Traffic Lights Change To Yellow. What Should You Do? - Driving Test

Let's get started

Create a profile or sign in to your existing one

Sign In with Facebook Sign In with Google Sign In with Apple Sign in -or- Create profile Keep me signed in Forgotten password

Creating a profile means you agree to our terms and conditions

It looks like someone else has invited you to join using this email address. If you continue this registration, you won't have access to the courses they've invited you to unless you buy them separately. The best option is to go back to the email you received and click on the green button. If you don't have it anymore, ask them to resend it. If you'd like to continue, click Continue; if you want to cancel and look for that email, click Cancel. Cancel Continue

Enter your email or username to send instructions how to reset your password

Cancel Submit

This section is unavailable

Your administrator has not made this section available to you. However, these modules are also available within Driving rules and the Road Code in the Fleet Driver Skills and you may have access to them there. Cancel

Buy Learner Licence Plus course and improve your chances of passing first time to 99%

• Access all training modules on any device
• Unlimited practice
• No ads
• Share your profile or manage other trainees

Click here

Buy the Learner Licence Plus course to access all features

• Access all training modules on any device
• Unlimited practice
• No ads
• Share your profile or manage other trainees

Click here

Already have access? Log in

• A TR Group Site
• English
• Log in or sign up
• Help

• Cart

Vehicle & Workplace Training Vehicle & Workplace Training

• Learner licence
  • Car
  • Motorbike
  • Heavy Vehicle
  • Learner Licence Plus
• Courses
• Tourist
• Resources

• Learn
• Resources
• Login

• Learner licence
  • Car
  • Motorbike
  • Heavy Vehicle
  • Learner Licence Plus
• Your courses
  • Enrolled courses
  • Your certificates
• View all courses
• Tourist

• Learning to drive
• Articles
• iOS application
• Android application
• Contact us
• About us
• Terms and conditions
• Privacy

What should you do when you are coming up to traffic signals and the signals change from green to yellow? What should you do when you are coming up to traffic signals and the signals change from green to yellow?

• A. Speed up to get through the lights

• B. Stop if it's safe to do so

• C. Stop if you are more than 20 metres from the intersection

• The correct answer is B Correct. You have to judge whether you can stop or not. Yellow lights are carefully calculated to appear for long enough for you to stop if you are travelling at the speed limit in the wet

The amber or yellow traffic light comes after a green light and indicates that the lights are just about to turn red. You should stop if it's safe to do so, and this will vary according to the road conditions, the braking ability of your car, and the ability for people behind you to stop.

How long do traffic lights stay on?

The length of time that the yellow light displays depends on the speed of the intersection. A typical yellow light in an urban area lasts for approximately four seconds. We timed several downtown Auckland lights to come up with an average of 3.8 seconds. In the UK, yellow lights are 1 second per 10mph (16kph) speed limit. Using the same logic the equation would be 1 second every 13.2kph at least for the amber lights we measured.

Yellow traffic lights on faster streets may stay on longer because it takes longer for vehicles to stop.

Red and green traffic lights have variable phases, depending on the intersection. More roads joining the intersection will mean a longer red phase. A minor road entering a major intersection could have a very short green phase because there might only ever be one or two vehicles waiting at any one time, whereas a large intersection with a main road travelling through it could see very long green phases on the main road.

Select language

Suggested for you

All languages