The stop sign is a regulatory sign. Come to a complete stop, yield to traffic and pedestrians, and go only when it is safe. Stop completely at the line or before the intersection, yield to cross traffic and pedestrians, then go only when the way is clear. It is tested in the Ontario, British Columbia, Alberta and Quebec practice banks on this site, where 13 questions ask about it, and the ones on this page carry the answer and the authority behind it.
Regulatory signs13 practice questionsTested in 4 provinces
The stop sign, drawn by us to the standard shape and colours rather than traced from any official artwork.
What it means
Come to a complete stop, yield to traffic and pedestrians, and go only when it is safe.
What to do when you see it
Stop completely at the line or before the intersection, yield to cross traffic and pedestrians, then go only when the way is clear.
How to recognise a regulatory sign
Most are white with black text or a black symbol, or plain white with a red border. Two shapes are used for exactly one meaning each and nothing else: the eight sided red stop sign and the downward pointing red triangle yield sign, so you can still read them by outline alone in poor light. A red circle with a diagonal red bar always means the thing inside the circle is not allowed.
A regulatory sign states a rule you must follow. It carries the force of law behind it, not just advice, so ignoring one is a traffic offence in its own right.
13 questions in our banks show this sign and ask what it requires. Here are 6, each with the answer marked and the authority it rests on.
OntarioG1 knowledge test
You reach this sign at a quiet intersection. You can see a long way in both directions and there is no other vehicle or person in sight. What does the sign require?
Come to a complete stop, even though the road looks empty
The duty to stop does not depend on whether anyone else is there. A complete stop means the wheels stop turning, and the rule is absolute because a rolling approach hides the cyclist or the child that a stopped driver has time to see.
Highway Traffic Act (Ontario)section 136
British ColumbiaICBC knowledge test
You reach this sign at a quiet intersection with no painted stop line and no crosswalk. Where must the vehicle actually come to rest?
Just before the point where the crossing road begins
The stop belongs at the last point where you can see along the cross street without putting your bumper in its path, so with no line and no crosswalk that point is the edge of the crossing roadway. Stopping too far back hides the cross street from you, and creeping past it hands the decision to the driver who has the right of way.
Motor Vehicle Act (British Columbia)
AlbertaClass 7 knowledge test
You come up to this sign at a quiet intersection with nothing else in sight. What does it require of you?
Come to a complete stop, then go on once you can see the way is clear
A stop sign asks for a complete stop every time, not a slow roll when the road looks empty. You stop at the stop line, or at the crosswalk or the edge of the intersection when there is no line, and you move off only once you have looked and the way is clear. An empty road is exactly where drivers stop looking, and that is where the surprise comes from.
Alberta Driver's Guide (Government of Alberta)
QuebecSAAQ knowledge test
You reach this sign on a quiet street in Quebec, where it carries the word ARRÊT rather than STOP. You can see well in both directions and nothing is coming. What does it require of you?
A full stop, because the sign means the same thing in either language
ARRÊT is the French wording used on Quebec stop signs and it carries exactly the same duty as STOP. The wheels have to stop turning, every time, whether or not anything is coming. Stopping fully is also what gives you time to look properly, because drivers who roll are looking while still moving and see less.
Highway Safety Code (Quebec)
OntarioG1 knowledge test
This sign faces you, with a painted stop line across your lane and a marked crosswalk just beyond it. Where must you bring the vehicle to a halt?
At the stop line, before your front wheels cross it
You stop at the stop line first. Where there is no line you stop before the crosswalk, and where there is neither you stop at the edge of the intersection. That order exists because the space in front of the line belongs to people crossing on foot.
Highway Traffic Act (Ontario)section 136
British ColumbiaICBC knowledge test
You come up to this sign, the cross street is empty in both directions, and there is no other vehicle in sight. What are you required to do?
Stop completely, even though the way is already clear
A stop sign asks for the wheels to stop turning every single time, not only when something is coming. The rolling stop is the fault examiners fail most often, and it exists because a driver who never truly stops almost never looks long enough to find the cyclist or the small car that was there.
Motor Vehicle Act (British Columbia)
The other 7 sit in the signs drills, which ask sign questions on their own with the reason for every answer.
Come to a complete stop, yield to traffic and pedestrians, and go only when it is safe. Stop completely at the line or before the intersection, yield to cross traffic and pedestrians, then go only when the way is clear.
What kind of sign is the stop sign?
It is a regulatory sign. A regulatory sign states a rule you must follow. It carries the force of law behind it, not just advice, so ignoring one is a traffic offence in its own right.
Which provinces test the stop sign?
It appears in the Ontario, British Columbia, Alberta and Quebec practice banks on this site: 3 in Ontario, 3 in British Columbia, 4 in Alberta, 3 in Quebec. Every question is original prose citing Highway Traffic Act (Ontario), Motor Vehicle Act (British Columbia), Alberta Driver's Guide (Government of Alberta) and Highway Safety Code (Quebec).
Sources for this page
The meaning and the action are the standard ones taught across Canada. Each question above cites the law or the guide it rests on, and the exam facts on the province pages come from the records below.
Question count and pass mark read from the Alberta driver knowledge test page on the same date, and the ride for hire rule from the Alberta ride for hire services page.
SAAQ published licensing, driving course and knowledge test information