You arrive at an Oregon intersection where the traffic signal is completely dark because of a power outage. What should you do?
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A.
Proceed through cautiously without stopping.
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B.
Treat the intersection as if there are stop signs in all directions. Correct
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C.
Wait at the intersection until power is restored.
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D.
Yield to traffic on the larger road and continue.
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. The manual states the same rule twice: a dark signal is treated the same as a stop sign.
The traps in the wrong answers
A. Proceed through cautiously without stopping.
A dark signal is treated like a stop sign in all directions; you must stop. Misreading: Treats a dark signal as if no control applies, ignoring the manual's instruction that you must stop as if stop signs are posted in all directions.
C. Wait at the intersection until power is restored.
The rule is to treat it as a four-way stop, not to wait indefinitely. Misreading: Reads a dark signal as a closure that pauses traffic, when the manual instead converts it into an all-way stop you proceed through after stopping.
D. Yield to traffic on the larger road and continue.
A dark signal does not become yield-controlled; every driver from every direction must stop. Misreading: Treats a dark signal as yield-controlled with priority by road size, but the manual requires every driver from every direction to stop as if at stop signs.
This question tests your knowledge of Traffic Signals in Oregon. Source: Oregon Driver Manual, "Traffic Signals," p.15..
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