What should the driver do in this situation?

Explanation

He must stop completely and then give way to the vehicle travelling on the crossing road.

The red octagonal "ԿԱՆԳ / STOP" sign on the right and the thick white line across the carriageway right in front of you give one instruction together: stop. This stop is not conditional; whether the crossing road is busy or empty, whether visibility is good or poor, the vehicle must come to a complete standstill with its wheels no longer turning. The stopping place is that stop line; if no marking exists, the edge of the crossing carriageway.

The safety reason for this strictness is what is called "stopping in order to see". In the picture, buildings and trees come right up to the corner of the junction, and until you move forward much of the crossing road is hidden from view. A complete stop gives you a few seconds to turn your head left and right and judge the real speed of approaching vehicles — something that is in practice not done while creeping forward.

The common exam trap is here: the phrase "give way if necessary" is the wording of the triangular "give way" sign, not of the STOP sign. With the triangular sign you may pass without stopping, at low speed, if the road is clear; with the STOP sign never. Always review these two signs as a pair and in comparison with each other.

• It is tempting because in practice you do have to give way in the end; but "if necessary" implies permission to proceed without stopping, and that is precisely what the STOP sign forbids.

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