You have a steady green light at an Oregon intersection, but the traffic ahead has stopped and there isn't room for your vehicle on the far side. What should you do?
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A.
Enter and stop just past the crosswalk so you hold your place in line.
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B.
Enter the intersection: your green light gives you the right of way.
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C.
Enter slowly so you can clear the intersection as soon as the traffic ahead moves up.
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D.
Wait behind the stop line until you can clear the intersection completely. Correct
The answer is "Wait behind the stop line until you can clear the intersection completely."
Oregon's rule is explicit: even with a green light, you may not enter an intersection unless there is room for your vehicle on the other side. Waiting behind the stop line lets you cross in one continuous movement instead of stopping mid-intersection and blocking cross-traffic when the light changes. Drivers who read a green as unconditional permission pick B, applying the everyday rule they use at intersections that are not backed up rather than the narrower rule the manual states for this specific case.
The traps in the wrong answers
A. Enter and stop just past the crosswalk so you hold your place in line.
Stopping just past the crosswalk still leaves your vehicle inside the intersection when the light changes, forcing cross-traffic to wait. The manual bars entering the intersection without room on the far side, not just covering the crosswalk. Confuses the anti-gridlock rule with a narrower ban on blocking the crosswalk, a habit picked up from drivers who watch only for the painted lines.
B. Enter the intersection: your green light gives you the right of way.
Even with a green light, you may not enter unless there is room for your vehicle on the other side. A green does not override the room-on-the-far-side condition. Treats a green light as unconditional right of way, the everyday rule that fails only in the specific case the manual carves out.
C. Enter slowly so you can clear the intersection as soon as the traffic ahead moves up.
Creeping in without room on the far side still leaves you stopped inside the intersection when the light changes, blocking cross-traffic. The rule requires room to exist before you enter, not after. Reads 'room on the other side' as anticipated room rather than room that already exists, betting the queue will move up before the light turns.
This question tests your knowledge of Traffic Lights in Oregon. Source: Oregon Driver Manual, "Turns & Intersections > Intersections," p.42..
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