You have stopped at a flashing red light on Main Street. According to the Texas manual, what should you assume about traffic on the intersecting road?
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A.
They may not have to stop for a signal in their direction. Correct
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B.
They face a steady green and may not be watching for cross traffic.
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C.
They face the same flashing red and will also stop.
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D.
They face a flashing yellow and must yield to you.
The answer is "They may not have to stop for a signal in their direction."
When you face a flashing red, the manual warns that vehicles on the intersecting road may not have to stop, so you can't treat the intersection as an all-way stop. Option C tempts drivers who carry over the four-way stop-sign habit, where every approach really does stop; a flashing red doesn't create that arrangement on its own, and the cross street may be running under a flashing yellow or nothing at all.
The traps in the wrong answers
B. They face a steady green and may not be watching for cross traffic.
The manual tells you only that the cross street may not stop; it makes no claim about what color those drivers see. Fills in a steady green on the assumption that only one approach at a time can be restricted, a rule of thumb the passage does not support.
C. They face the same flashing red and will also stop.
The manual does not guarantee the cross street faces the same flashing red. Carries over the four-way stop-sign habit, where every approach really does stop, and applies it to a signal design where each approach is set independently.
D. They face a flashing yellow and must yield to you.
The manual gives no indication the cross street sees a flashing yellow. Pairs the two flashing colors on opposing approaches by analogy to the red-and-green cycle at an ordinary intersection with a traffic light, an arrangement the passage never claims.
This question tests your knowledge of Traffic Lights in Texas. Source: Texas Driver Manual, "Chapter 5: Signals, Signs, and Markers, A Flashing Red Light," p.25..
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