An automated flagger device with red and yellow lights is in use at an Oregon work zone. How should you treat it?
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A.
Stop only when workers are visible near the device.
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B.
Treat it as advisory only: automated devices have no enforcement authority.
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C.
Proceed when the yellow light is flashing and the arm is down.
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D.
Obey the lights and stop arm as you would a flagger. Correct
The answer is "Obey the lights and stop arm as you would a flagger."
The manual states that automated flagger devices have the same duties as a flagger. The red and yellow lights and stop arm function the way a flagger's signals do: stop when the red light is on and the arm is down, and proceed when the yellow light is flashing and the arm is up. Treat the device exactly as you would a human flagger directing traffic. The paired states get scrambled in C, which attaches the flashing yellow proceed light to the arm-down stop position rather than to the arm-up proceed position.
The traps in the wrong answers
A. Stop only when workers are visible near the device.
The device's signals govern on their own. The manual ties stopping to the red light and the lowered arm, not to whether workers are visible. This answer misapplies the workers-not-visible rule from the same page: the manual says work-zone controls apply even if workers are not visible, so worker presence does not condition the device's stop signal.
B. Treat it as advisory only: automated devices have no enforcement authority.
The manual gives automated flagger devices the same duties as a human flagger, not advisory status. This answer misreads the rule by treating an automated device as advisory rather than carrying the same duties as a flagger.
C. Proceed when the yellow light is flashing and the arm is down.
The manual pairs the flashing yellow light with the arm up. An arm that is down means stop, whatever the light shows. This answer mixes the two device states: takes the proceed light (flashing yellow) and attaches it to the stop arm position (down), reversing the manual's pairing of flashing yellow with arm up.
This question tests your knowledge of Sharing the Road in Oregon. Source: Oregon Driver Manual, "Work Zones," p.59..
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