Signs, signals and pavement markings
You arrive at an intersection where the traffic signal is completely dark because of a power failure. What should you do?
- Stop as if there were STOP signs in all directions, then proceed cautiously when it is safe. Correct answer
- Treat it as a green light if you are on the larger road.
- Slow down and drive through without stopping if no one is coming.
Why
A dark or malfunctioning signal turns the intersection into an all-way stop. Every driver stops, the first to arrive goes first, and when two arrive together the one on the left yields to the one on the right. Being on the wider or busier road gives you no priority, and rolling through because nobody seems to be coming ignores the drivers on the cross street who are doing exactly the same calculation. Stop behind the limit line or crosswalk, look left, right and ahead, and go only when it is your turn and the way is clear.
Where this comes from
California Driver's Handbook, DL 600 ENGLISH (REV. 6/2025). The correct answer is Stop as if there were STOP signs in all directions, then proceed cautiously when it is safe..
- Section 7. Laws and Rules of the Road › Traffic Control › Traffic Signals › Traffic Light Not Working , page 34
- Section 7. Laws and Rules of the Road › Right-of-Way Rules: Who Goes First? › Intersections , page 39
- Section 7. Laws and Rules of the Road › Right-of-Way Rules: Who Goes First? › Intersections , page 39
- Section 7. Laws and Rules of the Road › Traffic Control › Signs › STOP Sign , page 35