Traffic Signs, Signals and Pavement Markings: Sign Colors Including Fluorescent Yellow-Green and Pink, Sign Shapes, Crossbucks and Gates, Regulatory and Lane Control Signs, Warning Signs, Work Area Signs, Flaggers and Channeling Devices, the Slow-Moving Vehicle Emblem, Guide, Service and Handicap Signs, Emergency Reference Markers, Every Signal Color and Arrow, Malfunctioning Lights, Pedestrian and Lane Control Signals, and Yellow and White Line Rules

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

Source: Tennessee Comprehensive Driver License Manual (TDOSHS, July 2022 information), Section B chapter 3 "Traffic Signs and Signals" (pages 35–44).

Colors

Traffic control devices are signals, signs and markings, and police, construction workers and school crossing guards may override them. Memorize the background colors: red for stop, yield, do not enter and wrong way (also the ALL WAY plate and interstate markers); black on white for regulatory signs; white for route markers and guide signs; orange only for construction and maintenance; yellow for warnings and school signs; brown for recreation and cultural sites; green for guide signs, mileposts and permissive parking; blue for motorist services, police and rest areas; and fluorescent yellow-green for school zones, crosswalks and pedestrian areas. Fluorescent pink marks incident management around crashes, wildfires, floods and spills.

Shapes

The octagon is only for stop: come to a complete stop before the crosswalk, and if you cannot see, creep to where you can. An ALL WAY plate below it means every approach stops. The triangle means yield: slow, and stop when vehicles approach from the right or left, always stopping in heavy traffic. The round sign warns of a railroad crossing ahead; slow and be ready to stop, and never try to beat a train, since more than 200 crashes a year happen at crossings. The crossbuck marks the tracks themselves, with a plate showing the number of tracks, because one train can hide another; flashing lights on it mean a train is coming, so stop and stay until it passes and every track is clear. With a gate, stop when the lights flash and before the gate drops, and wait until it rises and the lights stop. The diamond warns of a hazard or unusual condition, such as a crossroad. The rectangle carries laws, regulations and information.

Regulatory signs

Lane control signs assign trucks to lanes or require straight or left movements; the HOV sign reserves lanes for buses and vehicles with the posted number of occupants. Keep right applies on multilane roads: use the far right lane except to pass or turn left, and never straddle lanes or crawl in the center lane. No passing signs mark zones set by sight distance; the yellow or orange triangular pennant stands on the left side of the road. Speed signs show the maximum, the minimum or a change; the school zone sign flashes yellow lights on a timer while showing the limit. A red circle and slash means "no" to what is pictured (trucks, bicycles, left turn, U-turn). Other signs forbid parking or entry to a one-way street. Hitchhiking from a roadway is illegal in Tennessee.

Warning signs

Yellow diamonds call for caution and usually a slower speed. The turn sign marks turns advised at 30 mph or less; the curve sign marks curves advised between 30 and 55 mph; the reverse turn sign marks two opposite turns less than 600 feet apart; an advisory speed plate beneath gives the safe maximum. Others warn that a lane ends (merge left and signal), that traffic is merging (move over if you can), of a narrow bridge, a school ahead, falling rocks (watch the road, not the hill), stop or yield signs ahead (start slowing), slippery pavement, two-way traffic, cattle, bicycles, winding road, school bus loading, T-intersections (turn right or left and be ready to yield), low clearance (the height to the underside of a bridge) and chevrons for a sharp change of direction.

Work areas and slow vehicles

Construction, maintenance and emergency signs are orange diamonds or rectangles warning of reduced speeds, detours, slow equipment and lane closures; a person with a sign or flag controls traffic and must be obeyed. Flaggers use paddles reading STOP and SLOW, red flags in emergencies, and three hand signals to stop, slow and release traffic; workers and officers wear fluorescent orange or yellow-green. Barricades, vertical panels, concrete barriers, drums and cones guide you: stay in the middle of the lane, hold the posted speed, and do not change lanes until you are clear of the zone. Electronic message and flashing arrow panels warn of closures; merge into the open lane well before the arrow. The slow-moving vehicle emblem, a fluorescent orange triangle with a red reflective border, marks farm tractors, machinery, construction equipment and horse-drawn vehicles. Object markers flag bridge ends and abutments beside the pavement.

Guide and service signs

Blue-and-red shields mark interstates. Green interstate guide signs sit above or to the right with arrows showing the lane to use; an EXIT ONLY panel means every vehicle in that lane must exit. Route shields show state primary, state secondary and U.S. routes (black numerals on a white shield). Blue service signs point to fuel, food and lodging. The blue handicap symbol reserves spaces for disabled plates, placards or decals, and using them otherwise is illegal. Green directional signs point to bike and hiking trails. Emergency reference markers on urban interstates in Nashville, Knoxville, Memphis, Jackson and Chattanooga stand every 1,000 feet on the median, showing route, direction and log mile in tenths so a caller can pinpoint an incident.

Traffic signals

Standard signals run red, yellow, green from top to bottom. Red: stop behind the crosswalk or stop line; unless posted otherwise you may turn right on red after a complete stop with no pedestrians or cross traffic. Yellow: the red follows immediately; stop if you safely can, never speed up, and if already in the intersection continue through. Tennessee requires yellow to show at least three seconds; drivers who "jump the green" make beating the yellow deadly. Green: go if clear, yielding to pedestrians and vehicles still in the intersection and to oncoming traffic when turning left. Flashing red equals a stop sign; flashing yellow means slow and proceed with caution. A protected green arrow gives you the right-of-way in that direction after yielding to those in the intersection; yellow arrow means prepare to yield to oncoming traffic; a red arrow or a red light for your lane prohibits all turns even when other lanes have green. A flashing yellow arrow is permissive: turn left only after yielding to oncoming traffic, bicyclists and pedestrians. Never enter an intersection to turn until your path is clear. When a signal is out, treat the intersection as an all-way stop: stop, and when two vehicles stop together the driver on the left yields to the driver on the right. Pedestrian signals show WALK or a walking figure and DON'T WALK or a raised hand, sometimes activated by a push button; a pedestrian is anyone afoot or in a wheelchair. Lane control signals over reversible lanes and toll plazas: a green arrow permits the lane, a red X forbids it, and a yellow X flashing means turns only or steady means the lane's direction is changing.

Pavement markings

Markings divide lanes, show where passing and lane changes are allowed, assign turn lanes, define crosswalks and show where to stop. A solid white line marks the right edge; a solid or broken yellow line marks the left edge of your direction. Yellow on your right and white on your left means you are going the wrong way; on a divided highway the median side always has yellow. Yellow lines separate opposing traffic and mark barriers such as bridge supports. Broken yellow: you may cross to pass when clear. Two solid yellow: no crossing to pass from either direction, though you may cross to turn into a driveway or side road. Solid plus broken yellow: pass only when the broken line is on your side, and return before the zone ends. White lines separate same-direction lanes on freeways, bypasses and one-way streets: broken white may be crossed to pass or change lanes; a single solid white means stay in your lane except in an emergency; never cross a double solid white. Crosswalk lines mark crossings at intersections or mid-block, not all are marked, and you yield to anyone in or about to enter one. Stop lines show where to stop; without one, stop before the crosswalk, and without either, stop before your bumper crosses the cross street's edge line. HOV lanes carry a diamond in the lane and are reserved for buses, vanpools, motorcycles and carpools during posted hours. A lane with a curved arrow and ONLY must turn that way; a curved and a straight arrow allow either; single arrows are mandatory and double or triple arrows allow more than one movement. A white crossbuck and RR on the pavement warns of a railroad crossing.

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