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8. Rules of the Road

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2. Stop

Red Means Stop!

Actually, red means that an action is forbidden (you don't "stop" at a red curb!), and whenever you see any red signal or road marking, it is up to you, as a responsible driver, to know what action is forbidden.

Although it seems simple enough, the definition of stop means all cessation of movement. The only way the examiner "knows" you made a complete stop on your drive test, is to feel the "inertia tug", where your body continues slightly forward when the car stops.

Without this tug, a "complete" stop was not made, and you will be marked off on your test for not making a full stop.

Stop

Stop laws are covered in the Vehicle Code, Sections 21453.

The YIELD sign, for example, doesn't mean stop. It means that you are forbidden from entering an intersection until you have yielded to all other traffic and pedestrians. You may need to stop, but not necessarily.

The STOP sign means that you are forbidden from entering an intersection until you have made a complete stop at one of three places:

  • the white limit line
  • the first crosswalk line
  • a point where you can see traffic in all directions

The red on this sign indicates that you are forbidden to continue driving in this direction.

The flashing red light indicates one of two things: there may have been a power interruption and the intersection is treated as a four-way stop, or it indicates a dangerous intersection, and is used as an exclamation point to an already existing STOP sign. In any case, it means that you are forbidden to enter the intersection, until you first make a complete stop.

A red circle, with a diagonal slash, is the universal sign for a forbidden action.

A red curb means that stopping, standing, or parking here is forbidden . Even buses and emergency vehicles are forbidden from this area, unless a sign permits it, or if an emergency exists.

A red arrow means that travel, in the direction of the arrow, is forbidden. You may not make a right-turn-on-red against a RED arrow.

A solid red light means exactly the same thing as a STOP sign. Movement into the intersection is forbidden, until a complete stop has been made at one of the three locations. A right-turn-on-red may be made against a solid red light, but only after a complete stop has been made.

In any case, stopping is a required action whenever the traffic flow is dangerous enough to demand it.

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