Yellow light going straight · go if you can't stop
Traffic lights · Straight through · Alberta Class 5 road test
Too close when it turns yellow: keep your speed and go through
Watch the interactive demoHow to drive it
Going straight on green, the light turns yellow just before the stop line: too late to stop (a normal stop needs 48 m) + no hard braking; keep your speed and cross the line on yellow + clear the intersection before the cross street gets its green
Common mistakes
Braked hard when too close to stop
Road test: automatic fail — L9 Obstructs traffic
After braking hard, the front of the car stopped 15.0 m past the stop line, inside the intersection. If the light turns yellow when you're already too close to the stop line to stop normally, keep a steady speed and go through, clearing the intersection; slamming on the brakes then leaves the car stopped on the crosswalk or in the intersection, cross traffic can't move on its green, and the car behind may well rear-end you.
Watch this mistake →Related scenarios
- Yellow light going straight · stop if you canFar enough back when it turns yellow: stop smoothly at the stop line
- Straight on green · first car moving offStop at the line on red; scan left and right before the green, then go