Road sign P-3: Traffic lights

What it means

«Peligro por la proximidad de una intersección aislada o tramo con la circulación regulada por semáforos.» RD 465/2025, Annex I of the RGC (BOE-A-2025-12199), Spanish original.

The sign warns that an isolated junction, or a whole stretch, with traffic regulated by lights is approaching. It is a warning: the light will give the order when you arrive, not the triangle (RGC art. 144.1).

Where you meet it

It is placed before the crossing or the stretch with lights, because the point is to give you time to prepare. The triangle warns of a risk that is hard to see in time (RGC art. 144).

What you must do

Moderate your speed and get ready to obey the light when you have it ahead. The triangle does not regulate priority by itself: in the order of precedence, traffic lights rank above vertical signs (RGC art. 133).

Details that count

What rules when you arrive. The traffic light is the signal that regulates the right of way at that junction, so the general rule of article 57 does not apply: it holds only where no sign regulates priority (RGC arts. 56.3 and 57.1). And do not mix lights: a lane light speaks only of lane occupancy, not of priority at the junction (RGC Annex I, para. 4.3.b).

What it is confused with

It is confused with P-1, the junction-with-priority triangle. Both speak of a nearby junction, but P-3 warns that a traffic light rules there, while P-1 warns that the users of the other road must give way. You also tell it from P-4, which warns of a roundabout.

Related signs

• P-1: Junction with priority
• P-4: Roundabout
• P-2: Junction with priority from the right

Studied in topic 12: Traffic lights.

Source: RGC arts. 56.3, 57.1, 133, 144.1; RGC Annex I, para. 4.3.b; RGC Annex I, sign P-3 (RD 465/2025).