Which driver can continue driving?

Explanation

Both drivers may continue.

The traffic controller has extended his right arm forward and stands in profile to both cars; that is, the yellow minibus and the blue car both enter the junction from his left side. The clause covering this case is the most generous of this signal: from the controller's left side a non-rail vehicle may move in all directions. That is why both the minibus, which has signalled left, and the blue car, which has signalled right, are permitted.

The trap of the question is the traffic light on the right showing a red lamp. An inexperienced driver looks at the light first and concludes that nobody may move. But the rule is explicit: when a traffic controller is present at a junction, his gesture takes precedence over the light's signal, over the signs and over the markings, and drivers must obey him alone.

The reason for this order is entirely practical. A controller usually enters a junction when something abnormal has happened: the light has failed, an accident has blocked the route, or the volume of traffic does not fit the light's fixed programme. If drivers could invoke the light, the controller's presence would be useless and even dangerous. So memorise the order of looking: first the traffic controller, then the light, then the signs and finally the markings. And do not forget that permission to move is not exemption from priority; before turning you must check the pedestrians' path and the other vehicles.

• "Neither" is the answer of someone who has looked only at the red light; in the presence of a controller, the light is not decisive. • The blue car, like the minibus, also comes from the controller's left side, and from that side movement in all directions is free, so there is no reason to limit the answer to one driver.

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