You are waiting to turn left at a signalised intersection showing a solid green light, with no green arrow. Oncoming traffic is moving through steadily. What does the green light mean for your turn?

Why B is correct

A solid green is a permission to enter the intersection, not a protected permission to turn. Oncoming traffic moving straight ahead holds the same green, so it has priority over your left turn, and pedestrians crossing with the light have priority over both. You may enter and wait for a gap, but the turn itself must be completed without forcing anyone to brake, swerve or slow. A green arrow, by contrast, is the signal that reserves the movement for you. Confusing the two is a classic cause of intersection collisions.

Why the other options are wrong

A. You may turn whenever a gap opens, and oncoming traffic must slow to let you complete it

Oncoming traffic on a green light is not required to accommodate your turn. If you turn into a gap that is only theoretically large, you force a legal driver travelling straight to take evasive action, which makes the collision your fault.

C. You must wait for the light to turn red before starting the turn

Waiting for red is both dangerous and usually illegal: by the time the light changes, your car is sitting in the middle of the junction blocking cross traffic. The correct habit is to start the turn as the light changes only if you are already committed and the way is clear.

D. The solid green gives turning traffic the same priority as a green arrow

A green arrow protects the turning movement by halting the conflicting traffic. A solid green protects nobody: it simply permits entry, and the turning driver carries the entire duty of finding a safe gap among traffic and pedestrians that have their own green.

On the road

You are third in the left-turn queue at a busy Denver junction. The light is solid green, oncoming cars arrive in bunches, and pedestrians are waiting to cross. You edge forward into the intersection as the first gap forms. If the gap closes before you can clear the oncoming lane, you hold inside the intersection and complete the turn as the light changes, when oncoming traffic is stopping — not before, and not by forcing a sedan to brake for you.

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