35.167. Are you required to stop in this situation if the driver of the oncoming vehicle, without making sure the maneuver is safe, is making a left turn?
UAЧи повинні Ви зупинитись у даному випадку, якщо водій зустрічного автомобіля, не переконавшись у безпечності маневру, виконує поворот ліворуч?
This is an exam question from the Traffic Rules of Ukraine about road safety and the ability to act correctly in a conflict situation at an intersection. It emphasizes an important principle: even when you have the right of way according to the traffic rules, the driver is obliged to be guided by safety and to prevent an accident if the danger is obvious and objectively noticeable.
The question tests the section of the Traffic Rules regarding passing regulated intersections and making a left turn, as well as the section on speed and the driver's actions when danger arises. According to point 16.6, the oncoming driver who is turning left on a green signal must yield to vehicles moving straight or turning right. But if he begins the maneuver without being sure it is safe and enters your trajectory, point 12.3 applies: you must immediately reduce your speed up to stopping or safely drive around the obstacle to avoid a collision.
That is why the option stating that you can continue driving just because you "have the right of way" is incorrect in the context of the theoretical exam: having the right of way does not relieve you of the obligation to respond to a real threat. The practical meaning of this rule is simple: the correct answer in such tasks is always focused on preventing an accident, not on the formal "right of passage."
Clause 16.6
When turning left or making a U-turn at a green signal of the main traffic light, the driver of a non-rail vehicle is required to yield to a tram moving in the same direction, as well as to vehicles moving straight or turning right from the opposite direction.
Brief application: at a controlled intersection, an oncoming driver making a left turn on green must yield to vehicles coming from the opposite direction that are moving straight (that is, to you).
Clause 12.3
If a danger to traffic or an obstacle that the driver can objectively detect arises, he must immediately take measures to reduce speed up to stopping the vehicle or to safely maneuver around the obstacle for other road users.
Brief application: even if you have the right of way at the intersection, you are required to react to danger (the oncoming vehicle has started a dangerous left turn) and take measures up to stopping in order to avoid an accident.
That is, the correct answer is "You must.", given that according to the definition of the Traffic Rules, when an objectively visible danger arises (clause 12.3), the driver must immediately reduce speed up to stopping, even if the other driver was required to yield when turning left on green (clause 16.6).
At a signal-controlled intersection during a green light, the order of passing is determined not by “who is braver,” but by clear rules. If an oncoming vehicle begins to turn left, it is obligated to act in a way that does not create an obstacle for those moving straight ahead or turning right from the opposite direction.
This is stipulated by clause 16.6 of the Traffic Rules: a driver turning left (or making a U-turn) on a green signal must yield to oncoming vehicles moving straight. In this situation, you are precisely the vehicle that has the right of way, and the oncoming driver should let you pass before completing their maneuver.
However, having the right of way does not cancel the obligation to prevent an accident. If the oncoming driver, without making sure it is safe, actually moves into your path and a real threat of collision arises, this is already a danger to traffic that you can objectively notice. According to clause 12.3 of the Traffic Rules, in such a case the driver must immediately take measures to reduce speed up to stopping (or make a safe detour, if possible without risk to others).
That is, even if the oncoming driver violates the rule and “should have yielded,” you cannot continue driving while ignoring the danger. Your correct and safe course of action at the moment when their turn creates an obstacle is to reduce speed and, if necessary, stop to avoid a collision.
Therefore, the correct answer is “You must,” because according to clause 16.6 the oncoming vehicle should have yielded to you, but according to clause 12.3, when a danger arises you are required to immediately reduce speed up to stopping to prevent an accident.