Chapter 7. Signals of authorized official directing traffic and traffic lights

• 35. Demand of the authorized official directing traffic to stop the vehicle is expressed by making a signal with the traffic baton or by an arm gesture, as well as with aid of a loudspeaker tool. To attract additional attention of road-users, the authorized official directing traffic may make a signal with a whistle. The driver must stop at a place indicated by the authorized official directing traffic.

  Signals of the authorized official directing traffic are obligatory for road-users, even if they do not comply with signals of traffic lights and other technical tools of road traffic organization.

• 36. Signals of the authorized official directing traffic have the following meaning:
• 36.1. arms outstretched horizontally or lowered:
• 36.1.1. from the left and right side, it is allowed: for tramway — to move forward, for other vehicles — to move directly and to the right, pedestrians — to cross the carriageway;
• 36.1.2. from the side of the chest and back: movement of all vehicles and pedestrians is prohibited;
• 36.2. right arm stretched forward:
• 36.2.1. from the left side, it is allowed: for tramway — to move to the left, for other vehicles — to move in all directions;
• 36.2.2. from the chest side: for all vehicles it is allowed to move only to the right;
• 36.2.3. from the right side and back: movement of all vehicles is prohibited, pedestrians are allowed to cross the carriageway behind the back of the authorized official directing traffic;
• 36.3. arm, raised upright: movement of all vehicles and pedestrians is prohibited in all directions, except for the instances provided by sub-clauses 50.1 and 50.2 and clause 50 of these Rules.
• 37. The authorized official directing traffic may make other signals understandable for road-users, not mentioned in clause 36 of these Rules.
• 38. Traffic lights belong to technical means of traffic organization and are used to regulate the proceeding order for vehicles and pedestrians, as well as to indicate dangerous sections of roads. Traffic lights are divided into transport and pedestrian.

  Traffic lights may be used with additional equipment: screens, information sections, information and identifying panels, digital displays, and pushbuttons for switching-on the enabling signal for pedestrians (pedestrian calling panels). Traffic lights use light signals of green, amber, red and lunar white colours.

  Depending on the purpose, traffic lights signals may be circular, in the form of arrow (arrows), pedestrian silhouette, cycle, tramway and X-shaped.

  Traffic lights with round signals may have one or two additional sections with signals in the form of green arrow (arrows), which are located on the level of the round green signal.

  Traffic lights with X-shaped red signal, amber signal in the form of an arrow (if available) pointing to the right, and green signal in the form of an arrow pointing down are called reversible and are designed to regulate the movement of vehicles on the carriageway lanes on which direction of the traffic may be changed for the opposite one.

• 39. Round signals of traffic lights have the following meanings:
• 39.1. green signal permits the movement;
• 39.2. flashing green signal permits the movement and informs that its time runs out and soon the prohibitory signal will be turned on;
• 39.3. amber signal warns about the change of signals and prohibits the movement except for the instances specified in sub-clauses 50.1, 50.2 of clause 50 and clause 106 of these Rules;
• 39.4. flashing amber signal allows the movement and informs about a non-regulated intersection or pedestrian crossing, warns about possible danger for the traffic;
• 39.5. red signal, including the flashing one (two flashing red signals), prohibits the movement;
• 39.6. combination of red and amber signals prohibits the movement and informs about oncoming turning-on of the green signal.
• 40. Traffic lights made in the shape of arrows, of red, amber and green colours have the same meaning as the round signals of a corresponding colour. The movement is performed upon turning on the enabling traffic light signal only in the directions indicated by the arrows. Instead of red, amber and green arrows, round red, amber, and green signals with black outline arrows on them may be used with the same meaning.

  In this instance, the arrow permitting a left bend allows also a U-turn, unless it is prohibited by an appropriate traffic sign. The same meaning has the green arrow in the additional section. Switched-off signal of an additional section means the prohibition of movement in the direction regulated by this section.

