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Traffic signals
Steady green light
What it means
Go, but only if the intersection is clear and it is safe. When turning left on a green light you must yield to oncoming traffic.
Traffic lights, lane-control and pedestrian signals.
Summarised from ICBC’s Learn to Drive Smart. Read the original: Signs signals and road markings ↗
How to recognise it
The bottom light of the signal lit steady green.
Where you will see it
At every intersection controlled by traffic lights.
What to do when you see it
- 1.Go only if the intersection is clear and it is safe. On a fresh green, scan the intersection before you move.
- 2.Turning left, yield to oncoming traffic and wait for a safe gap.
- 3.If you did not see it turn green, it may be stale: look for clues such as a line of cars waiting on the cross street or a crosswalk signal showing an orange hand, and be prepared to stop.
- 4.Approaching a stale green, pick your point of no return: past it you keep going even if the light turns yellow.
On the knowledge test
Green means go only if the intersection is clear. Expect questions on the stale green, the point of no return, and the left turn on a steady green, where you must yield to oncoming traffic.
Do not confuse it with
- Flashing green lightA flashing green in B.C. marks a pedestrian-controlled intersection, where a pedestrian can change the light; it does not give you a protected left turn.
- Flashing green arrow with steady greenWith a flashing green arrow beside the green, your left turn is protected; with the green alone, you must yield to oncoming traffic.