If the arms of the traffic constable are outstretched to the sides or lowered, the movement of non-rail vehicles on the left and right sides is allowed:

Explanation

Straight ahead and to the right.

When the controller's arms are extended to the sides or lowered, a non-rail vehicle arriving from his left or right side may go straight or turn right. That is all; a left turn and a U-turn are not permitted from any side. For a rail vehicle the permission is narrower still, and only straight-ahead movement remains.

The difference between these two is the main trap of the question. The option "only straight ahead" looks right because drivers remember it from the tram rule, but for cars it is incomplete. A simple way to separate them is to recall that a tram cannot leave the rails; permitting a tram to turn right is meaningless unless the rails go right. For a car, however, a right turn is the shortest and least conflicting junction manoeuvre.

The safety reason for this whole rule fits in one sentence: the controller creates one open phase and one closed phase with his body and permits no movement that cuts across the other open axis. A left turn and a U-turn cut across the width of the junction and must stay closed; a right turn is always performed at the edge of the road and cuts across nothing. And always remember that this gesture takes precedence over the traffic light, the signs and the markings — the final decision belongs to the controller, not the light.

• "Only straight ahead" is the restriction on rail vehicles; for a car and a motorcycle, a right turn from the controller's side is also permitted, and this option has dropped it.

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