• 41. If the main green light is marked with black contour arrow (arrows), it informs the drivers about the presence of an additional section of the traffic light and points other than the signal of additional section permitted directions for the movement.
• 42. If the traffic signal is designed as a green or red pedestrian silhouette, it applies only to pedestrians. Green light permits, and the red one prohibits the movement of pedestrians. In this instance:
• 42.1. flashing green signal of the pedestrian traffic light prohibits the exit of pedestrians on the carriageway from the sidewalk or safety island, but allows pedestrians who are on the carriageway to continue movement in the same direction to traffic island (if available) or to complete the crossing of the carriageway (with no traffic island);
• 42.2. if red traffic light signal caught a walking pedestrian on the carriageway on which there is no traffic island, pedestrian shall complete the crossing of the carriageway;
• 42.3. if red signal of the pedestrian traffic light caught a walking pedestrian on the carriageway before a traffic island, the pedestrian shall continue his movement in the same direction to the island, and stay on it;
• 42.4. if red signal of the pedestrian traffic light caught a walking pedestrian on the traffic island, the pedestrian must stay on it until the enabling traffic light signal turns on;
• 42.5. if red signal of the traffic light caught a walking pedestrian on the carriageway behind the traffic island, pedestrian shall complete the crossing of the carriageway;
• 42.6. to inform pedestrians that during the period allowed for them to pass on a pedestrian crossing there can be vehicles moving across the pedestrian crossing performing at the intersection the right and/or the left bend, the enabling signal of the pedestrian traffic lights may be added with the ring of amber colour around its perimeter;
• 42.7. in order to further inform pedestrians about the possibility of crossing the carriageway, light signal of traffic lights may be supplemented with a sound signal;
• 42.8. in order to inform pedestrians about the time-out of enabling signal and/or the time, remaining for safe completion of crossing of the carriageway, digital displays may be applied together with the pedestrian traffic lights;
• 42.9. in the absence of pedestrian traffic lights at a pedestrian crossing, pedestrians must be guided by signals of transport traffic lights.
• 43. If the traffic light signals have silhouettes of a cycle, or there is a white marking panel with black silhouette of a cycle below the traffic light, the validity of signals of such traffic lights covers only cyclists. The meaning of traffic light signals for them are similar to the meaning of the round signals, specified in clause 39 of these Rules.
• 44. Red signal of reversible traffic lights prohibits, and the green one permits the movement.

  Upon turned–off signals of reversible traffic lights located above the lane of movement, marked on both sides with horizontal road marking 1.9, entry into this lane is prohibited.

  Main signals of reversible traffic lights may be supplemented by an amber signal in the form of arrow, slanted diagonally downward to the right, the switching-on of which informs about the forthcoming change of the signal and the need to change the lane to the right.

• 45. For regulation of the traffic of tramways, as well as of other route vehicles moving along the lane reserved for them, the following traffic lights may be used:

  — with one-colour alarm signals with four round signals of lunar white colour, arranged in a “T” shape, in this instance the traffic is allowed only when at the same time the lower and one or more upper signals are switched on, from which the left one means the movement to the left (for U-turn for route vehicles other than tramway), the middle one — straight ahead, to right one — to the right. If only three upper signals are switched on, the traffic is prohibited;

  — two-colour signals, arranged vertically or horizontally, one of which is made in the form of red silhouette of the tramway on black background, and the other — in the form of an arrow of lunar white colour on black background (only for directing the tramway traffic). The lunar white signal of such traffic lights permits the movement of tramways in the direction indicated by the arrow, the red signal prohibits the movement of tramways in this direction. Traffic lights may be supplemented by a white panel with a black silhouette of the tramway.

  Tramway drivers and other route vehicles drivers moving along the lane reserved for them, should be guided by signals of traffic lights mentioned in part one of this clause, in cases where these lights are applied together with other transport traffic lights.

• 46. Traffic lights with two red signals or one lunar white signal and two red signals are used to regulate the traffic on level-crossings and have the following meaning:
• 46.1. flashing red signals prohibit movement of vehicles through the level-crossing. Together with these signals a sound signal that additionally informs road-users on prohibition of the traffic across the level-crossing must be switched on;
• 46.2. flashing lunar white signal informs about a good condition of alarm signals and does not prohibit the traffic of vehicles;
• 46.3. switched off red and lunar white signals mean that the alarm signals do not work or are defective. In this instance the movement of vehicles is allowed after that the driver makes sure that there is no railway vehicle.
• 47. Traffic lights with one or two flashing amber signals may be used to mark the non-regulated intersections and pedestrian crossings.
• 48. On the intersection, upon a prohibitory signal of the authorized official directing traffic or traffic lights, drivers must stop before the sign “Stop-line” (line of the horizontal marking 1.12), and if there is no such:
• 48.1. before the traffic lights, guided by clause 106 of these Rules;
• 48.2. before the pedestrian crossing — if there is no traffic lights;
• 48.3. before the closest edge of the sidewalk — if there are no traffic lights and pedestrian crossing;
• 48.4. before the edge of the carriageway being crossed — if there are no traffic lights, pedestrian crossing and sidewalk.
• 49. Outside the intersection, upon a prohibitory signal of the authorized official directing traffic or traffic lights, drivers must stop before the sign “Stop-line” (line of the horizontal marking 1.12), and if there is no such:
• 49.1. on a regulated pedestrian crossing — before the traffic lights and if not available — before the pedestrian crossing;
• 49.2. before the level-crossing — in accordance with clause 129 of these Rules;
• 49.3. in other places — before the authorized official directing traffic or traffic lights, without creating an obstruction or danger for the road traffic.
• 50. When the authorized official directing traffic raises his arm upright or the amber signal of the traffic lights turns on:
• 50.1. drivers who cannot stop without using the emergency braking, in the places determined by clauses 48 and 49 of these Rules, are allowed to proceed;
• 50.2. pedestrians being on the carriageway are allowed to proceed in the same direction to the traffic island (if available) or complete the carriageway crossing (if there is no traffic island);
• 50.3. Pedestrians are prohibited:
• 50.3.1. to exit on the carriageway;
• 50.3.2. to leave the traffic island.