Signs, Signals and Pavement Markings: Who May Override Traffic Control Devices, Signals That Are Not Working, Every Vehicle Signal From Steady Red to Lane Use Signals, Crosswalk Signals, Sign Colors Including Pink and Black, Sign Shapes Including the Trapezoid and Crossbuck, Regulatory Signs, Warning Signs, Overhead, Route, Service and Mile Marker Signs, Every Line Marking, Stop and Yield Lines, Word Markings, Shared-Use Markings, Crosswalks and Bike Lanes

Written for aiforu2 as the source for a practice-test bank and the on-device tutor for the Maryland MVA knowledge test. The facts follow the official manual; the wording is ours.

Source: Maryland Driver's Manual (MDOT MVA, December 2025), Section 4 "Signs, Signals and Pavement Markings" (pages 17–25).

Traffic control devices

Everyone must obey signals, signs and pavement markings, and disobeying them is a major cause of crashes. Only a police officer or other emergency personnel, or a uniformed school crossing guard near a school, can direct you to do otherwise. You may not cut across private property or leave the road to avoid a traffic control device. When a signal is not working, stop at the marked stop line, or before the crosswalk, or before the intersection, yield to vehicles and pedestrians in the intersection, and stay stopped until it is safe to go through.

Vehicle signals

Steady red: stop completely at the stop line, or before the crosswalk and intersection, and stay stopped; unless a sign prohibits it, after a full stop you may turn right, or turn left from a one-way street onto another one-way street, yielding to pedestrians and all other traffic. Steady yellow: the signal is changing to red, giving you time to stop safely and vehicles already in the intersection time to clear; if you are too close to stop safely, carefully continue through. Steady green: proceed with caution after checking that no vehicles are in the intersection, going straight or turning unless a sign or signal forbids the turn, and yielding to pedestrians and vehicles already there. Steady red arrow: stop completely before the stop line, crosswalk or intersection if you want to go the arrow's way and stay stopped while it is red. Steady yellow arrow: permission to turn that way is ending; slow and proceed with caution. Steady green arrow: proceed with caution in that direction, yielding to pedestrians and vehicles already in the intersection. Flashing red: stop completely at the line, crosswalk or intersection, yield to all traffic and pedestrians, and go when clear; at a railroad crossing a flashing red requires a complete stop even with no train in sight, until it stops flashing and the way is clear. Flashing yellow: slow down and proceed with caution. Flashing red arrow: stop completely, yield to everyone, and proceed in the arrow's direction when clear. Lane use signals over reversible lanes: never drive under a red X, drive under a green arrow, leave the lane as soon as safe under a steady yellow X, and use the lane for a left turn, shared with opposing left-turners, under a flashing yellow X or two-way left-turn arrows.

Crosswalk signals

A pedestrian pushes a button to stop traffic. For drivers the beacon means: dark, go; flashing yellow, slow down; solid yellow, get ready to stop; solid red, stop; flashing red, stop and then proceed with caution. For pedestrians it means stop and push, wait, look both ways and start after traffic stops, do not start but finish if started, and stop because traffic is moving.

Sign colors and shapes

Red means stop, yield, do not enter or wrong way; yellow a general warning; white speed limit, keep right and some guide signs; orange construction and maintenance; green destinations, distances and directions; blue services such as food, gas and rest areas; brown recreation and cultural areas; fluorescent yellow-green school, pedestrian and bicycle signs; fluorescent pink emergency traffic incidents; black one-way signs and signs with changing messages. The octagon always means stop; the triangle yield; the diamond a warning; the pennant the start of a no-passing zone; the rectangle regulation or guidance (vertical for rules, horizontal for directions); the pentagon school zones and crossings; the round sign a railroad crossing ahead; the crossbuck the crossing itself; and the trapezoid recreation areas and National Forest routes.

Regulatory, warning and guide signs

The stop sign is the only eight-sided sign: stop fully at the stop line, or before the crosswalk, or before the intersection, yield to everyone in the intersection and stay stopped until it is safe. The yield sign is the only three-sided sign: slow, look left and right, yield to pedestrians, bicycles and vehicles, and go only when safe. Black-on-white rectangles set the maximum speed limit and other rules: no right turn, no left turn, no U-turn, no turns, left turn only, do not enter, no parking, no turn on red, do not pass, stay right of median, left turn yield on green, bike lane, wrong way, disability parking, a two-way left center lane usable from either direction, one way (traffic moves only with the arrow) and HOV lanes usable only with the number of occupants on the sign. Warning signs announce stop, yield and signal ahead, sharp right turns, pedestrian crossings, roundabouts, exit-ramp advisory speeds, no-passing zones, merging roads, road divides and divided road ends, curves, sharp turns, side roads, lane ends, intersections and T intersections, railroads before a T, steep hills, slippery pavement, truck, trail, pedestrian, bicycle and wildlife crossings, flaggers, roadwork, detours, school crossings and bus stops, and work zones with increased fines active when flashing. Overhead lane-use signs show destinations and lane use; route markers show interstate, U.S. and state routes; service and guide signs show park and ride, lodging, hospitals, gas, airports, food and train stations; and mile markers stand every mile on interstates so you can tell a tow truck or emergency crew where you are.

Line markings

A single broken white line separates same-direction lanes where lane changes are allowed. A single broken yellow line is the center line of a two-lane, two-way road where careful passing is allowed in either direction. A single solid white line marks the right edge or separates same-direction lanes where changing is discouraged. A single solid yellow line marks the left edge on divided highways, one-way roads and ramps. Double broken yellow lines mark reversible lanes, entered as signs and signals allow. Double solid white lines separate same-direction lanes where lane changes are prohibited, divide HOV lanes, or precede obstructions you may pass on either side. Double solid yellow lines prohibit passing in both directions, though you may turn left across them into a driveway. A solid plus broken yellow pair allows careful passing only from the broken side, and also edges two-way left-turn lanes with solid lines outside and broken inside. Dotted yellow or white lines carry lane lines through intersections, where you stay inside them. A stop line is a solid white line showing where to stop for a sign or red signal; yield lines are rows of triangles showing where to yield. Word and symbol markings warn of lane reductions, show lane use and direction, and print SCHOOL and RxR ahead of school areas and railroad crossings. Shared-use lane markings, mostly in cities, alert drivers to bicyclists, show them where to ride and discourage wrong-way riding; crosswalks are solid white lines, sometimes with lines between or in place of them; bike lanes are separated by solid or broken white lines and marked with signs or symbols and arrows, and similar lines separate them from parking lanes.

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