Driver's License Test Prep
Pennsylvania Practice Right of Way

What must you do before turning right on a steady red light where turns on red are allowed?

  1. A.
    Signal, then turn as soon as the cross-street signal turns yellow.
  2. B.
    First stop, then check for and yield to pedestrians and other traffic. Correct
  3. C.
    Wait for the red to change to green before beginning the turn.
  4. D.
    Slow down and merge into the crossing traffic without stopping.
The Why

The answer is "First stop, then check for and yield to pedestrians and other traffic."

A steady red allows a right turn only after you first stop and yield to pedestrians and other traffic. Drivers who treat right-on-red like a yield sign and roll through pick D; those working from a blanket "red means wait for green" pick C.

Why the others miss

The traps in the wrong answers

A. Signal, then turn as soon as the cross-street signal turns yellow.

Your steady red controls you; you may turn only after stopping and yielding to pedestrians and traffic, and the cross-street's yellow is not permission to begin the turn. This answer times the turn off the cross-street's yellow warning, borrowing a folk shortcut for anticipating a green without doing the stop-and-yield the manual requires.

C. Wait for the red to change to green before beginning the turn.

The manual grants a right-on-red allowance after you stop; waiting for green forfeits an allowance the manual explicitly gives. This answer applies the default any-red-means-wait-for-green rule and misses the manual's explicit right-turn-on-red exception.

D. Slow down and merge into the crossing traffic without stopping.

A steady red requires a complete stop before any right turn; slowing without stopping is what a yield sign allows, not what a red light allows. This answer reads the right-on-red allowance as permission to roll through when traffic is clear, importing yield-sign behavior into a stop rule.

The Rule

This question tests your knowledge of Right of Way in Pennsylvania. Source: Pennsylvania Driver Manual, "Signals: Red, Yellow and Green Traffic Lights and Arrows," p.7..

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