Complete stops — Utah Permit Test

A driver must make a complete stop at a steady red light, at a flashing red light, and at all stop signs.

A rolling stop looks the same as a stop to the driver doing it, and nothing like one to the driver being hit.

Steady (non-flashing) red light or at a flashing red light.

A driver stopping at a railroad crossing must stop more than 15 feet but not more than 50 feet from the nearest rail.

Closer than fifteen feet and a passing train can reach you. Further than fifty and you cannot see down the track.

Stop more than 15 feet (but not more than 50 feet) away from the nearest rail until it is safe to continue.

Where a railroad crossing has a gate, a driver must wait for it to be raised before continuing.

A lowered gate means a train is coming whether or not you can see one. Going round it is how people die at crossings.

If there is a gate, wait for it to be raised.

A driver should apply the brake smoothly with steady pressure and come to a complete stop at traffic signs and signals.

Steady pressure is predictable to the car behind. Stabbing at the pedal is how a rear-end crash starts.

Apply the brake smoothly and use steady pressure. Come to a complete stop at traffic signs and signals.

Many drivers feel a rolling stop is adequate, but Utah requires a complete stop wherever one is required.

Complete means the wheels stop turning. Anything else is a guess about traffic you have not actually looked at.

Many people seem to feel that a rolling stop is adequate when required to stop.

At which light must a Utah driver make a complete stop?

A steady or flashing red light. A rolling stop looks the same as a stop to the driver doing it, and nothing like one to the driver being hit. Utah Driver Handbook 2026-2027, p.35: “Steady (non-flashing) red light or at a flashing red light.”