Signals, Signs and Pavement Markings: Traffic Signals and Turns on Red, Lane Use Signals, Pedestrian Hybrid Beacons, Sign Colors and Shapes, Regulatory and Warning Signs, Railroad Crossings, Work Zones, Pavement Markings, Bicycle Lanes, HOV Lanes, Toll Plazas and Painted Curbs

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

Source: Virginia Driver's Manual (DMV 39, 2026 printing), Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles, section 2 "Signals, Signs and Pavement Markings" (pp. 5–13).

Traffic signals

Signals apply to drivers, motorcyclists, bicyclists, moped riders and pedestrians. It is illegal to dodge a signal by cutting through a parking lot or field, and a police officer's directions override every sign and signal.

• Red: stop completely at the stop line, or before the crosswalk or intersection, and stay until the light changes unless a turn is allowed.
• Right on red: allowed after a complete stop, looking both ways and yielding to pedestrians and traffic, watching for motorcycles, bicycles and mopeds; not where a No Turn on Red sign or a red right arrow is posted.
• Left on red: allowed only from a one-way street onto another one-way street, after a complete stop and yielding; not where a sign or a red left arrow prohibits it.
• Red arrow: stop and do not go in the arrow's direction while it shows, unless a sign reads "Right (or Left) on Red Arrow After Stop." Virginia law prohibits turns at red arrows.
• Flashing red: stop completely, yield to oncoming vehicles and pedestrians, then go when clear; at a railroad crossing, stop even with no train in sight. A flashing red arrow is the same for the arrow's direction.
• Yellow light or arrow: the signal is about to change; stop if you have not entered, go through cautiously if stopping is unsafe or you are already inside, and never speed up to beat it.
• Flashing yellow: slow down and proceed with caution; these mark places with above-normal hazards. A flashing yellow arrow lets you turn after yielding to oncoming vehicles and pedestrians; if it appears while a pedestrian is crossing, let the pedestrian finish.
• Green light or arrow: go if the way is clear; turning without an arrow, yield to oncoming vehicles and pedestrians, and let a pedestrian already in the street finish crossing.
• Out-of-service signal (dark from a power outage): treat the intersection as an all-way stop, unless an officer directs traffic or portable stop signs are in use.

Lane use signals: a red X means never drive in that lane; a green arrow allows it; a left-turn arrow allows entering only to turn; a yellow X or diagonal downward arrow means leave the lane as soon as safely possible. A Pedestrian Hybrid Beacon over an unsignalized crosswalk stays dark until activated, then flashes yellow, turns solid yellow (prepare to stop), shows two solid reds while pedestrians get a walk signal (you must stop), and finally alternates flashing reds during the countdown, when you may proceed with caution once the crosswalk is clear.

Sign colors and shapes

In fog you may see only a shape, and color reads long before words. Red with white means stop, yield, do not or no (stop, yield, do not enter, wrong way, the circle and slash, parking restrictions). Black with white is regulatory (speed limit, do not pass, no turns). Yellow with black warns (curve ahead, stop ahead, clearances, slippery when wet); strong yellow-green with black warns of school zones, pedestrians and bicyclists. Green gives destinations, blue motorist services, brown historical and cultural interest. Orange with black warns in construction zones and pink with black at incident scenes.

The octagon always means stop: stop completely at the sign, stop line, crosswalk or curb and wait for vehicles and pedestrians; an All Way or 4 Way plaque means every road stops, and drivers arriving together yield to the driver on the right. The triangle means yield: slow down, be ready to stop, and let vehicles, pedestrians and bicyclists pass. Rectangles are regulatory (vertical) or guide (horizontal). The diamond warns of conditions or hazards ahead. The pentagon marks school zones and school crossings, sometimes paired with a second sign showing the crosswalk.

Regulatory signs

Regulatory signs state the law, and a red circle with a slash means NO. Speed Limit gives the maximum in good weather; some are electronic and change with conditions, and in rain, snow or ice you can be ticketed for driving too fast for conditions even at the limit. No Right Turn, No U-Turn, No Turn on Red (wait for green), Do Not Pass (the start of a no-passing zone, even with a clear road), Left Turn Yield on Green (turning traffic yields to oncoming traffic), Keep Right (island, median or barrier ahead), Do Not Enter and Wrong Way (you are headed into oncoming traffic: slow, pull over and turn around carefully), Lane Use Control (traffic in the lane must turn as the arrow shows), One Way, HOV (lanes reserved for buses and vehicles with the posted number of occupants), No Left Turn (in Virginia a U-turn counts as two left turns and is illegal where this is posted), and Disabled Parking (permit holders only).

Warning signs

Warning signs mean slow down and watch for what follows. Advisory Speed gives the safe speed for a highway exit; Low Clearance means do not proceed if taller than the posted height; Reduced Speed Limit Ahead; Hill (check your brakes); Deer Crossing; Stop Ahead and Yield Ahead; Horse-Drawn Buggies (slow down, no horn, and pass with at least three feet of clearance); Signal Ahead; the No Passing Zone pennant; Merge (both lanes share the duty to merge safely); Lane Reduction (the right lane ends; right-lane drivers merge left when space opens and left-lane drivers let them in); Divided Highway Begins and Ends (keep right); Slippery When Wet (no hard braking or sudden direction changes); Tractors and Farm Equipment; Pedestrian Crossing, Bicycle Crossing and School Crossing (a second arrow sign may mark the exact crossing); Open Joints and Expansion Joints (bumps or traction loss on bridges and ramps, dangerous for motorcyclists); Intersection, Y Intersection (bear right or left) and T Intersection (the road ends at a stop sign; turn after yielding); Roundabout (yield to circulating traffic, travel counterclockwise); Right Curve with Side Road; Sharp Right Turn; Sharp Right and Left Turns; Right and Left Curves; Right Curve with Safe Speed; and Winding Road.

