3.1. Must the driver of a vehicle, driving on the main road, yield to a vehicle with a blue flashing beacon turned on?
UAЧи повинен водій автомобіля, рухаючись по головній дорозі, дати дорогу транспортному засобу з увімкненим синім проблисковим маячком?
This exam question from the Traffic Rules of Ukraine tests the understanding of priorities in road traffic and safety when passing intersections. In everyday situations, the main road sign indeed determines who has the right of way, but the traffic rules provide exceptions when other participants must yield regardless of who is on the "main road." These exceptions are critically important for allowing emergency services to pass and preventing accidents.
The content of the question refers to the section of the Traffic Rules regarding special light and sound signals (point 3.2), which is applied especially often during the theoretical exam. The rule directly obliges drivers who may create an obstacle to yield to a vehicle with an activated blue flashing beacon (as well as with a special sound signal) and to ensure unimpeded passage. That is, the "main road" does not cancel the obligation to give way to emergency vehicles if your movement may interfere with them.
The analysis of the answer options is simple: the statement that you may not yield is incorrect, as it ignores the requirement of point 3.2 and the definition of "give way" from the Traffic Rules glossary (not to continue moving or maneuvering if it would force the vehicle with priority to change speed or direction). The correct option is where the driver is obliged to let the vehicle pass: in practice, this means reducing speed in advance, stopping if necessary, and not blocking the path of the emergency vehicle, remembering that the driver of such a vehicle must also perform the maneuver safely and ensure that others are actually yielding.
Clause 3.2
When an emergency vehicle with an activated blue flashing beacon and/or special sound signal is approaching, drivers of other vehicles who may create an obstacle to its movement are required to yield and ensure the unobstructed passage of the specified vehicle (and any vehicles it is escorting). Vehicles moving in an escorted convoy must have their low beam headlights on. If such a vehicle has both blue and red, or only red, flashing beacons activated, drivers of other vehicles must stop near the right edge of the carriageway (on the right shoulder). On a road with a median strip, this requirement must be fulfilled by drivers moving in the same direction.
This clause directly establishes the obligation to “yield” to a vehicle with a blue flashing beacon (regardless of whether you are driving on a main or secondary road) if you may create an obstacle to its movement.
Clause 1.10 (term “Yield (do not create an obstacle)”)
Yield (do not create an obstacle) — a requirement for a road user not to continue or resume movement, or perform a maneuver, if this may force other road users who have the right of way to change their direction or speed.
This definition explains exactly what it means to fulfill the requirement of clause 3.2 (“yield” to an emergency vehicle).
Clause 1.10 (term “Main road”)
Main road — a road with a paved surface compared to a dirt road, or one marked with signs 1.22, 1.23.1-1.23.4, and 2.3.
Knowing this term is necessary to understand: even when driving on a “main road,” the driver is still required to comply with the requirement of clause 3.2 to yield to an emergency vehicle with a blue beacon.
That is, the correct answer is "Must," given that according to the definition of the Traffic Rules, drivers who may create an obstacle to a vehicle with an activated blue flashing beacon are required to yield and ensure its unobstructed passage (clause 3.2), regardless of whether they are driving on the main road.
When driving on the main road, the driver usually has priority over vehicles entering from a secondary road. However, this priority is not unconditional in all situations. The Traffic Rules provide exceptions when other road users are required to give way regardless of which road is the main one.
Such exceptions include emergency vehicles performing urgent official duties and using special signals. If you see a vehicle with a blue flashing beacon (and sometimes an additional special sound signal), you must act not according to the rule “I am on the main road,” but according to the rule “ensure unimpeded passage for emergency vehicles.” That is, if your movement could create an obstacle for it, you are required to give way.
In practice, this means that when approaching an intersection on the main road, you must reduce your speed and, if necessary, stop or otherwise not hinder the passage of an ambulance, police car, or other emergency vehicle with a blue beacon. The “Main Road” sign in this situation does not give you the right to pass first, because the priority of emergency vehicles is established by a separate provision of the Traffic Rules.
At the same time, the driver of the emergency vehicle, even with the beacon turned on, must perform the maneuver safely and make sure that other drivers are indeed giving way. But this does not cancel your obligation to clear the way if you could impede its movement.
Therefore, the correct answer is "Must," since when approaching a vehicle with a blue flashing beacon, drivers who could create an obstacle are required to give way and ensure unimpeded passage, regardless of being on the main road.