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SAAQ Class 5 overview

SAAQ Class 5: Traffic lights and signal lights

Red, yellow and green lights, arrows, flashing lights, dark signals, pedestrian countdown lights, cyclist lights, lane-use lights, railway signals, work-site lights and bus priority lights.

  • 15 questions
  • Topic drill
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Traffic lights and signal lights · Question 1Score 0/0

You must stop for a red light, but the intersection has no stop line and no painted crosswalk. Where do you stop?

Study reference: SAAQ Driver's Handbook (2nd edition), Ch. 3 Road Signs and Traffic Signals — Signal lights, pp. 103–112

All 15 questions in this test

Every question and its answer choices. The correct answers and explanations appear when you take the test above.

  1. You must stop for a red light, but the intersection has no stop line and no painted crosswalk. Where do you stop?

    1. In the middle of the intersection
    2. Beside the pole holding the traffic light
    3. Three metres before the first corner
    4. Before the edge of the roadway you will cross

  2. The light ahead turns yellow while you are still far enough back to stop smoothly. What must you do?

    1. Slow down and roll through carefully
    2. Continue at the same speed
    3. Speed up to get through before red
    4. Stop before the crosswalk or stop line

  3. A street has a no-parking sign for snow removal with orange lights attached. The lights are off. What does that mean?

    1. The rule applies only at night
    2. The sign's parking ban is not in effect
    3. Parking is banned all day until removal ends
    4. Only residents may park there

  4. You are about to turn right at a green light. A pedestrian signal shows a flashing orange hand. What does that signal mean for pedestrians?

    1. Pedestrians may start crossing now, with care
    2. Turning drivers must stop completely
    3. The pedestrian light is out of order
    4. Those crossing must hurry to finish

  5. A work truck ahead of you displays this lit signal on its rear. What should you do?

    Black rectangle with yellow lights forming an arrow pointing left
    1. Move to the lane on the side the arrow points
    2. Pass on the side opposite the arrow
    3. Use the shoulder to get around it
    4. Stop behind the truck until it moves

  6. You approach an intersection with a flashing red light and a stop sign. What must you do?

    1. Stop only if cross traffic is present
    2. Wait until the light turns solid green
    3. Stop completely, then yield before going
    4. Slow down and go if nobody is coming

  7. You reach an intersection where the traffic lights are completely dark because of a power failure. No other sign or signal has been set up. How must you treat it?

    1. As if there were stop signs in every direction
    2. As if the lights were flashing yellow
    3. As if the main road had the right of way
    4. As an uncontrolled intersection with no rules

  8. At an intersection you see a set of three vertical lights shaped like red, yellow and green bicycles. Who do they control, and what do the colours mean?

    1. Pedestrians walking a bicycle across
    2. Cyclists; colours mean the same as traffic lights
    3. All vehicles; they replace the main lights
    4. Cyclists; green means stop and look first

  9. Your light turns green, but a cyclist and two pedestrians are still finishing their crossing in front of you. What should you do?

    1. Go, because green gives you priority
    2. Let them clear the intersection first
    3. Sound your horn so they hurry
    4. Steer around them slowly

  10. A yellow light is flashing over an intersection on your route. How should you proceed?

    1. Stop completely as at a stop sign
    2. Stop and wait for a green light
    3. Keep your speed; it only warns cross traffic
    4. Slow down and yield to anyone already crossing

  11. A city bus is stopped at a red traffic light with a priority signal showing a white horizontal bar. What does that bar tell the bus driver?

    1. Only a straight-through move is allowed
    2. No bus manoeuvre is allowed
    3. The bus may turn left only
    4. The bus may go in any direction

  12. You are waiting to turn left and your green light starts flashing. What does the flashing green tell you in Québec?

    1. Your left turn is protected; oncoming traffic is stopped
    2. The light is about to turn red
    3. Pedestrians have priority in all crosswalks
    4. The light is broken; treat it as a stop

  13. You are on a multi-lane road and a red X is lit above your lane. What must you do?

    1. Slow down but stay in the lane
    2. Leave the lane; do not drive or stop in it
    3. Use the lane only to pass
    4. Stop in the lane until it turns green

  14. Above your lane a red X is lit and next to it a yellow horizontal arrow is flashing. What is expected of you?

    1. Change lanes with care in the arrow's direction
    2. Stop and wait for the arrow to turn green
    3. Stay in your lane; the arrow is for trucks
    4. Speed up to clear the lane before it closes

  15. On a two-lane road (one lane each way), a work vehicle's signal arrow has only its centre bar lit. What does that indicate?

