Traffic lights apply before traffic rules.

Traffic management is regulated through traffic rules, signs, road markings, traffic lights, and manual traffic direction.

If any of these regulations come into conflict with one another, there is a hierarchy (often called the pyramid of authority) that decides which instructions take precedence.

The pyramid of authority has the following structure:

PolicePolice

Light signalsLight signals

Traffic signs and road markingsTraffic signs and road markings

Traffic rulesTraffic rules