Railroad crossings: the Low Ground Railroad Crossing sign warns that a steep hump may catch low vehicles; the round advance warning sign says look, listen, slow down and be ready to stop; the crossbuck marks the crossing itself, where trains may come from either direction on any track (a plaque shows the number of tracks); with flashing lights, stop when they begin to flash and stay until all trains have passed, the tracks are clear and the lights stop, watching for a second train at multi-track crossings; with gates, stop before the gate lowers, stay until it rises and the lights stop, and never drive around it. An X and RR may be painted on the pavement. Never start across unless you can clear the tracks completely. School buses always stop at crossings. Call the number on the crossing's emergency sign, giving the posted crossing number, to report a hazard so the railroad can stop or reroute trains. If your car stalls on the tracks, get out immediately and run diagonally away from the tracks toward the oncoming train.

Work zones

Rough Road, Bump and Uneven Lanes signs mark surface hazards, especially for motorcyclists; Road Construction Ahead and Detour mark pattern changes. Flashing arrow boards direct you into other lanes; flaggers in orange, yellow or yellow-green use STOP/SLOW paddles or red flags; Photo Speed Enforcement signs warn that work-zone speeding is enforced by camera. Speeding in a work zone can bring a fine up to $500, and using a hand-held device there brings a $250 fine; orange means slow down and stay alert. Barricades, vertical signs, concrete barriers, drums and cones guide you: stay mid-lane, obey the posted limit, and do not change lanes until completely clear of the zone. Obey portable and permanent message boards; check 511virginia.org before a trip. Rumble Strips Ahead warns of black or orange strips before a flagger or lane closure; drive over them slowly rather than swerving. Vehicles moving at 25 mph or less (farm equipment, horse-drawn vehicles, highway work vehicles) must display the slow-moving vehicle emblem; adjust speed or position when you see it.

Pavement markings

Markings may be red, yellow or white. Red is rare: some communities use red curbs for no parking, and red reflectors in the pavement warn wrong-way drivers. Yellow center lines mean two-way traffic: a broken yellow line allows passing on the left from either direction when clear; a broken line beside a solid line allows passing only from the broken-line side, and drivers on the solid side may cross only to pass pedestrians, bicyclists, scooter or skateboard riders when the opposite lane is clear; double solid yellow lines forbid passing in both directions and may be crossed only to turn left or to pass those same vulnerable users safely. Broken white lines separate same-direction lanes (change lanes with caution); dotted white lines guide lanes through intersections and interchanges and mark the start of turn lanes and ramp lanes; solid white lines mark turn lanes, discourage lane changes near intersections and ramps, and mark the right edge; arrows with white lines show which turn a lane may make; stop lines, crosswalks and parking spaces are white; a yield line of triangles shows where to yield or stop, often at a roundabout entrance. A lane with a curved arrow, or a curved arrow and ONLY, must turn; a lane with both a curved and a straight arrow may turn or go straight. On an unmarked two-lane road you may pass a slow vehicle on the left when safe and no sign prohibits it. A center lane bordered on both sides by a solid and a broken yellow line is a two-way left-turn lane usable by either direction for left turns, but not for more than 150 feet; a center lane with a single broken yellow line on both sides may be used by either direction for passing. Wrong-way arrows mean you are going the wrong direction: slow and pull over. Double solid white lines separate a special-use lane such as an HOV lane from ordinary lanes and may not be crossed; enter only where signs and markings allow.

Sharrows (a bicycle with two chevrons) mark lanes too narrow to share side by side and show where cyclists ride. Bicycle lanes, marked by solid or dashed white lines or green paint and a bicycle symbol, are for bicycles; drive in one only when necessary to turn, after checking mirrors and yielding to bicycles. Bicycle boxes at intersections put cyclists ahead of stopped cars: stop behind the box on red, no right turn on red at these intersections, and signal and yield to bicycles on the right when turning right on green. A diamond marking may mark a bus lane, and BUS ONLY markings or red pavement mark bus-only lanes. HOV lanes carry a diamond in the lane center and may be separated by barriers or double solid white lines; during heavy traffic they are reserved for buses, vanpools, carpools, motorcycles and certain clean-fuel vehicles, with signs giving the minimum occupants and hours; barrier-separated HOV lanes are reversible.

Toll plazas and painted curbs

All Virginia toll facilities take E-ZPass; follow the purple E-ZPass signs with a transponder or the cash-only signs without one, slow down near plazas and watch for lane changes and toll workers. Do not enter high-speed E-ZPass lanes without a transponder, but if you do by mistake, never stop; cameras bill the registered owner. Painted curbs carry local parking rules: white, stop only to pick up or drop off passengers; yellow, stop only to load or unload and stay with the car; red, no stopping, standing or parking.

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