Signs, signals and markings in Prince Edward Island

By the end of this topic you can

• You can explain what each traffic light, including flashing lights, requires.
• You can recognise signs by shape and colour.
• You can read yellow and white pavement lines.
• You can respond correctly to crosswalks, school signals and work zones.

What you need to know and understand

• Green is permission to go with care, still yielding to vehicles in the intersection and pedestrians in the crosswalk.
• Amber means stop unless you cannot stop safely; it lets traffic already in the intersection clear it.
• Flashing red means come to a complete stop and go only when safe. Flashing amber means slow down and go with caution.
• Yellow lines separate traffic going in opposite directions; white lines separate lanes going the same way.
• Stop lines, crosswalk lines and intersection arrows are always white.
• Construction zone speed limits apply even when workers and equipment are not working.
• Prince Edward Island has no railways, but you still need railway crossing rules when driving elsewhere.

Reading traffic lights

• Red: stop at the stop line; if none, before the crosswalk; if none, before the intersection.
• Green arrow with red: go only in the arrow's direction, yielding to traffic and pedestrians already crossing.
• School signal lights: found where traffic is heavy near schools and used when children are travelling to and from school. Obey them like any signal.
• Watch lights a block ahead and never speed up to beat a change.

Shapes and colours

Shape tells you the sign's type even if snow hides the words. Stop signs are always eight-sided, yield signs are always triangles, and regulatory signs such as speed limits are vertical rectangles. Red generally shows something that is prohibited and green shows a permitted movement. Warning signs alert you to hazards ahead, and construction signs warn of road work and possible delays; obey any flagperson's signal.

Lines on the road

• Solid yellow line: passing is not safe there.
• Broken yellow line: passing is allowed if there is no oncoming traffic and it is safe.
• Solid white line: do not change lanes. Broken white line: lane changes are allowed with care.
• Diagonal crosshatch markings: not a travel lane. Keep to the correct side.
• If there is a crosswalk but no stop line, stop before any part of your car enters the crosswalk.

Crosswalks and railway crossings

At an intersection without signals, stop when a pedestrian enters the crosswalk on or close to your side. Stop for a school crossing guard and wait until the guard has left the crosswalk. Stop for special crosswalks when their amber beacons flash. Off the Island, when a railway signal warns of a train, stop at least 5 metres from the nearest rail.

Common mistakes

• Treating a green light as a guarantee. You must still yield to pedestrians and vehicles already in the intersection.
• Speeding up on amber. Stop if you can do so safely.
• Driving through a work zone at normal speed after hours.
• Stopping past the stop line or inside the crosswalk.

Test yourself: Signs, signals and markings in Prince Edward Island

Answer each question, then read the explanation. Questions come in a random order each time.

Go deeper

• PEI road signs, pavement markings and work zones study guide