Pelican crossing
A light-controlled crossing the pedestrian starts, with a flashing amber phase that means give way if anyone is still crossing.
At a pelican crossing the pedestrian presses a button and the lights run a sequence for them. The part that is unique to it, and the part the test asks about, is the flashing amber that follows the red: you may move off, but only if the crossing is clear. If someone is still on it, you wait.
It is the only common signal where amber does not simply mean stop. That is the trap — treating flashing amber as a green and moving before the crossing has emptied.
A pelican crossing that runs straight across the road without a central island counts as one crossing, even where there is a refuge in the middle, which means traffic on both halves has to respect a pedestrian still walking. Newer installations are usually puffin crossings instead, which hold the red until their sensors see the crossing is clear and so have no flashing amber at all.
22 practice questions on this
Each one shows the answer, and our note on why every other option is not it.
Car
- What must you do when the amber light is flashing at a pelican crossing? Attitude
- When may you wait in a box junction? Vehicle handling
- Which road users benefit from toucan crossings? Rules of the road
- You’re waiting at a pelican crossing. What does it mean when the red light changes to flashing amber? Rules of the road
- Where would you find these flashing red light signals? Road and traffic signs
- As you approach a pelican crossing, the lights change to green. What should you do if older people are still crossing? Vulnerable road users
- Which colour follows the green signal at a puffin crossing? Attitude
- You've driven up to a pelican crossing. What must you do while the amber light is flashing? Vulnerable road users
- You've stopped at a pelican crossing. What should you do if a disabled person is crossing slowly in front of you and the lights change to green? Vulnerable road users
Motorcycle
Lorry & Bus (LGV/PCV)
- Where would you find these flashing red lights? Road and traffic signs
- You approach a pelican crossing that goes straight across the road. How must you treat it if it has a central island? The driver
- What does the flashing amber light mean at a pelican crossing? The driver
- You've stopped at a pelican crossing. What should you do if the lights have changed to green but a disabled person is still crossing? Other road users
- At toucan crossings, pedestrians share the crossing with which other road users? Other road users
- Which light will not show to a driver at a puffin crossing? Road and traffic signs
- What colour follows the green signal at a puffin crossing? Road and traffic signs
- What must you do when you're approaching a pelican crossing in its flashing amber phase? Road and traffic signs
- As you approach a pelican crossing, the lights change to green. What should you do if an elderly couple are halfway across? Other road users
Driving Instructor (ADI Part 1)
- Your learner has stopped at a pelican crossing. They ask you to explain what the flashing amber light means. What should you tell them? Band 2 traffic signs and signals, car control, pedestrians, mechanical knowledge
- At a puffin crossing, which colour traffic light follows the green light? Band 2 traffic signs and signals, car control, pedestrians, mechanical knowledge