If a flagger is directing traffic in a construction zone, you must:
- Follow the directions given by the flagger. ✓
- Copy what surrounding traffic is doing, despite the flagger's instructions.
- Assume the flagger is not supposed to be directing traffic.
- Follow the laws that would be in place if the area was not under construction.
Answer: A. Follow the directions given by the flagger.
You must follow the directions given by the flagger in a construction zone.
Why this is the answer
The Texas Driver Handbook covers flag persons in its chapter on signals, signs, and markers. It explains that a flag person is placed in work zones to stop, slow, or guide traffic through safely, wearing an orange vest and using a stop/slow paddle or red flag. The handbook lists, as a plain rule, that a flag person's instructions must be obeyed. It also says to stop in your lane when told and not move forward until the flag person tells you to, so the flagger's directions control what you do.
Why the other answers are wrong
- B. Copy what surrounding traffic is doing, despite the flagger's instructions. — Copying surrounding traffic is wrong because the handbook says to obey the flag person's instructions, not to go along with what other vehicles happen to do.
- C. Assume the flagger is not supposed to be directing traffic. — The handbook presents flag persons as a normal work zone control, placed there to guide traffic safely, so there is no basis for assuming the flagger should not be directing traffic.
- D. Follow the laws that would be in place if the area was not under construction. — Acting as if the area were not under construction is wrong because the handbook treats work zones as places where you slow down, stop, change lanes, and follow the flag person's directions.
Remember it
In a work zone, the person holding the paddle or flag is in charge of your lane, so watch that person instead of the car ahead.