Regulatory signs
Stop
What it means
Come to a complete stop before the stop line, crosswalk or intersection. Go only when it is safe, after yielding to pedestrians and traffic.
White with black or red; a red circle with a slash means prohibited, a green circle means permitted.
Summarised from the Alberta Driver’s Guide. Read the original: Traffic control ↗
How to recognise it
A red eight-sided sign (an octagon) with STOP in white letters. No other sign has this shape.
Where you will see it
Intersections without traffic control signals, where your road must give way to the cross street, and some railway crossings.
What to do when you see it
- 1.Come to a complete stop before the stop line. If there is no stop line or crosswalk, stop before the intersection.
- 2.Yield to pedestrians and to other traffic, and move on only when it is safe.
- 3.At an all-way stop, the vehicle that arrived first goes first. If two arrive at the same time, the vehicle on the right goes first.
On the knowledge test
A rolling stop is not a stop: the wheels must stop turning. The test also asks what a flashing red light means; it is treated like a stop sign, and when every direction flashes red the intersection becomes a four-way stop.
Do not confuse it with
YieldA yield sign lets you keep moving when there is nothing to yield to; a stop sign always requires a full stop.- Flashing red lightA flashing red light carries the same rule as a stop sign: stop, then go when it is safe.
Stop sign aheadThe yellow stop-ahead diamond only warns that a stop sign is coming; you stop at the red octagon itself.
Practice questions for this sign
What must you do when you reach this sign?