Signs, Signals and Pavement Markings: Sign Colors and Shapes, Regulatory Signs From Stop to Center Lane Left-Turn Only, Roundabout and Lane-Use Signs, Disability Parking, Warning Signs Including Railroad, School, Slow-Moving Vehicle, Animal-Drawn Vehicle and Intersection Signs, Construction Signs and the $300 Fine, Brown, Blue and Green Signs, Route Markers, Every Signal Light and Arrow, Gridlock, Pedestrian Signals, Lane-Use Control Signals, Ramp Meters, White and Yellow Lines, Turn Lanes, Center Turn Lanes, Reversible and Carpool Lanes and Traffic Officers
Written for aiforu2 as the source for a practice-test bank and the on-device tutor for the Minnesota Class D knowledge test. The facts follow the official manual; the wording is ours.
Source: Minnesota Driver's Manual (DPS DVS, June 2026 edition), Chapter 5 "Signs, signals and pavement markings" (pages 56–71).
Colors and shapes
Minnesota's signs follow national standards, and shape and color tell you the kind of message before you can read it. Red prohibits and commands; white regulates; yellow warns; yellow-green warns and controls at pedestrian and bicycle crossings and school areas; orange warns in construction zones; green guides and informs; blue describes motorist services; brown marks historic, cultural and recreational sites. Common shapes are the octagon, triangle, diamond, pentagon, crossbuck, circle and rectangle.
Regulatory signs
Regulatory signs state the law, and disobeying one can bring a citation and fine. Stop: stop completely and stay stopped until pedestrians and vehicles with the right-of-way have cleared, then proceed with caution. Yield: slow or stop if needed and give the right-of-way to everyone. Do Not Enter: do not enter that lane or road. Wrong Way: you are in a lane of oncoming traffic. A red circle and slash over a symbol forbids that action: No Left Turn, No Right Turn, No U-Turn, No Parking. Speed Limit signs give the maximum, and controlled-access interstates may post a minimum you may not go under unless weather or road conditions require. Do Not Pass marks the start of a no-passing zone. One Way: traffic in that lane flows only with the arrow. Keep Right: stay right of an island, median or obstruction. A roundabout lane sign tells you which lane serves each movement, for example right lane only for right turns, left lane only for left turns, and straight from either. Lane-use control signs mean you must turn from that lane, or that the right lane may go straight or turn. No Turn on Red: wait for green. Center Lane Left-Turn Only: the center lane is shared and used only for left turns from either direction. Reduced Speed Ahead: a lower limit is posted ahead, start slowing. A diamond symbol marks a lane for limited use, such as vehicles with two or more people, buses, commercial vehicles or bicycles. Blue disability parking signs reserve spaces for vehicles with disability plates or a permit; when those spaces are full, a permit holder may park at an angle across two standard spaces.
Warning signs
Most warning signs are yellow; pedestrian, bicycle and school signs may be fluorescent yellow-green. Railroad crossings have warning signs, pavement markings (a stop line, an X and the letters RR), gates and flashing red lights; the X-shaped crossbuck marks the crossing, with a plaque below for more than one track; an Exempt sign means buses and trucks that normally stop may proceed, though everyone still looks both ways. The round Railroad Crossing Ahead sign tells you to slow, look both ways and be ready to stop, since trains cannot stop quickly. The pentagon School Zone sign marks a school or school crosswalk ahead; School Crossing and Pedestrian Crossing signs, with an arrow plaque marking the crossing, mean watch and yield to pedestrians. The No Passing Zone pennant stands on the left side of a two-way highway at the start of a no-passing zone. The Slow-Moving Vehicle emblem must be shown by vehicles traveling 30 mph or less, such as farm implements and animal-drawn vehicles; the Animal-Drawn Vehicle sign warns of them, and such vehicles must show a light visible within 500 feet from sunset to sunrise or in poor visibility. Intersection signs: Crossroad (prepare to yield), Side Road (traffic entering from the side shown), T-Intersection Ahead (your road ends; turn and yield to cross traffic) and Y-Intersection Ahead (the road splits). Curve (slow to any posted advisory speed), Roundabout (slow to the advisory speed and be ready to stop), Winding Road, Two-Way Traffic Ahead (leaving a one-way road; keep right), Divided Highway Begins and Ends, Traffic Signal Ahead, Road Turns Ahead (a sharp change of direction), Crossing signs for animals, people and vehicles, Slippery Road (often near bridges), Steep Hill (check your brakes), Lane Ends (the right lane merges left and must yield), Merging Traffic (be ready to let vehicles in), Added Lane (no merge needed), Low Clearance (do not proceed if taller than posted) and Narrow Bridge.
Construction, guide, service and route signs
Orange signs with black letters mark work zones; slow down when you see one. Drums, cones, tubes, flashing arrows and orange-and-white barriers keep traffic out of danger, and people with orange signs, flags or stop signs direct traffic and must be obeyed. Signs warn of a flagger ahead or workers on the road; speeding in a work zone with workers present costs $300. Brown signs mark historic sites and parks; blue signs point to telephones, gas, food, motels, hospitals and rest areas; green signs give exits, distances, interchanges, street and route names and bicycle routes. Route markers identify interstate freeways, US highways, Minnesota highways and county roads by their shape.
