8.1.47. What should drivers be guided by when passing this intersection?
UAЧим повинні керуватися водії під час проїзду даного перехрестя?
This is an exam question from the Traffic Rules of Ukraine (PDR) concerning safety and the correct procedure for passing intersections in situations where several means of traffic control are present simultaneously: road signs, traffic lights, and a traffic controller. Such cases often occur during traffic jams, road repairs, or increased traffic control, so understanding the hierarchy of signals directly affects the prevention of accidents and conflicts between drivers.
The question tests knowledge of the section of the Traffic Rules regarding traffic regulation and the priority of requirements (points 8.1 and 8.3). The key idea: when a traffic controller is operating at an intersection, their signals are the main and mandatory ones to follow, even if they contradict the indications of traffic lights, priority signs, or road markings. This rule is most often checked in the theoretical exam, because a mistake here means an incorrect order of passing the intersection.
If we analyze the options, relying only on the traffic light signals is incorrect, because according to point 8.3 of the Traffic Rules of Ukraine, they do not have priority over the gestures of the traffic controller. Likewise, it is wrong to be guided only by priority signs, since they determine the order of passage only when there is no regulation by traffic lights or a controller; moreover, traffic light signals (except for the flashing yellow) already have priority over priority signs. Therefore, in such conditions, the driver must regard the traffic controller as the main source of permission or prohibition to move, which is the correct logic for complying with the Traffic Rules and successfully passing the exam.
Clause 8.3
The signals of the traffic controller take precedence over traffic light signals and road sign requirements and are mandatory for compliance. Traffic light signals, except for the flashing yellow, take precedence over priority road signs. Drivers and pedestrians must comply with additional requirements of the traffic controller, even if they contradict traffic light signals, road sign requirements, and road markings.
Brief application: if traffic lights, priority signs, and a traffic controller are present at an intersection at the same time, drivers must primarily follow the signals of the traffic controller.
Clause 8.1
Traffic regulation is carried out using road signs, road markings, road equipment, traffic lights, as well as traffic controllers.
Brief application: this clause defines the means of traffic regulation, and clause 8.3 establishes their priority in case of simultaneous presence.
That is, the correct answer is "By the signals of the traffic controller," given that according to the Traffic Rules, the signals of the traffic controller take precedence over traffic light signals and road sign requirements and are mandatory for compliance.
At this intersection, several means of traffic regulation are present simultaneously: operating traffic lights, priority road signs, and a traffic controller. In such a situation, it is important to correctly determine which has priority in order to avoid making a mistake while passing through the intersection.
According to clause 8.3 of the Traffic Rules of Ukraine, the signals of the traffic controller are mandatory and take precedence over traffic light signals and the requirements of road signs. That is, when a traffic controller is present at the intersection, the driver must regard their gestures as the main “permission” or “prohibition” for movement, even if the traffic light shows something different or the priority signs establish a different order of passage.
Practically, this means the following: if you see that the traffic light allows movement, but the traffic controller prohibits it with their signal, you must not proceed. Conversely, if the traffic light would prohibit movement but the traffic controller allows it, the driver has the right to proceed, guided specifically by the controller’s signal. Priority signs at this moment also do not determine the order of passage, because the traffic controller establishes the order of movement with their gestures.
Therefore, the correct answer is “The signals of the traffic controller,” since according to clause 8.3 of the Traffic Rules, the signals of the traffic controller have the highest priority at the intersection and are mandatory, even if they contradict the traffic lights and signs.