Driver's License Test Prep
Pennsylvania Practice Traffic Lights

On a horizontally arranged traffic light, where is the red light located?

  1. A.
    In the center
  2. B.
    On top
  3. C.
    On the left Correct
  4. D.
    On the right
The Why

The answer is "On the left"

The manual specifies that horizontally arranged signals place red on the left and green on the right. Drivers who pick "on top" are applying the vertical-arrangement rule, where red does sit on top, to a sideways layout out of habit.

Why the others miss

The traps in the wrong answers

A. In the center

Yellow, not red, occupies the middle position of a horizontal signal. This answer reasons that the most important signal color must sit in the middle of the three-light array.

B. On top

A horizontal signal has no top position; the three lights sit side by side. This answer applies the vertical-arrangement rule (red on top) to a horizontal signal out of muscle memory.

D. On the right

Green, not red, sits on the right of a horizontal signal. This answer remembers that red and green sit at opposite ends of the bar but reverses which end holds which color.

The Rule

This question tests your knowledge of Traffic Lights in Pennsylvania. Source: Pennsylvania Driver Manual, "SIGNALS," p.7..

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