Ch. 1 · Common Conduct

Traffic rules are promises that must be kept when traveling on roads, so traffic light signals always take priority in any situation and have priority over a police officer's hand signals.

[True / False · Medium]

Answer: ✕ False

Explanation

The Rules of the Road states that even when a police officer's or traffic-directing officer's hand signals or light signals differ from traffic light signals, the police officer's or traffic-directing officer's signals take priority. As an exception, when traffic control is being conducted on site, hand signals take priority.

Driving school curriculumStage 1 – Topic 2: Following traffic signals

Hikari
Hikari
Traffic lights are the main rule, so they always take priority, even over a police officer's signals, right?
Yui
Yui
Actually, that's false. When a police officer is directing traffic on-site, their hand signals override the lights.
Hikari
Hikari
Oh wow, I totally thought the lights were king!
Yui
Yui
Nope! Think of it this way—human control adapts to the situation. Follow the officer when they're there.

Source: Ch. 1 Common Conduct · Section (第3節 警察官などの指示に従うこと) · Rules of the Road, Ch.1 §3 (Obeying police instructions) — Hand signals and flashlight signals given by police officers or traffic-directing officers override traffic-signal lights. Drivers must also comply with any specific instructions given by them about how to proceed.

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Source content excerpted from the NPA “Rules of the Road” instructional manual, in the public domain under Japanese Copyright Act Article 13(2). Explanations are AI-assisted and copyrighted by the MenkyoQuest editorial team.