If an officer is directing traffic at a working traffic light, drivers should:
- Follow the directions indicated by the traffic light.
- Follow the directions given by the officer. ✓
- Honk at the officer.
- Check to see what the cars next to them are doing.
Answer: B. Follow the directions given by the officer.
Follow the directions given by the officer.
Why this is the answer
The handbook passage says drivers must use caution and reduce speed when a law enforcement officer directs them, and that failing to follow those directions is illegal and dangerous. It does not say to keep obeying the traffic light when an officer is actively directing traffic. Since the officer is giving live directions, those directions control what you do. The handbook passage is written for work zones, but the principle it states is that you follow the officer's directions.
Why the other answers are wrong
- A. Follow the directions indicated by the traffic light. — Following the traffic light would ignore the officer's active directions, and the handbook says drivers must follow directions given by a law enforcement officer.
- C. Honk at the officer. — Honking at the officer is not a direction to follow and does not help you proceed as the officer directs.
- D. Check to see what the cars next to them are doing. — Watching nearby cars is not a traffic signal or an officer's direction, so it does not tell you what the officer wants you to do.
Remember it
Think of the officer as the live control and the light as the automatic one when someone is actively directing traffic.