Know the Road: Pavement Markings, Traffic Signals, HAWK Signals, Sign Shapes and Colors, Regulatory, Warning, Guide, Work Area and Railroad Signs: White and Yellow Edge Lines, Dashed and Solid Lane Lines, Center Lines and Yield Lines, Double Yellow Lines You May Cross to Turn, Crosswalks and Stop Lines, Transit, Bicycle and HOV Reserved Lanes, the Shared Center Lane, Reversible Lanes and Their Overhead Signals, Diagonal Stripes and Sharrows, Red, Yellow and Green Lights and Arrows, the Five Phases of a HAWK Pedestrian Signal, the Octagon, Triangle, Diamond, Rectangle, Pentagon, Circle and Pennant, Sign Colors From Red to Brown, Stop, Yield, Do Not Enter, Wrong Way, No U-Turn, One Way, Keep Right and No Passing, Warning Signs From Signal Ahead to the Rapid Flashing Beacon, Route, Service, Destination and Milepost Signs, Detours and Flaggers, Railroad Signs, the Blue ENS Sign and Message Boards

Written for aiforu2 as the source for a practice-test bank and the on-device tutor for the Connecticut Class D learner's permit knowledge test. The facts follow the official manual; the wording is ours.

Source: Connecticut Driver's Manual (DMV, March 2023), Chapter 5 "Know the Road" (pages 43–52).

Pavement markings

Lines and symbols divide lanes, tell you when you may pass or change lanes, which lanes turn, where to stop for signs and signals, and where pedestrians walk. Edge lines are solid lines along the roadside: white on the right edge, yellow on the left edge of divided roads. Lane lines are white lines between same-direction lanes: dashed white lines may be crossed to change lanes when safe, and solid white lines mean stay in your lane unless a special situation requires a change. Center lines are yellow lines between opposing lanes: dashed yellow lines between single opposing lanes allow passing; a dashed yellow line beside a solid yellow line allows passing from the dashed side but not the solid side; and double solid yellow lines mark the center where passing is not allowed, though they may be crossed for a left turn to or from an alley, private road, driveway or street. Yield lines mark where you must yield, such as a mid-block crosswalk. When a sign or signal requires a stop, stop before the stop line; crosswalks define where pedestrians cross, marked or not, and you yield to anyone in or about to enter one. Reserved lanes are marked by signs and often a white diamond beside or on the road: "transit" or "bus" means buses only, "bicycle" means bicycles only, and "HOV" (high occupancy vehicle) with a diamond means vehicles with more than one occupant, the sign stating how many. A shared center lane is reserved for left turns, or U-turns where permitted, by traffic from both directions, marked by alternating left-turn arrows and by a solid yellow line with a dashed yellow line on each side, and in some areas becomes a reversible lane at rush hour, so be sure you may enter it and that it is safe. Reversible lanes carry traffic one way at some times and the other way at others, usually marked by double dashed yellow lines, with signs beside or above the road and often overhead signals: a green arrow means you may use the lane beneath it, a red X means you may not, a flashing yellow X means the lane is only for turning, and a steady yellow X means the lane's use is changing and you should leave it as soon as safe. Yellow or white diagonal stripes mark fixed obstructions; solid white or yellow lines may channel traffic around a hazard; a double solid white line prohibits lane changes; curb markings, fire lanes and pavement markings may mark no-parking areas; and a bicycle sharrow, two chevrons above a bicycle symbol, marks a shared lane where bicycles may be present.

Traffic signals

Signals tell you when and where to stop and go; green means go if safe, yellow means caution, red means stop, usually at intersections in a red-yellow-green stack with single lights at some spots. Red means stop and wait for green and for crossing traffic to clear; you may turn right on red after a full stop if no oncoming traffic is coming and no sign prohibits it, watching for pedestrians. Yellow means the light is about to turn red, so stop if it is safe, but if you are already in the intersection when it appears, continue through. Green means you may go, yielding to emergency vehicles and others as the law requires; if you were stopped, let crossing traffic clear first; a steady green allows a left turn only when safe; and a right turn yields to pedestrians. A flashing red light means the same as a stop sign, a full stop and go when safe; a flashing yellow means slow and proceed with caution. A red arrow means stop and do not go in that direction until it goes out and a green arrow or light appears; a yellow arrow means the green arrow's protection is ending, so prepare to stop if turning that way; a green arrow means you may turn safely that way, with no oncoming or crossing traffic while it shows. A HAWK (High-Intensity Activated Crosswalk) signal, a circular yellow light under two side-by-side red lights, is activated by a pedestrian's push button and requires vehicles to stop completely while the pedestrian crosses and move on once the crossing is finished: dark means not activated, proceed; flashing yellow means a pedestrian has activated it; solid yellow means the signal is about to change and your movement is ending; solid red means pedestrians are in the crosswalk and you must stop; and flashing red means the signal is about to deactivate, so stop but proceed once pedestrians have cleared.

