2 
DIGEST OF CANAL ZONE HIGHWAY, 
VEHICLE, AND VEHICULAR TRAFFIC LAWS 
AND REGULATIONS 
PREPARED BY THE CANAL ZONE POLICE 
There is presented in this bulletin for the information and conven¬ 
ience of all concerned, a digest of certain essential features of the 
Canal Zone highway, vehicle, and vehicular traffic laws and regula¬ 
tions. This digest, although as accurate as possible in digest form, 
does not purport to be comprehensive, but covers only the more 
important information with which the public should be fully ac¬ 
quainted. Violators of the traffic law~s and regulations are punishable, 
upon conviction, by fine or imprisonment or both. 
Operators 9 Licenses 
Every person operating a motor vehicle in the Canal Zone must 
have a valid operator’s license, issued by the License Bureau in Bal¬ 
boa or Room 205, Terminal Building, Cristobal. Special provisions 
apply to official operators’ licenses for members of the armed forces. 
An applicant must be at least 18 years of age (16 years of age for motor- 
scooters or motor-bikes), and if the applicant is not yet 21 years of 
age the application must be approved by the parent, guardian, or 
other person prescribed in the regulations. Applicants may be required 
to pass an examination concerning the operation of motor vehicles 
and the traffic laws and regulations. A person learning to drive must 
t 
apply for an operator’s license, and the application operates as an 
instruction permit good for not more than 30 days during which time 
the applicant may operate a motor vehicle provided he is accompanied 
by a licensed operator who is actually occupying a seat beside the 
applicant and there is no other person in the vehicle. A tourist or 
non-resident of the Isthmus who has been issued an operator’s license 
in some other jurisdiction may be granted, without fee, a 90-day 
permit to operate motor vehicles in the Canal Zone. 
Vehicle Licenses 
All motor vehicles and trailers used or operated in the Canal Zone 
must be appropriately licensed. Licenses are issued by the License 
Bureau. A license tag must be carried on the rear of each motor 
vehicle, except official vehicles of the armed forces, and at night the 
tag must be illuminated so as to be plainly visible at 60 feet. Upon 
transfer of a licensed vehicle by sale or otherwise the license is auto¬ 
matically suspended without notice, and operation thereunder is pro¬ 
hibited, unless within ten days after the transfer the transferee has 
the license transferred to him upon application to the License Bureau 
and compliance with the necessary formalities. Any change of engines 
in a licensed vehicle must be reported to the License Bureau and a 
new license obtained, without charge, within ten days after the change. 
Tourists and non-residents of the Isthmus who bring private vehicles 
to the Canal Zone may be issued 90-day motor vehicle licenses, with¬ 
out charge. 
3 
Stopping for School Bus 
A motor vehicle meeting or overtaking a school bus which has 
stopped to receive or discharge passengers must come to a full stop 
before passing the school bus but then may proceed past the bus at a 
reasonable and prudent speed, not to exceed 10 miles per hour, with 
due caution for the safety of such passengers. A school bus is any 
vehicle of the bus type appropriately marked as a school bus on the 
front and rear thereof and being used to transport children to or from 
any school, including Sunday School, or to or from any school activity 
or function. 
Traffic Signs and Signals 
Vehicles . A “Stop” sign requires that vehicles must be brought to 
a full stop before proceeding. Traffic signal lights indicate as follows: 
go on green light; stop on red light, except that right turn may be 
made; stop on yellow light following the green signal unless stop 
cannot be made safely; on green arrow make only the movement indi¬ 
cated by the arrow; on flashing red light stop before proceeding, as in 
the case of a “Stop” sign; on flashing yellow light proceed only with 
caution. 
Pedestrians . Where intermittent red and green traffic lights are in 
operation pedestrians may not enter the highway except when facing 
the green light. Pedestrians may not start across a highway in the 
direction of any pedestrian control signal exhibiting the word “Wait.” 
Official signs and signals . It is unlawful to disobey any official 
traffic sign or signal, and it is unlawful to place at or upon any highway 
any sign, signal, or printing relating to parking or the regulation of 
traffic except by authority of the Governor or his designated agent. 
Parking 
Prohibited parking . Parking is prohibited: at the entrance to any 
public building; on any curve marked with traffic lines; within any 
designated bus stop; at any place where official signs prohibiting park¬ 
ing have been erected; within 30 feet of the front or rear line of any 
vehicle already parked or stopped on the opposite side of a highway 
that is less than 24 feet wide. 
Prohibited parking or stopping . Stopping, as well as parking, is 
prohibited: within 15 feet of a fire hydrant or of the driveway entrance 
to any fire station; on a sidewalk or crosswalk or within an intersec¬ 
tion; in front of a driveway or alley; on the roadway side of any vehicle 
stopped or parked at the edge or curb of a highway; on Or so near a 
railroad right-of-way as to affect railroad traffic thereon; more than 
six inches from the curb or shoulder of a highway unless a designation 
of parking spaces requires otherwise; where prohibition is indicated by 
public notice (circular, bulletin, or poster, or signs or printing on the 
highway). 
Parking on certain highways . Parking is prohibited on the following 
highways from 6 p. m. to 6 a. m.: Balboa Road, 4th of July Avenue. 
On the following highways it is prohibited to park without lights 
(one red light in rear and at least one bright front light on the road¬ 
way side of the vehicle) between 6 p. m. and 6 a. m.: Balboa Sub¬ 
division —-Barth Road, Barroquin Highway,Bruja Road, Diablo Road. 
