Turn signal indicator
The direction indicator on that side is flashing. Both rules make the turn-signal telltale green; the two arrows may be shown as separate symbols when left and right work independently (note 3 in UN R121, note 6 in FMVSS 101).
Green
What to do
Nothing is wrong. Cancel it once you have turned. If it flashes noticeably faster than usual, many cars are telling you a bulb is out on that side — check the manual.
Makes differ: what this light means on your car, the other colours it may use for the symbol and what the car wants you to do are set by the manufacturer, so your car's owner's manual is the authority.
- Symbol
- Two arrows pointing apart
- Colour
- Green
What the colour means
Green — “safety”
The colour code gives “green: safety” (Directive 2009/80/EC, Annex I, 2.1.4). In both tables green marks lamps that are simply switched on — turn signals, dipped beam, position lamps — and FMVSS 101 also allows it for the high-beam telltale.
Where the regulations list it
| Rule | Row | Colour it sets |
|---|---|---|
| FMVSS 101 | Table 1, “Turn signals” — telltale | green |
| UN R121 | Table, item 5 “Direction indicator” — tell-tale | green |
FMVSS 101: Passenger cars, multipurpose passenger vehicles, trucks and buses sold in the US (S3). Table 1 gives the symbol or words and, where one is required, the colour of each telltale; Table 2 lists identifiers with no colour requirement. UN R121: Cars (category M) and light goods vehicles (N1) type-approved under the UN 1958 Agreement, which includes the EU, UK and Japan (para 1). Its table gives the symbol and colour of each tell-tale; note 2 says the symbols are substantially identical to those of ISO 2575:2004.
Other green lights
Sources
- eCFR — 49 CFR 571.101, Standard No. 101; Controls and displays (current text) — checked 2026-09-23
- govinfo — 49 CFR 571.101 in the Code of Federal Regulations, 1 October 2025 edition (Tables 1 and 2 as printed) — checked 2026-09-23
- EUR-Lex — UN Regulation No. 121 (01 series), Official Journal of the EU L 5, 8 January 2016: table 'Symbols, their illumination and colours' — checked 2026-09-23
- Directive 2009/80/EC, Annex I, point 2.1.4 — the tell-tale colour meanings as written into EU law (for two- and three-wheel vehicles) — checked 2026-09-23
Meanings are written in our own words from these public texts, not quoted from ISO 2575, and were checked on the date shown.