In this situation driving is

Explanation

Movement is prohibited.

The traffic controller has extended his right arm forward and, from your point of view, his right side faces your car. The clause covering this position admits of no exception: with the right arm extended forward, movement of any vehicle in any direction is not permitted from the controller's right side and from behind his back. So neither straight, nor right, nor left.

To read this signal in a few seconds, memorise its three clauses as a chain: the controller's left side means all directions; the controller's chest means only a right turn; his right side and behind him mean nothing. That very order shows that the signal grows stricter the further you move towards the right and the back of the controller's body, because those are the sides that conflict with the main opened path.

The safety logic is clear: with his extended arm, the controller has opened one main flow and closed the other axes in order to protect it. If you enter from his right side, you drive straight into the middle of a path that is moving right now with full permission. The practical point matters too: you must stop before the pedestrian crossing or the edge of the crossing carriageway, and not move until the controller changes his signal — even if the traffic light is green.

• "Permitted" usually comes from the idea that the extended arm is only a warning for one direction; but this signal closes the controller's right side and his back completely and leaves no direction at all.

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