14.2 Traffic Lights & Lane / Tunnel Signals

14.2 Traffic Lights & Lane / Tunnel Signals

Quick Answer: Green — go if safe. Amber (after green) — stop unless so close that a sudden stop might cause an accident. Red — stop behind the Stop line. Red + amber — stay stopped; may prepare to move when green shows safely. A green filter arrow may allow movement in the arrow direction even if red still shows. Lane signals (tunnels/expressways): green/blank = lane open if safe; flashing amber = danger ahead; diagonal green arrow = leave lane that way when safe; red cross / red light = do not proceed in that lane.

Section 14.1 covered static signs. This section covers traffic lights for drivers, filter arrows, secondary signals, and lane signals used in tunnel areas, control areas, and trunk roads / expressways — high-frequency Part B and daily taxi skills.

Traffic Lights Control Everyone

Traffic lights control drivers, cyclists, and pedestrians. At a signalised junction you must follow:

• The light signals that apply to your approach / lane
• Related traffic signs and road markings (Stop line, arrows, turn bans)
• Rules that keep the junction clear even when the light facing you is green

You wait behind the Stop line when you must not go. Entering on red, or stopping across the pedestrian area, is both an exam fail pattern and a real collision factory.

Core Light Meanings for Drivers and Cyclists

Learn the RUC table as fixed facts:

Amber: the high-yield trap

Amber is not “speed up to beat the light.” Amber after green is a stop signal with a narrow exception: you may continue only if you are so close that a sudden stop might cause an accident. Taxi pressure (“the meter is running,” “passenger is late”) never rewrites amber.

Red + amber is not green

Hong Kong uses red and amber together before green. That combination means prepare, not go. Moving off on red+amber is a classic error.

Green is permission, not a command to block

Green allows movement if safe. You must still:

• Give way to pedestrians still on the crossing
• Avoid entering if traffic ahead is blocked so you would stop in the junction, box, or crossing
• Obey any signs that qualify green (banned turns, mandatory directions)

Secondary Traffic Lights

At many junctions, secondary (duplicate) signals sit on the far side or sometimes the near side. If the main signal fails (for example a green lamp fails), obey the secondary as if it were the main light.

Once you are clear of the Stop line, continue with care without treating the far signal as a new “start from stop” instruction in the RUC sense — you do not freeze mid-junction because you re-read a secondary display as a fresh red for a vehicle already lawfully committed and clear of the line. The professional point: primary failure → use secondary on approach; once past the line, clear the junction carefully.

Filter Arrows and Special Green Controls

Green arrow with red still showing

A green arrow may light even though the red light is still showing. Meaning:

You may go in the direction shown by the arrow if it is safe, whatever the other lights show for other movements.

You may not invent extra movements the arrow does not allow. Straight-ahead on a left-filter-only arrow is wrong.

Green arrow replacing full green

If movement is allowed only in one direction, a green arrow may replace the full green. Signs often reinforce that single permitted movement.

Indicative right-turn green arrow (right-turn pocket)

At some junctions with a right-turn pocket:

• When the full green is on and the right-turn arrow is off, right-turners may move into the pocket and wait for a safe gap in opposing traffic, then turn when safe; other movements may still run
• When the right-turn arrow is also on, opposing traffic is held on red — you may complete the right turn if safe

Separate lights per lane

Some junctions give different lights to different lanes. Obey only the lights for your lane. Looking at the adjacent lane’s green is not a licence to go.

Signs with lights

Signs may qualify green — for example banning a turn or forcing a direction. Green never authorises a signed prohibited turn.

Intermittent Red (Wig-Wag) Warning Signals

Where red lights flash alternately (wig-wag), all approaching vehicles must stop until both red lights have stopped flashing. These appear where traffic is stopped only infrequently (for example fire station exits). Treat them as a hard stop, not a “peek and go.”

Do Not Block the Junction on Green

Part B and professional practice share one rule:

Even on green, do not enter unless you can clear the junction (and any yellow box / pedestrian crossing) without stopping in it.

If traffic ahead is jammed, wait before the junction until there is room. Horns do not create space. Stopping on the pedestrian crossing “to save a car length” endangers people and fails the Code’s clear-junction idea.

Lane Signals: Tunnels, Control Areas, Expressways / Trunk Roads

Lane signals are common in tunnel areas, control areas, and on trunk roads / expressways. They may be overhead (one per lane) or at the roadside / central reservation / tunnel wall.

In normal conditions they may be off, show a green downward arrow, or a green light. When something is wrong, amber warnings and red closures appear. Always act on them — danger may exist even if you cannot yet see it.

Professional tunnel / expressway habits for taxis

1. Pick the correct lane early from overhead arrows and guide signs — late cuts cause sideswipes
2. Never treat a red-cross lane as “empty short cut”
3. On flashing amber, drop speed and increase gap; passengers can wait
4. If directed out of a lane, signal, check mirrors/blind spots, and move only when safe
5. Tunnel / control staff signals and signs have authority — stop when directed

Professional Driving Through Signalised Corridors

Urban taxi work is a chain of signalised junctions. Build a repeatable routine:

1. Read far — see the light colour early; choose the correct lane before the solid line traps you
2. Match speed to amber risk — approach so you can stop smoothly if amber appears, not so fast that “too close” becomes your only story
3. Hold behind the line on red and red+amber
4. On green, re-check pedestrians and the exit space; then move smoothly for passenger comfort
5. Filter arrows — move only in the arrow direction; do not expand the permission
6. Lane signals in tunnels/expressways — treat red and diagonal arrows as hard safety orders

Common Exam Traps

Closing Checklist for Section 14.2

1. Memorise green / amber / red / red+amber duties for stopped and approaching vehicles.
2. Amber = stop unless sudden stop would cause an accident; never “race the amber.”
3. Filter green arrow may run with red — only the arrow’s path, if safe.
4. Per-lane lights — obey only your lane; signs may qualify green.
5. Secondary lights cover primary failure on approach; clear the junction carefully once past the Stop line.
6. Wig-wag reds — stop until flashing ends.
7. Lane signals — green/blank open if safe; flashing amber caution; diagonal leave lane; red cross closed.
8. Never block junctions, yellow boxes, or crossings just because your light is green.

Next, Section 14.3 covers road markings that give orders, warnings, and information — including yellow boxes and keep-clear rules taxis meet every hour.