Traffic signals — Maryland Permit Test
Traffic signals on the Maryland permit test — 16 rules, each with the reason behind it and a question on it while it is fresh.
The rules
At a steady red signal, come to a complete stop at the stop line; if there is no stop line, stop before the crosswalk and before entering the intersection, and stay stopped as long as the signal is red.
The line is set back far enough that people crossing have room in front of you.
Unless a sign forbids it, after a complete stop at a red signal you may turn right, or turn left from a one-way street onto another one-way street, yielding to people crossing and to all other traffic.
Both streets running one way is what keeps the left turn clear of oncoming traffic.
A steady yellow signal means the signal is changing from green to red, and it gives you time to stop safely. If you are too close to stop safely, carefully continue through the intersection.
Speeding up to beat it puts you in the crossing exactly as the other direction gets its turn.
At a steady green signal, check first that no other vehicles are in the intersection, then proceed with caution; you must yield to people crossing and to vehicles already in the intersection.
A green signal gives you the crossing, not the space inside it somebody is still using.
At a steady red arrow, if you want to go the way the arrow points, come to a complete stop and stay stopped as long as the arrow is red.
The arrow holds your movement alone while everything else keeps going.
A steady yellow arrow means permission to turn the way the arrow points is ending, so slow down and proceed with caution.
The protection you had is about to be handed to the oncoming traffic.
At a steady green arrow, proceed with caution the way the arrow points, and you must still yield to all people crossing and to vehicles already in the intersection.
The arrow clears the oncoming traffic, not the person already walking across.
At a flashing red signal, come to a complete stop, yield to all other traffic and to people crossing, and proceed when the way is clear.
A flashing signal never turns green, so nothing will tell you when your turn is but your own look.
At a flashing red signal on a railroad crossing you must come to a complete stop even if you do not see a train, and go on only when the flashing stops and the way is clear.
The lights start before the train arrives, which is the only warning you get.
A flashing yellow signal means you must slow down and proceed with caution.
Nobody is being told to stop, so the crossing only works if everybody slows.
When a traffic signal is not working you must stop, yield to vehicles and people in the intersection, and stay stopped until it is safe to enter and continue through.
With nothing telling anybody to go, every driver has to take a turn.
You must never drive in a lane under a red X signal.
The lane is being run the other way, so a car in it is facing oncoming traffic.
A steady yellow X signal means you should move out of the lane as soon as you safely can.
The lane is about to be reversed, so it is being emptied ahead of you.
A flashing yellow X signal, or two-way left-turn arrows, mean you may use the lane to turn left, and you will likely be sharing it with left-turning vehicles coming the other way.
Drivers coming the other way are waiting in the same lane you are.
Everyone must obey traffic control devices. The only time you need not is when a police officer or other emergency personnel, or a uniformed school crossing guard, tells you to do something different.
The officer can see what the signal cannot: what is happening right now.
When you come to an intersection you may not drive across private property or leave the road to avoid obeying a traffic control device.
Cutting the corner through a parking lot is the same as running the signal.
On the test
Where must you stop at a steady red signal with no stop line?
Before the crosswalk and the intersection. The line is set back far enough that people crossing have room in front of you.
How this works
Most practice tests hand you a bank of questions and leave the manual somewhere else. This one puts them together.
You read one law and the reason behind it, then answer a question on that law while it is still fresh. Get it right and you move on; get it wrong and you have found the gap while it is cheap to fix, not on the morning of the exam.
Learning one rule at a time, and proving it immediately, is what turns a manual you skimmed into something you actually know — and it makes studying feel like getting somewhere rather than like waiting to find out.
Where these come from
Every rule here is checked against Maryland Driver's Manual, published by the Maryland Department of Transportation Motor Vehicle Administration, and against the state code itself. Last checked 2026-09-06.