Ch. 1 · Common Conduct

If a traffic-directing police officer is signalling with both arms held straight up overhead, this carries the same meaning as a red light for vehicles approaching from the direction the arms point toward.

[True / False · Hard]

Answer: ✕ False

Explanation

With a uniformed officer's arms raised straight up, traffic that faces the officer's front or back is treated as if a red signal were displayed, while traffic moving parallel to the outstretched arms (i.e. coming from the officer's sides) is treated as if a yellow signal were displayed. The question's claim about "vehicles approaching from the direction the arms point toward" describes the sides — that traffic gets a yellow, not a red. Reference: Road Traffic Act Enforcement Order Article 2 (1); Rules of the Road Chapter 1, Section 3, Appendix Table 1 (3).

Driving school curriculumStage 1 – Topic 2: Following traffic signals

Hikari
Hikari
Arms pointing straight up means red for wherever they're pointing, right?
Yui
Yui
Actually, that's false! When the officer's arms are straight up, traffic facing their front or back sees red — but traffic from the sides gets a yellow signal.
Hikari
Hikari
Wait, so 'the direction the arms point' isn't front and back?
Yui
Yui
Exactly! Arms overhead point to the sides, and those drivers get yellow, not red. Think of it as the arms forming a line — parallel traffic sees yellow.

Source: Ch. 1 Common Conduct · Section (第3節 警察官などの指示に従うこと) · 第3節 警察官などの指示に従うこと

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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.