33.3.16. Which driver has incorrectly stopped their vehicle on the road outside a populated area?
UAЯкий водій неправильно зупинив свій транспортний засіб на дорозі за межами населеного пункту?
This exam question from the Traffic Rules of Ukraine tests basic skills for safe stopping outside populated areas and the ability to interpret prohibitory road signs. On such road sections, improper stopping often creates danger for oncoming traffic and impairs visibility, so it is important to clearly understand during the theoretical exam where stopping is allowed and where a direct prohibition applies.
The question covers Section 15 of the Traffic Rules (stopping and parking) and Section 33 (road signs): sign 3.34 "Stopping prohibited" with plate 7.2.2 "Zone of effect." The logic is as follows: outside populated areas, stopping must be performed on the shoulder or near the right edge of the carriageway, and the "left side" is allowed only as an exception within populated areas under the conditions of clause 15.3. That is why a car standing on the left shoulder is stopped incorrectly. Separately, stopping on the right shoulder after sign 3.34 is assessed: plate 7.2.2 determines the length of the section where stopping is prohibited, so a vehicle already in this zone also violates the sign's requirements.
When analyzing the answer options, it is important not to confuse "distance to the object" with the "zone of effect": for this exam task, the correct answer will be the one that simultaneously takes into account two different norms of the Traffic Rules of Ukraine. One driver violates the rules by stopping on the left side of the road outside a populated area, another—by stopping within the zone of the prohibitory sign; meanwhile, stopping on the right shoulder before the sign is permissible, because the prohibition begins from the sign and continues in the direction of travel.
Clause 15.1 — Section 15 "Stopping and Parking"
Stopping and parking of vehicles on the road must be carried out in specially designated places or on the shoulder.
Application to the situation: outside a populated area, the driver must choose a specially designated place/shoulder, and not create danger by stopping "on the opposite side" of the road without making a U-turn in the direction of their movement.
Clause 15.2 — Section 15 "Stopping and Parking"
If there are no specially designated places or shoulders, or if stopping or parking there is impossible, they are allowed near the right edge of the carriageway (as far to the right as possible, so as not to obstruct other road users).
Application to the situation: on a road outside a populated area, the basic rule is stopping/parking on the shoulder or near the right edge of the carriageway (not on the left).
Clause 15.3 — Section 15 "Stopping and Parking"
In populated areas, stopping and parking of vehicles are allowed on the left side of the road, which has one lane in each direction (without tram tracks in the middle) and is not divided by marking 1.1, as well as on the left side of a one-way road. If the road has a boulevard or a median strip, stopping and parking vehicles near them is prohibited.
Application to the situation: since the road in the image is outside a populated area, the "left side permission" from clause 15.3 does not apply — therefore, stopping the white car on the left shoulder is incorrect.
Clause 33.3 — 33 "Road Signs", 3 "Prohibitory Signs", sign 3.34 "Stopping Prohibited"
Prohibits stopping and parking of vehicles (except for taxis picking up or dropping off passengers or loading/unloading cargo). The sign applies only to the side of the road on which it is installed.
Application to the situation: the blue car stopped after sign 3.34 on the side of the road where the sign is installed — therefore, it is in the no stopping/parking zone.
Clause 33.7 — 33 "Road Signs", 7 "Plates to Road Signs", plate 7.2.2 "Zone of Effect"
Indicates the zone of effect of prohibitory signs and/or the length of the road section to which the sign applies (in particular, sign 3.34 "Stopping Prohibited").
Application to the situation: plate 7.2.2 under sign 3.34 with an indicated length (for example, "300 m") means that the stopping prohibition applies from the place where the sign is installed and further for the specified distance; therefore, the blue car, which stopped within this section, violates the requirements of the sign, while the purple one (before the sign) does not.
Thus, the correct answer is "Drivers of the white and blue cars.", given that according to the definition of the Traffic Rules, the white car stopped on the left side of the road outside a populated area (clause 15.3 in systematic connection with clauses 15.1–15.2), and the blue car stopped in the zone of effect of sign 3.34, the length of which is determined by plate 7.2.2.
The image shows a road outside a populated area. This is important because the stopping rules here are stricter: first of all, the driver must look for a place to stop on the shoulder, and if there is no shoulder or stopping on it is impossible, then it is allowed to stop near the right edge of the carriageway as far to the right as possible, so as not to interfere with others.
Pay special attention to the white car. It stopped on the left shoulder relative to the direction of travel. Clause 15.3 of the Traffic Rules allows stopping on the left side only in populated areas and only under certain conditions. Since this is a section of road outside a populated area, such a stop on the left shoulder is incorrect. If the driver needs to stop "on that side," he must make a U-turn and stop at the right edge in his direction of travel.
Now let's consider the blue car. It is parked on the right, but after the prohibitory sign 3.34 "Stopping prohibited." Under the sign, there is a plate 7.2.2 "Zone of effect," which specifies the length after the sign where the prohibition applies. That is, from the moment the driver passes the sign, he enters a section where stopping is prohibited, and that is why the blue car stopped in violation.
The purple car stopped on the right shoulder before the location of sign 3.34. Since the effect of this sign begins precisely from the point of installation and extends further in the direction of travel, stopping before the sign is not prohibited. Therefore, the driver of the purple car is acting correctly.
Thus, the correct answer is "The drivers of the white and blue cars," since the white car stopped on the left shoulder outside a populated area, and the blue car stopped in the zone of effect of sign 3.34 with plate 7.2.2, where stopping is prohibited.