Where to stop at a traffic light signal?

Explanation

Before the traffic light, at the point where the "ԿԱՆԳ / STOP" sign is fitted.

In the picture the traffic light on the right shows red, and directly beneath that light a white board reading "ԿԱՆԳ / STOP" is fitted. This board marks the position of the stop line; that is, the point before which you must stop on a red light. So your place of stopping is there: before the traffic light, not further forward.

Memorise the order of the rule exactly. On a prohibiting signal of the traffic light you must first stop before the stop line (or the sign that marks its position). Only if there is no stop line and no such sign do the subsequent rules come into play: at a junction, before the crossing carriageway; and at other places, before the traffic light itself. In this picture, because a stop-line sign is fitted beside the light, there is no reason to go further forward.

The safety reason for this order is clear too. The stop line is set so that a stopped car neither blocks the crossing route, nor stands on the pedestrian crossing, nor obstructs other drivers' view. Stopping further forward means taking the path of someone who has a green light. Besides, when a car stops beneath the light, the driver himself can no longer see it and has to rely on others' behaviour to know when it turns green.

• "Before the crossing carriageway" is a rule that applies only in the absence of a stop line and its sign; in this picture the "ԿԱՆԳ" sign is fitted beneath the light and takes priority. • "In any area" means stopping arbitrarily; stopping in the wrong place or beyond the stop line blocks the crossing route and the pedestrian crossing and is itself an offence.

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