1.Red, amber and green lights
- A red light means you must stop. Bring your vehicle to a complete stop at the stop line if it is marked on the pavement. If there is no stop line, stop at the crosswalk, marked or not; if there is no crosswalk, stop at the edge of the sidewalk; if there is no sidewalk, stop at the edge of the intersection.
- Wait until the light changes to green and the intersection is clear before moving through it.
- Unless a sign tells you not to, you may turn right on a red light only after coming to a complete stop and waiting until the way is clear. Failing to obey a traffic light adds three demerit points.
- You may turn left on a red light if you are moving from a one-way road onto a one-way road, but you must come to a complete stop first, make sure the way is clear and yield to pedestrians and traffic.
- A yellow — or amber — light means the red light is about to appear. You must stop if you can do so safely; otherwise, go with caution.
- A green light means you may turn left, go straight or turn right after yielding to vehicles and pedestrians already in the intersection. When turning left or right you must yield the right-of-way to pedestrians crossing the intersection.
- You can still turn left when the light is green, but only when the way is clear of traffic and pedestrians. If the light turns red when you are in the intersection, complete your turn when it is safe.
Signs in this section
Official source: Traffic lights ↗ · Changing directions ↗ · Keeping your drivers licence ↗
2.Advance green and green arrows
- When you face a flashing green light or a left-pointing green arrow and a green light, you may turn left, go straight ahead or turn right from the proper lane. This is called an advanced green light because oncoming traffic still faces a red light.
- Pedestrians must not cross on a flashing green light or a left-turn green arrow unless a pedestrian signal tells them to.
- When a left-turn green arrow is shown with a red light, you may turn left from the left-turn lane. Vehicles turning left from the opposite direction may also be making left turns because they too face a left-turn green arrow.
- After the left-turn green arrow, a yellow arrow may appear. This means the green light is about to appear for traffic in one or both directions. Do not start your left turn. Stop if you can do so safely; otherwise, complete your turn with caution.
- Some intersections have separate traffic lights for left-turning traffic and for traffic going through the intersection or turning right. At these intersections you may not begin turning left after the green light appears for traffic going straight ahead or turning right; if the light turns yellow while you are in the intersection, complete your turn with caution.
Signs in this section
Official source: Traffic lights ↗ · Pedestrian signals ↗
3.Flashing lights, beacons, dark signals and people directing traffic
- A flashing yellow light means you should drive with caution when approaching and moving through the intersection.
- You must come to a complete stop at a flashing red light. Move through the intersection only when it is safe.
- A traffic beacon is a single flashing light hung over an intersection or placed over signs or on obstacles in the road. A flashing red beacon means you must come to a complete stop; a flashing yellow beacon warns you to drive with caution.
- During an electrical power loss, traffic lights at intersections will not work. Yield the right-of-way to vehicles in the intersection and to vehicles entering the intersection from your right. Go cautiously and use the intersection the same way you would use an intersection with all-way stop signs.
- At an intersection with stop signs at all corners, you must yield the right-of-way to the first vehicle to come to a complete stop. If two vehicles stop at the same time, the vehicle on the left must yield to the vehicle on the right.
- When police officers are directing traffic, you must follow their directions, even if the directions are different from traffic lights or signs. Failing to obey the directions of a police officer adds three demerit points.
- An orange temporary-condition sign showing a person with a flag means a traffic control person is ahead: drive slowly and watch for instructions.
Signs in this section
Official source: Traffic lights ↗ · Driving through intersections ↗ · Driving along ↗ · Keeping your drivers licence ↗ · Signs ↗
4.Pedestrian signals
- Pedestrian signals help pedestrians cross at intersections with traffic lights. The signal for pedestrians to walk is a white walking symbol. A flashing or steady orange hand symbol means pedestrians must not begin to cross.
- A pedestrian facing a walk signal may cross the road in the direction of the signal. While crossing, pedestrians have the right-of-way over all vehicles.
- A pedestrian facing a flashing or steady hand symbol should not begin to cross. Pedestrians who have already begun to cross when the hand signal appears should go as quickly as possible to a safe area, and while they are crossing they still have the right-of-way over vehicles.
- At intersections with traffic lights where there are no pedestrian signals, pedestrians facing a green light may cross. Pedestrians may not cross on a flashing green light or a left-turn green arrow.
- Where there are pedestrian push-buttons, a pedestrian must use the button to bring on the walk signal. Pedestrian signals give people more time to cross than regular traffic lights.
- An intersection pedestrian signal has one or more crosswalks, pedestrian walk and don’t walk signals, push buttons for pedestrians, and traffic signal lights on the main road only. Stop signs control traffic on the smaller, less busy crossroad.
Signs in this section
Official source: Pedestrian signals ↗
5.Pavement markings: yellow and white lines
- Pavement markings combine with road signs and traffic lights to give you important information about the direction of traffic and where you may and may not travel. Yellow lines separate traffic travelling in opposite directions; white lines separate traffic travelling in the same direction.
- A solid line at the left of your lane means it is unsafe to pass. A broken line at the left of your lane means you may pass if the way is clear.
- Broken lines that are wider and closer together than regular broken lines are called continuity lines. Continuity lines on your left generally mean your lane is ending or exiting and you must change lanes to continue in your current direction; continuity lines on your right mean your lane will continue unaffected.
- A stop line is a single white line painted across the road at an intersection and shows where you must stop. If there is no stop line, stop at the crosswalk, marked or not; if there is no crosswalk, at the edge of the sidewalk; if there is no sidewalk, at the edge of the intersection.
- A crosswalk is marked by two parallel white lines painted across the road; however, crosswalks at intersections are not always marked. Do not park where you will block a sidewalk, crosswalk, pedestrian crossing or road entrance.
- Two solid lines painted on the pavement guide traffic away from fixed objects such as bridge piers or concrete islands. Yellow and black markings are also painted on the objects themselves as warnings.
Official source: Pavement markings ↗ · Parking along roadways ↗
6.Arrows and special lanes
- A white arrow painted on a lane means you may move only in the direction of the arrow. Signs above the road or on the pavement before an intersection tell drivers the direction they must travel.
- An HOV (high occupancy vehicle) lane may be used only by public vehicles such as buses, or passenger vehicles carrying a specified minimum number of passengers. On provincial highways the HOV lane is separated from the general traffic lanes by a striped buffer zone, and it is illegal and unsafe to cross the striped buffer pavement markings.
- The centre lane of some roads is used as a two-way left-turn lane. This lets left-turning vehicles from both directions wait for a chance to turn without holding up traffic. These left-turn lanes are not to be used for passing.
- Bike lanes are reserved for cyclists and are typically marked by a solid white line. Sometimes you will need to enter or cross a bike lane to turn right at a corner or driveway; enter the bike lane only after ensuring that you can do so safely, and then make the turn.
- Pedestrian crossovers are identified by specific signs, overhead yellow lights and pavement markings — two white double parallel lines across the road with an X in each lane approaching it. Drivers and cyclists must stop before the line and yield until pedestrians have completely crossed the road and cleared the roadway.
- You must not pass any vehicle within 30 metres of a pedestrian crossover.
Signs in this section
Official source: Pavement markings ↗ · Signs ↗ · Freeway driving ↗ · Changing directions ↗ · Sharing road other road users ↗ · Stopping ↗