John Cletheroe's
USA and Canada Holiday Hints

Driving In The USA And Canada - Traffic Lights

The information on this page, although extensively checked and believed to be correct, is completely unofficial and is provided for general guidance purposes only.

Summary

Red - round - steady	Stop. In most places traffic can turn right on a red light after stopping and checking that the way is clear, but there are exceptions to this rule.
Red - arrow - steady	Stop. Applies to the direction indicated by the arrow only.
Red - round - flashing	Stop, check that the way is clear, then proceed (in most cases, treat as a four-way stop, although traffic on the other road may have a flashing yellow). A flashing red light at a railroad crossing indicates that a train is approaching and you must not proceed. A flashing red light on a school bus means that traffic IN BOTH DIRECTIONS must stop, to allow children to safely cross the road.
Yellow - round - steady	Stop unless you are so close to the intersection that it is unsafe to do so; the light is about to change to red
Yellow - arrow - steady	Stop unless it is unsafe to do so; the light is about to change to red. Applies to the direction indicated by the arrow only.
Yellow - round - flashing	Proceed with caution (no need to stop)
Green - round - steady	Proceed, but first give way to any vehicles, bicyclists or pedestrians remaining in the intersection. If you are turning left, make the turn only if you have enough space to complete the turn before any oncoming vehicle, bicyclist, or pedestrian becomes a hazard.
Green - flashing	In some (maybe all) Canadian Provinces a flashing green light at a road junction indicates a filter (priority) for traffic turning left - traffic in the opposite direction is stopped. This is indicated by a sign with the wording "Advance Green When Flashing". In Canada, some unoccupied pedestrian crossings are indicated by flashing green lights.
Green - arrow - steady	Proceed after yielding to any vehicles, bicycles or pedestrians in the intersection. Applies to the direction indicated by the arrow only. Usually indicates a protected left turn.
No lights (due to power failure, etc)	Treat as a four-way stop.

The traffic lights sequence in the USA and Canada is red, green, yellow, red. Unlike in Britain, there is no red and yellow phase between red and green.

Location And Orientation Of Traffic Lights

Visitors to the United States and Canada from other countries need to be aware of the need to look in different places for the presence of traffic lights when approaching junctions:

Traffic lights are usually suspended on cables, gantries or horizontal poles high above junctions, rather than being mounted on relatively short vertical poles at the side of the road as in Britain.
Traffic lights are sometimes suspended from wires over the middle of an intersection rather than on poles at the entrance to it.
Occasionally the three lights can be arranged horizontally instead of vertically. As far as I know this design is only used in New Mexico and Texas. If the lights are arranged horizontally then red will be on the left, yellow in the middle and green on the right.

Sequence Of Traffic Lights

Traffic lights turn from red to green with no intermediate red and yellow stage as there is in Britain. As in Britain there is an intermediate yellow-only stage when changing from green to red.

Separate Lights For Different Directions

There is often a separate traffic light for traffic making a left turn. Left turns are often but by no means always controlled by a filter (i.e. the traffic in the opposite direction is stopped).

In the USA a green arrow for the left turn lane indicates that traffic in the opposite direction is stopped. A green circle indicates that traffic in the opposite direction is not stopped. The road sign "Left Turn Yield On Green" is sometimes used to act as a reminder of the latter condition.

Right Turn On Red

At most but not all junctions controlled by traffic lights it is legal to turn right on a red light, provided you come to a complete stop and check the road is clear before doing so.

Advance Warning Lights

In some parts of Canada there are advance signs warning that the traffic lights ahead are red or about to change to red.

Flashing Lights

A flashing red traffic light means that you must come to a complete stop and check that the road is clear before proceeding. A flashing red light is not the same as a Four Way Stop, because cross traffic may be presented with a flashing yellow light.

A flashing red light at a railroad crossing indicates that a train is approaching and you must not proceed.

A flashing red light on a school bus means that traffic IN BOTH DIRECTIONS must stop, to allow children to safely cross the road.

A flashing yellow traffic light is just a caution - you don't need to stop but you most certainly do need to slow down and exercise care.

In some (maybe all) Canadian provinces a flashing green light at a road junction indicates a filter (priority) for traffic turning left - traffic in the opposite direction is stopped. This is indicated by sign with the wording "Advance Green When Flashing". A steady green indicates that traffic in the opposite direction is NOT stopped. (My thanks to William Starks of Belton, Texas for reminding me of this fact.)

I believe that in some Canadian provinces (possibly only in British Columbia) a flashing green light indicates a pedestrian crossing with no pedestrians on it. It acts as a warning, since a pedestrian may push the button and cause the light to change to red.

Traffic Light Failure

In most US states, if the traffic lights at a road junction are malfunctioning, or not functioning at all, and there is no police officer controlling the traffic, then the intersection should be treated as if it was a four-way stop.

Dodging Red Lights By Using Business Entrances

In the USA and Canada, many businesses such as gas stations (petrol stations), shops, motels and restaurants are located at intersections, and have a number of entrances and exits on each road. It is illegal to use these entrances to avoid waiting at traffic lights, although I have occasionally seen it done.

U-Turns

The law regarding U-turns varies between US states and Canadian provinces. Therefore as a general rule I would advise against performing a U-turn, even at traffic lights on a wide road when the way is clear.

Left Turns At Traffic Lights - Permissive And Protected Modes

See this article.

Trivia

According to the US Federal Highway Administration web site, there are more than 160,000 traffic signals in the United States.

Related Subjects

American English To British English Dictionary - Driving

Driving

Driving - Other Articles Index

Driving - Regulations

Safety

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Most recently modified 27-Sep-04