signboard that has a blue arrow pointing to the left on a white background at the left edge of a road or on a traffic signal, vehicles may turn left while watching out for surrounding traffic such as pedestrians, even if the signal ahead is red or yellow.
At an intersection where there is a signboard as shown in the figure, automobiles and general motorized bicycles may turn left even if the signal is yellow or red, but light vehicles may not.
When waiting at traffic signal and the signal changes from red to green, other vehicles or remaining pedestrians may ignore the light and attempt to proceed aggressively, so drivers must carefully check for safety before proceeding.
2. Precautions Regarding Signals
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