You arrive at an Oregon intersection where the traffic light is completely dark because of a power outage. What should you do?
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A.
Yield to traffic on the larger road and continue.
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B.
Treat the intersection as if there are stop signs in all directions. Correct
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C.
Proceed through cautiously without stopping.
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D.
Wait at the intersection until power is restored.
The answer is "Treat the intersection as if there are stop signs in all directions."
Oregon's rule for a dark signal, including during a power failure, is to stop as if there are stop signs in all directions. Every driver approaching the intersection must come to a complete stop before proceeding, just as at a four-way stop. Choice C tempts drivers who reach for the flashing-yellow rule (slow down and proceed with caution) and apply it to a dark signal; a dark signal follows the flashing-red rule, not the flashing-yellow one.
The traps in the wrong answers
A. Yield to traffic on the larger road and continue.
A dark signal does not become yield-controlled; every driver from every direction must stop as if at a four-way stop before proceeding. This answer applies the uncontrolled-intersection habit of yielding to the larger through road, missing that a dark signal converts the crossing to an all-way stop with no priority by road size.
C. Proceed through cautiously without stopping.
A dark signal is treated like a stop sign in all directions; you must come to a complete stop, not merely slow down. This answer confuses the flashing-yellow rule (slow down and proceed with caution) with the dark-signal rule, which follows the flashing-red rule and requires a full stop.
D. Wait at the intersection until power is restored.
The rule is to treat it as a four-way stop and proceed after stopping, not to wait indefinitely for power to return. This answer reads a dark signal as a road closure that pauses all traffic, missing that the manual keeps traffic moving by converting the intersection to an all-way stop.
This question tests your knowledge of Traffic Lights in Oregon. Source: Oregon Driver Manual, "Traffic Signals," p.15..
Related Oregon questions
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