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Traffic signals

Solid red light

What it means

Stop completely before the stop line or crosswalk, or before the intersection if there is neither, and stay stopped until the light turns green. A right turn on red is allowed after a full stop, when it is safe and no sign prohibits it; a left turn on red is allowed only from a one-way street onto a one-way street.

Traffic lights, lane-control and pedestrian signals.

Summarised from the Alberta Driver’s Guide. Read the original: Traffic control ↗

How to recognise it

The red lens lit steadily: the top lens on a vertical signal, the left lens on a horizontal one. A solid double red light means the same as a single red.

Where you will see it

At intersections and where roadways merge, wherever traffic control signals decide which stream of traffic has the right-of-way.

What to do when you see it

  1. 1.Stop completely before the stop line or crosswalk in front of you; if there is neither, stop before the intersection.
  2. 2.Stay stopped until the light turns green, unless you are turning right after stopping.
  3. 3.Unless a sign prohibits it, you may turn right after the complete stop, when it is safe and after yielding to other traffic. A left turn on red is allowed only from a one-way street onto a one-way street, under the same conditions.

On the knowledge test

The turn-on-red rules are what get asked. Right on red: allowed after a complete stop unless a sign says no. Left on red: only one-way onto one-way. Pedestrians facing a solid red must not enter the intersection.

Practice questions for this sign

You face this red light and want to turn right. No sign prohibits the turn. What may you do?

When may you turn left on a red light like this one?

You want to turn right and face this light. No sign prohibits the turn. What must you do?