    1. The vehicle is about to turn
    2. A work site on this road or its shoulder
    3. The left lane is blocked ahead
    4. Traffic may pass on either side

Traffic lights and signal lights: key rules to remember

Our summary of what the official handbook says on this topic, in our own words. Read it before or after the practice questions above, then check the original chapter. Read the official chapter ↗

Signal lights (overview)

  • Signal lights cover standard traffic lights plus flashing lights, pedestrian lights, cyclist lights, lane-use lights, railway crossing lights, regulated parking lights, work-site lights, bus priority lights and inspection station lights.

Traffic lights

  • Lights that are defective or switched off: treat the intersection as if it had stop signs in every direction (all-way stop), unless a suitable sign or signal is in place instead of the lights.

Red light

  • Drivers and cyclists must come to a complete stop before the pedestrian crosswalk or the stop line.
  • No line marked: stop before the edge of the roadway you are about to cross.
  • You may move on only when a traffic signal authorizes it.
  • Where there are no pedestrian lights, pedestrians must stop for the red light too.

Yellow (amber) light

  • Means red is coming; stop before the crosswalk or stop line (or before the edge of the roadway to be crossed if no line).
  • Exception: you are already in the intersection, or so close that you cannot stop safely.
  • With no pedestrian lights, pedestrians follow the same rule.

Green light

  • Solid or flashing green: you may go after yielding to vehicles, cyclists and pedestrians already in the intersection.
  • No pedestrian lights: pedestrians facing green may cross.
  • Flashing green = protected left turn; oncoming traffic is stopped.

Arrows

  • Red arrow: you may not go in the direction it points.
  • Yellow arrow: same meaning as a yellow light, for the direction shown.
  • Green arrow (flashing or steady): drivers and cyclists must go in the direction shown, following the same right-of-way rules as a green light.

Flashing lights

  • Flashing yellow or red lights are added at particularly dangerous intersections.
  • Flashing red: stop, then yield to any vehicle entering the intersection or close enough on the crossing road to cause a collision; used together with stop signs.
  • Flashing yellow: slow down, yield to road users already in the intersection, then go.
  • Flashing yellow lights placed with regulatory or warning signs draw attention to a danger or an obligation.

Pedestrian lights

  • Two kinds: standard (walking silhouette + orange hand) and countdown (adds a third lamp showing time remaining).
  • Silhouette: pedestrians may cross in the area set aside for them; some intersections have a continuous audio signal for visually impaired people while it is lit.
  • Flashing silhouette: audio signal changes to beeping; pedestrians already crossing must hurry to the sidewalk or median.
  • Orange hand: do not enter the intersection; flashing hand = those already crossing must hurry to the sidewalk or median.
  • Time counter: shows how much crossing time is left.

Cyclist lights

  • Three vertical lights shaped as red, yellow and green bicycles; colours mean the same as ordinary traffic lights.

Lane use lights

  • Mounted over one or more lanes.
  • Red X: you may not drive or stop in that lane.
  • Downward green arrow: you may use that lane.
  • Flashing horizontal yellow arrow (usually shown with the red X): move carefully to the left or right lane because a lane is closed ahead.

Railway crossing signals

  • Flashing red lights at a road/railway crossing; when active, a train is coming and drivers and pedestrians must stop before the level crossing.

Regulated parking lights

  • Orange lights with a regulatory sign; restrict street parking at certain times for road maintenance.
  • The parking rule on the sign applies only while the lights are on.

Work site lights

  • Warn of road maintenance or repairs; slow down and be careful near the work area.
  • Flashing or rotating yellow light on a vehicle: the vehicle may hinder traffic, may travel much slower than the maximum (or below the minimum) speed, or may be escorting a vehicle that hinders traffic.

Signal arrows (on vehicles or trailers)

  • One lane is blocked; use the lane left open. Arrow direction = lane to use.
  • Double arrow: traffic may pass on either side of the blocked lane.
  • Only the centre bar lit: work site on a road with one lane each way, or a work site on the shoulder.

Accompanying vehicle / temporary lights

  • An accompanying vehicle with a sign travels ahead of mobile or very short-term work sites to warn in advance and show how to get around.
  • Temporary lights near a work area control traffic when both directions must take turns using one lane.

Bus priority lights

  • Added to traffic lights to help buses merge into traffic; a white bar, triangle or the word BUS shown through a black lens.
  • White vertical bar: buses may only go straight (no left or right turns).
  • White horizontal bar: all bus movements prohibited.
  • White bar slanted left: only a left turn allowed. Slanted right: only a right turn allowed.
  • White triangle: clearance interval for buses, like a yellow light.
  • BUS: buses may go in any direction.

Inspection station lights (heavy vehicles)

  • Only in inspection areas. Red = stop for weighing; upward yellow = move ahead slowly; yellow pointing right = enter the station and park for inspection; downward yellow arrow = back up slowly; green = weighing done, may leave.

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