Traffic signals
Signals serve busy intersections. If one is not working, treat the intersection as uncontrolled. Do not enter a signalized intersection unless you can clear it immediately, continuously and completely without blocking cross traffic, unless an officer directs you, you are clearing the way for an emergency vehicle, or you are turning out of it. Steady red: stop completely at the stop line, before the crosswalk or before the intersection and wait; after stopping you may turn right when clear and traffic is permitted that way unless a "No Turn on Red" sign is posted, and left from a one-way onto a one-way after a complete stop, a clear intersection, yielding to pedestrians and vehicles, and only into the direction traffic travels. Red arrow: stop as for a red light; go in the arrow's direction when it turns green. Flashing red: a stop sign; stop, yield to those who arrived first and go when clear. Steady yellow light or arrow: the signal is about to turn red; do not enter if you can stop safely, and if you are already waiting in the intersection to turn when it turns red, finish the turn when safe rather than backing up. Flashing yellow light or arrow: proceed with caution, yielding to vehicles and pedestrians in the intersection, and when turning left or making a U-turn yield to oncoming vehicles close enough to be a hazard. Green: cross as soon as the intersection is clear, yielding to anyone in it, to oncoming traffic when turning left and to pedestrians when turning either way. Green arrow: turn in that direction; your turn should be protected. Pedestrian signals: Walk means check for safety and cross, finishing once in the intersection; flashing Don't Walk means do not start but finish at a normal pace if already crossing; steady Don't Walk means do not cross, and anyone in the intersection should reach the nearest safe spot quickly.
Lane-use control signals and ramp meters
Overhead signals let lanes serve different directions at different times. A steady downward green arrow means you may drive in that lane; a steady yellow X means prepare to leave the lane, since a red X will follow; a flashing yellow X means the lane may be used for a left turn, with caution because left-turners from the other direction share it; a steady downward yellow arrow means the freeway lane is about to close; a flashing downward yellow arrow means you may use the lane with caution; a steady red X means the lane is closed. Ramp meters on freeway entrances show red, yellow and green; one car goes per green, and you take turns.
Pavement markings
White lines separate same-direction lanes: dashes allow lane changes, shorter thicker dashes mean the lane is ending, a solid white line means do not change lanes and also marks crosswalks, stop lines, parking stalls and road edges, double solid white lines mean you must not change lanes, and a solid white line with a bicycle symbol marks a lane for bicycles only, ridden in the direction of adjacent traffic. Yellow lines separate opposing traffic: solid means no passing, dashes allow passing, mixed lines mean obey the line on your side, and double solid means no passing from either side; a four-lane road's two solid yellow lines are never crossed to pass. Turn lanes near intersections carry white arrows, sometimes with "only", and a vehicle in one must turn; they are separated from through lanes by solid white lines. A center turn lane between opposing lanes, marked by parallel solid and dashed yellow lines and sometimes arrows, is for left turns from either direction onto a road or driveway. Reversible lanes are bounded by dashed double yellow lines and may be entered only under a green arrow or a permitting sign. Carpool lanes, for two or more occupants, are marked by a diamond or "Carpool Only" signs, usually on the far left of a freeway. Pavement messages such as "School Zone Ahead" warn of conditions. When an officer directs traffic, obey the officer's hand signals over any signal, sign or marking: a raised palm and a long whistle blast means stop, a beckoning hand and short blasts mean go, and a flashlight may be used in the dark.
Practise this with Minnesota Driver License questions
More of this guide
Who needs a Minnesota license and the 60-day rule, identification, Driver's License for All, REAL ID and enhanced cards, the written test, the 20/40 and 105-degree vision standards, the road test and its instant failures, the instruction permit and provisional license with their night and passenger limits, Vanessa's Law, the under-21 license, farm, medical and moped licenses at 15, license classes and renewal.
Required equipment and headlight rules, tire pressure and the penny test, window tint, the basic speed law and default limits, the 10 mph passing allowance, signaling 100 feet, blind spots, left and right turns, turning on red, roundabouts, J-turns, divided highways, U-turns, right-lane travel, passing rules and the 700-foot sight line, backing, and every parking rule.
Who must buckle up and the exemptions, rear-facing until two and boosters to nine, children under 13 in back, unattended children and pets, airbags, littering, duties after a crash and the 72-hour rule, no-fault insurance and its penalties, registering within 60 days, the texting ban, and suspension, revocation, limited licenses and cancellation.
Where you must come to a complete stop, school bus yellow lights at 100 and 300 feet, stopping 20 feet from red lights and the $500 penalty, safety patrols and crossing guards, who yields at intersections, transit buses, funeral processions, pulling over for sirens, the Move Over law, careless and reckless driving, how to behave when police stop you, fleeing penalties and pedestrian rules.
Bike lanes, the three-foot pass across the center line, bicycle laws and hand signals, mopeds, following and crowding motorcycles, lane splitting at 25 mph and lane filtering, vulnerable road users, neighborhood electric vehicles, passing and following trucks, the No Zones, crossing devices and the 10-foot rule, second trains, the ENS sign, work zone fines and the zipper merge.
Scan, Identify, Predict, Decide and Execute, the three-second rule, stopping distance, low beams within 1,000 and 200 feet, entering and leaving the freeway, ramp meters, buses on the shoulder, the diverging diamond, stopping on a freeway, distraction types and illegal behaviors, aggressive drivers, projecting loads, towing rules and limits, winter driving, snowplows, the survival kit and being stranded.
Staying alert every 100 miles or two hours, handling a skid, anti-lock brakes, rain and fog, hydroplaning at 35 mph, never coasting downhill, blowouts, steering and brake failure, running off the pavement, deer from dusk to dawn, a vehicle in your lane, stalling on the tracks, flooded roads, plunging under water, fire, overheating, a stuck gas pedal, utility poles and carbon monoxide.
Alcohol in a third of road deaths, drugs and household products, how alcohol attacks judgment, vision and reaction, standard drinks and proof, one drink per hour, the 0.08 and 0.04 limits, implied consent and refusal, first, second and third offense penalties, the ignition interlock and 0.02, felony DWI, the under-21 no-tolerance rule, commercial drivers, cannabis and open container laws.