In the US, does a stop sign take priority over a red light?
I've recently encountered a peculiar road arrangement in Seattle. As you can see from the graphic below, Cremona St is merging with Nickerson St. There's a stop sign on Cremona and a traffic light on Nickerson. The line where cars are supposed to stop before the traffic light is to the left of Cremona St.
Satellite view:
View from Cremona St:
View from Nickerson St:
The question then becomes: can a car driving via Cremona St ignore the red light after the stop sign, presuming no pedestrians are present? Does it matter that the stop line for cars on Nickerson St is located prior to the spot where Cremona St is merging in?
I got my license in Europe and haven't seen such traffic arrangements back home.
Best Answer
You can never drive through a red light under any (non-emergency) circumstances, other than turning right (in certain situations). The process for someone driving Cremona to merge onto Nickerson would be:
- Come to a complete stop at the stop sign.
- If it's safe to do so (no oncoming vehicles) merge onto Nickerson
- If the traffic light is red, stop at the traffic light or behind the car(s) at the traffic lights. It doesn't matter if there are pedestrians or not. You will always stop here if it's red. If there is enough traffic such that merging is not possible, you may have to wait longer to be able to merge onto Nickerson, behind that stop sign.
- Go when permitted by the traffic light.
This means that you may have to stop and start a few times, but the Stop sign only applies to Cremona St and doesn't give you right-of-way through the traffic light after you've passed it.
Hope that helps!
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Is a red light the same as a stop sign?
RED\u2014A red signal light means STOP. A right turn can be made against a red light ONLY after you stop and yield to pedestrians and vehicles in your path. DO NOT turn if there is a sign posted for NO TURN ON RED. FLASHING RED\u2014A flashing red signal light means exactly the same as a stop sign: STOP!How do stop signs work in America?
A stop sign is a regulatory sign - a traffic control device that warns drivers to slow down and prepare to stop. It's used when there are no other cars around, or at the end of a line of traffic. Drivers must stop at the stop line, crosswalk, or intersection, whichever they encounter first.What does a stop sign with 3 black dots mean?
It means that if the lights are not working or are flashing yellow and you are approaching this sign, you must stop and give way to traffic as though you are at an intersection with a stop sign UNLESS the intersection is being managed by Police or traffic controllers, in which case you must follow their directions.Can you turn right on a red light in America?
All 50 states, the District of Columbia, Guam, and Puerto Rico have allowed right turns on red since 1980, except where prohibited by a sign or where right turns are controlled by dedicated traffic signals.KNOW all about STOP SIGNS + RIGHT OF WAY || Right of way rules | New Drivers Tips on stop signs
More answers regarding in the US, does a stop sign take priority over a red light?
Answer 2
Note that there is no stop line before the crosswalk. Thus the light applies to the stop lines that correspond with the stop signs.
Under normal conditions this is simply a pair of stop signs controlling merging traffic, but if someone wants to use the crosswalk the light will be red and you have to wait for it to turn green before proceeding.
A very unusual situation but it seems perfectly clear to me what to do. Sometimes the traffic engineers have to do odd things when they have work with existing roads.
Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
Images: Darius Krause, Will Mu, Martin Péchy, NOHK