You face a steady red left-turn arrow. While the arrow is still displayed, when may you complete the turn?
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A.
Any time oncoming traffic is stopped.
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B.
When a flashing yellow arrow replaces the red arrow.
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C.
One-way onto one-way, after stopping and yielding. Correct
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D.
When the through lanes show a green ball.
The answer is "One-way onto one-way, after stopping and yielding."
A red left-turn arrow bars the turn unless you are turning from a one-way street onto another one-way street where traffic moves left, and only after a complete stop and yielding to oncoming traffic and pedestrians. Drivers who carry the green-ball habit over from intersections without a dedicated left-turn phase, where a green ball authorizes both through and left movement, are the ones who pick D.
The traps in the wrong answers
A. Any time oncoming traffic is stopped.
A red arrow bars the movement whether oncoming traffic is present or not. The exception is defined by street configuration, not by whether the oncoming lane happens to be clear. Applies the unprotected-left habit, where a driver on a solid green turns once oncoming clears, to a red-arrow phase that bars the movement outright.
B. When a flashing yellow arrow replaces the red arrow.
A flashing yellow arrow does permit the turn, but only after it has replaced the red arrow. The question asks what permits the turn while the red arrow is still displayed. Reads the flashing-yellow rule as an authorization that stacks with the red arrow instead of one that replaces it.
D. When the through lanes show a green ball.
The left-turn arrow governs the protected turn phase, and a green ball for through traffic never authorizes a movement the arrow is currently barring. Extends green-ball authority from intersections without dedicated left-turn arrows, where a green ball authorizes both through and left movement, to intersections with a separate protected left-turn phase.
This question tests your knowledge of Traffic Lights in Illinois. Source: Illinois Rules of the Road, "Chapter 10: Traffic Signals and Pavement Markings - Arrows," p.78..
Related Illinois questions
- At a steady red light with no marked stop line and no crosswalk, where must you stop? →
- What does a steady yellow traffic light mean? →
- A flashing yellow light at an intersection tells you to do what? →
- You approach a steady red light and plan to turn right. What is required? →
- In which situation does Illinois allow a left turn on a steady red light? →
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