You are waiting in the middle of an intersection to turn left when the light turns yellow. Oncoming cars are still moving through at speed. What should you do?

Why D is correct

A driver who entered the intersection on a green light already owns that space. When the light changes, cross traffic does not gain permission to drive into you, and your obligation is to clear the junction without panicking. Oncoming vehicles keep their priority while the signal is changing, so you wait until the last one passes or stops, then complete the turn. Keeping the wheels pointed straight while you wait matters more than most drivers realise: if someone rear-ends you with the front wheels already turned left, the impact shoves you straight into the opposing lane. That is why instructors repeat it — wheels straight, foot on the brake, turn only when you actually move.

Why the other options are wrong

A. Back up into the lane you came from

Reversing out of an intersection is unpredictable to everyone around you and puts you back into a lane that has already been given permission to move. Nothing about the situation improves by backing up.

B. Turn right instead so you are out of the way

Changing destination mid-manoeuvre is exactly the sort of surprise that causes collisions. Drivers behind you are already committed to following you through the turn, and abandoning it leaves them with nowhere useful to go.

C. Complete the turn at once, because hesitation is what makes it dangerous

Turning immediately means crossing the path of cars that still have the right of way and are travelling at full speed. The delay you are trying to avoid lasts seconds; the clearance you need to judge is measured in car lengths.

On the road

It is the classic late-afternoon scene: one car waits past the stop line at a busy left, nose angled toward the gap. The light goes yellow, the oncoming lane finally empties, and the car slips through on red while everyone behind it waits. That is the manoeuvre working correctly.

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