Traffic controller signals: the three positions

📅 Updated 2026-09-06 · Skaityti lietuviškai 🇱🇹

When traffic lights fail or congestion builds, a traffic controller may direct traffic at a junction. Controllers appear rarely on Lithuanian roads, so even experienced drivers forget the signals — yet there are only three basic positions.

1. Arm raised up

Everyone stops — vehicles from all directions and pedestrians. Equivalent to a yellow/red light. If you are already in the junction, complete your manoeuvre.

2. Arms stretched sideways or lowered

Traffic may proceed from the controller's left and right sides (along the chest–back axis): vehicles go straight or turn right; pedestrians may cross behind and in front of the controller. Traffic facing the controller's chest or back must stop.

3. Right arm stretched forward

Key exam facts

A controller's signals override traffic lights and priority signs. A controller is an authorised person in uniform or with an identifying item (armband, baton, disc with a red reflector or a bright flag) — usually a police officer, but also a level-crossing attendant or road worker.