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Traffic lights: what amber, red and red-amber mean
1 min read · Updated on October 17, 2026
Traffic lights control traffic clearly – yet many drivers are unsure at amber.
Vereinfachte Erklärung zum Lernen – keine Rechtsberatung. Verbindlich ist die Straßenverkehrs-Ordnung (StVO).
The phases
This is how a traffic light works:
- Green: you may go
- Amber: stop if you can still do so safely
- Red: stop before the stop line
- Red-amber: it’s about to turn green – get ready, but don’t move yet
Amber doesn’t mean “quickly get across”
If you speed up at amber, you risk crossing the junction on red. That’s dangerous and is punished with a fine and points.
In the game
In the Driving School Germany practical test, you get fault points if you don’t stop at red.
Keep going
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