Sign shapes and colors

Shapes and colors give clues to a sign's message. The octagon always means stop: come to a complete stop at the sign, stop line, crosswalk or curb, then yield to any vehicle or pedestrian from either direction. The triangle means yield: slow to a reasonable speed, yield, and stop if necessary. The diamond warns of special conditions or hazards ahead. Rectangles and squares serve regulatory, warning and guide purposes, vertical ones giving instructions or the law and horizontal ones directions or information. The pentagon marks school zones and school crossings, sometimes with a downward-arrow plaque showing the crosswalk's location. The circle marks a railroad crossing ahead, so slow, look and listen. The pennant, three-sided, stands on the left side of a two-lane, two-way road at the start of a no-passing zone, where no-passing markings also appear. All red signs are regulatory and must be obeyed: Stop, Yield, Do Not Enter, Wrong Way. Some black-and-white signs are regulatory and others are route markers. Yellow warns of road conditions and dangers; orange warns of construction and maintenance; green guides, telling where you are, which way to go and how far; fluorescent yellow-green may mark pedestrian, bicycle and school warnings; blue guides to services; brown marks parks and recreation.

Regulatory signs

Regulatory signs are square, rectangular or specially shaped, usually white, red or black with black, red, white or green letters or symbols, giving the rules for direction, lane use, turning, speed, parking and special situations, and a red circle with a red slash prohibits the action shown, such as no left turn, no right turn or no U-turn. The stop sign, eight sides, red with white letters, requires a full stop at the sign or stop line until crossing vehicles and pedestrians have cleared, pulling forward only when safe. The yield sign, a downward triangle, red and white with red letters, means slow and yield to traffic in the intersection you cross or the road you enter. Do Not Enter, a square with a white bar in a red ball, marks openings you must not enter such as wrong-way exit ramps, divided-road crossovers and many one-way streets. Wrong Way marks a one-way street, expressway ramp or the wrong side of a divided highway: do not pass it, turn around. No U-Turn signs deserve special notice on divided highways and expressways at openings that lead to the other side. Movement prohibition signs, beside the road or over the lane, sometimes with painted arrows, forbid movements from a lane or approach. One Way signs on streets and driveways mean go only with the arrow. Lane use control signs show the movement permitted from a lane. Keep Right tells you which side of a traffic island, median or obstruction to drive on. No Passing signs, with markings, show where passing is forbidden based on sight distance and hidden hazards such as hills, curves, intersections and driveways, marking the start and end of passing zones; even where passing is allowed, pass only when safe. Disabled Parking signs reserve spaces for those with disabled parking privileges. Speed Limit signs give the maximum for the road.

Warning signs

Warning signs, usually yellow with black lettering and mostly diamonds, tell you to slow and be ready to stop for a special situation or hazard: Signal Ahead and Stop Ahead, slow and prepare to stop; Reduction in Lanes on multi-lane highways, prepare to change lanes or let others merge; No Passing, the start of a no-passing zone; Merge, two lanes becoming one with both responsible for merging smoothly; Pedestrian Crossing, watch for people crossing, ready to slow and stop, sometimes with an arrow plaque marking the crosswalk; School Zone, slow for school grounds, watch for children, be ready to stop and obey crossing guards; the Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacon, helping pedestrians cross busy streets at uncontrolled approaches to unsignalized intersections or mid-block crossings; Slippery When Wet, reduce speed, avoid hard braking or sudden direction changes and lengthen your following distance on all wet roads and especially here; Two-Way Roadway, leaving a divided road for a two-way highway; the Advisory Speed plaque below another warning giving the advisory speed; Divided Highway Begins, the road splitting into two one-way roadways, keep right; Change in Direction chevrons on the outside of sharp curves or approaches to narrow bridges; intersection signs for a crossroad, side road, T-intersection and Y-intersection, sometimes with the cross road's name; and turn and curve signs whose arrow shape shows what to expect, right and left turns coming, a road curving right and left, a road curving right, a right turn ahead and a winding road ahead, sometimes with a safe-speed plaque.

Guide, work area and railroad signs

Guide signs, mostly rectangular, direct you to places, telling where you are, what road you are on and how to reach your destination. Route number signs show by shape and color whether a road is interstate, US, state, city or county; plan with a map and follow the route signs. Parks and recreation signs are brown. Service signs are blue squares or rectangles with white symbols for rest areas, gas stations, campgrounds and hospitals. Destination and distance signs are always green, directing you to bike routes, parking, mileposts and exits; mileposts stand every mile along a freeway from one end of the state to the other, zero usually at the south and west borders, and with the milepost and exit numbers you can compute the distance to your exit. Information signs, also green, mark state lines, city limits and other boundaries, streams, elevations and landmarks. Work area signs, orange diamonds or rectangles with black letters or symbols for construction, maintenance or emergency operations, warn of people working near the road, reduced speeds, detours, slow equipment and poor or changing surfaces, and a person with a sign or flag may control traffic, whom you must obey: a Detour sign begins an alternate route around a closed road, and a Flag Person sign warns of a flagger ahead, normally in an orange or yellow vest or yellow-green shirt or jacket, using Stop/Slow paddles and red flags to direct traffic and let workers and vehicles cross. Never try to beat a train, never start across without room on the far side that would leave you stopped on the tracks, avoid shifting gears on the tracks lest you stall, and remember trains are large and faster than they look; a blue Emergency Notification System sign at every crossing gives a 24-hour number to report problems or emergencies. The round yellow railroad crossing sign with an X and "RR" stands before a crossing; the white X-shaped crossbuck reading "Railroad Crossing" stands at the crossing and means the same as a yield sign, so yield to trains; and where a crossbuck has flashing lights and a gate, stop when the lights begin to flash and before the gate lowers, stay stopped until the gates rise and the lights stop, and never drive around a lowered gate; pedestrians likewise may not cross when warned by a signal, gate, flagger or officer. Message boards, portable or permanent, give traffic, road, weather and hazard information, and you must obey any directions they post.

Practise this with Connecticut Driver License questions

More of this guide