Box junction
Criss-cross yellow lines you may only enter when your exit is clear — with one exception for turning right.
The yellow criss-cross marking exists to stop a junction being blocked by traffic that has nowhere to go. The rule is simple: do not enter the box unless your exit road is clear. Queueing traffic ahead means you wait on your side of it, even if the box itself is empty and the lights are green.
There is one exception, and it is the part worth remembering. You may enter and wait in the box when you are turning right and the only thing stopping you is oncoming traffic, or other vehicles that are also waiting to turn right. That is the single case where sitting in the box is correct.
They are placed where blocking is most damaging — busy crossroads, junctions on bus routes, fire and ambulance station exits. Drifting forward with the car in front, rather than judging your own exit, is how people end up stranded across one.
6 practice questions on this
Each one shows the answer, and our note on why every other option is not it.
Car
- When may you wait in a box junction? Vehicle handling
- When may you enter a box junction? Rules of the road
- When may you stop and wait in a box junction? Rules of the road
- Where would you see this road marking? Road and traffic signs
- You want to turn right at a box junction. What should you do if there's oncoming traffic? Rules of the road