A steady yellow light at an intersection means:
- Go.
- Yield to other cars.
- Slow down and prepare to stop. ✓
- Stop.
Answer: C. Slow down and prepare to stop.
A steady yellow light means you should slow down and prepare to stop, getting ready for the light to turn red.
Why this is the answer
The handbook says a steady yellow light warns you to use caution because the signal is about to turn red. It also says you must stop before the nearest crosswalk if you can do that safely, and only go on cautiously through the intersection when a safe stop is not possible. So yellow is a warning to slow and get ready to stop, not a signal to speed up or keep going.
Why the other answers are wrong
- A. Go. — Going is what a steady green light allows, while a steady yellow warns that the light is about to change to red.
- B. Yield to other cars. — Yielding to other cars is not what the steady yellow light tells you; the handbook ties yielding to oncoming traffic to a flashing yellow left-turn arrow.
- D. Stop. — Coming to a complete stop and yielding before proceeding is what a stop sign requires, and the yellow light only requires a stop if you can make it safely.
Remember it
Yellow is a warning, not a green: ease off the gas and get ready for red.
Official handbook: Texas Driver Handbook (DL-7), Chapter 4: Right-of-Way , p. 25