Traffic Laws, Signals, Signs and Road Markings: General Driving Guidance, Traffic Control Devices and People Directing Traffic, Every Traffic Light Color and Arrow, Ramp Meters, Sign Colors and Common Signs, Safety Cameras, Work Zone Fines, Lane Lines in White and Yellow, Center Turn Lanes, HOV, Reversible, Reserved and Toll Lanes, Crosswalks, Bike Lanes, Stop Lines, Fire Lanes, Sharrows and Bicycle Boxes
Written for aiforu2 as the source for a practice-test bank and the on-device tutor for the Washington Driving Knowledge Exam. The facts follow the official guide; the wording is ours.
Source: Washington State Driver Guide (text-only edition, 2025), Washington State Department of Licensing, chapter 4 "Roads" (sections 4.10 Traffic laws, 4.11 Traffic light signals, 4.12 Signs and 4.16 Road markings).
General rules
The rules of the road are in RCW 46.61, and staying current is your responsibility for as long as you drive. Drive on the right; the only time you travel on the left is when safely and legally passing on a two-lane road. Keep right except to pass, using the left lane for slower traffic, and obey the speed limit even while passing. Carpool lanes are not passing lanes. Do not pass on the shoulder or drive on it unless directed. Do not block travel lanes; keep moving until you can pull over safely. Never drive in reverse on the road, even after missing a turn or exit; backing up on a shoulder or freeway is illegal. Hitchhiking or picking up hitchhikers on a freeway is illegal.
Traffic control devices are the signals, signs and markings you must look for and obey. Law enforcement, construction and maintenance workers and school crossing guards can direct traffic and overrule signals. When a signal is not working, treat the intersection as a four-way stop: stop completely, yield to traffic on your right, and go when safe.
Traffic light signals
- Solid red: stop and wait for green with the intersection clear. After a complete stop you may turn right on red, or left on red onto a one-way street, unless a "no turn on red" sign is posted and provided there is room to enter traffic.
- Flashing red: works as a stop sign; stop fully, then go in turn.
- Red arrow: you cannot go in the arrow's direction.
- Solid yellow: the light is changing to red; slow and prepare to stop. If already in the intersection, continue through at the posted speed. You may not accelerate beyond the limit to enter or clear on yellow.
- Flashing yellow: the same meaning as a yield sign; treat the intersection as uncontrolled and go when you have the right-of-way.
- Yellow arrow: the arrow is about to turn red; prepare to stop and give the right-of-way to oncoming traffic.
- Solid green: go after the intersection clears, yielding to emergency vehicles and pedestrians.
- Flashing green: not used in Washington; in British Columbia it warns that pedestrians are waiting to cross.
- Green arrow: go in the arrow's direction with the right-of-way.
- Ramp meters work like signals: stop at the white line on red, go on green.
Signs by color
Red prohibits or restricts; orange warns of construction and maintenance; yellow warns of general and unexpected conditions; fluorescent yellow-green warns of school, pedestrian and bicycle activity; white is regulatory; green guides and gives directions; blue guides to motorist services; brown marks recreation, cultural and historical areas.
Common signs
A stop sign means stop at the line, crosswalk or corner, look all directions and yield. Yield means slow down and let traffic with the right-of-way cross first. Speed limit signs give the maximum for ideal conditions or a required minimum; you can be ticketed for driving too fast for conditions even under the limit, and minimum limits exist so slow drivers are not hazards. Keep right reminds you to use the right lane except to pass. Automated safety cameras record running a steady red light, failing to stop at a railroad signal, and speeding in a school zone; every camera location is marked and tickets go to the vehicle owner. Speed warning signs recommend a lower speed for a hazard such as a curve. Variable speed limit and digital advance-notification signs change posted limits to smooth traffic and can close lanes ahead of slowdowns. One way signs mark streets where traffic flows only with the arrow. A red circle with a slash over a symbol means that action (a left, right or U-turn) is not allowed. Do not enter, a white horizontal bar inside a circle, means you cannot enter from that direction; wrong way means stop and turn around at once. No passing signs mark hills, curves, intersections and places where vehicles could enter. A shared center lane left turn only sign reserves the lane for left turns from either direction, never through traffic or passing. Roundabout signs mark entrances and may come with yield, pedestrian and arrow signs. Work zone signs warn of people working: yield to construction personnel, vehicles with flashing yellow lights and equipment, and fines double for offenses committed in construction areas when workers are present. Service signs locate hospitals, EV charging and rest areas; recreation signs show trails, picnic areas and ski areas; destination signs give directions and distances, and the shape and color of a route marker tells you whether the road is interstate, U.S., state, city or county. You are responsible for every sign, including city and county signs, among them chain advisory, tsunami hazard zone, volcano evacuation route, light rail and national forest signs.
Road markings
Markings divide lanes, show where passing and lane changes are allowed, assign turn lanes, define walkways and show where to stop. Yellow lines separate traffic in opposite directions; white lines separate lanes moving the same way. A solid white line marks the road edge and separates bike lanes; between lanes it means stay in your lane unless a special situation requires a change. Double solid white lines are a barrier that is illegal to cross. A dashed white line between lanes may be crossed to change lanes when safe; shorter dashes mean the lane is ending and you must merge or exit. With no markings, keep as far right as safely possible. Medians may be open space, cement dividers or 18-inch solid yellow markings with stripes; driving within, over or across one is illegal. A dashed yellow center line lets you use the oncoming lane to pass when safe; a solid yellow line marks the edge or a no-passing zone; double solid yellow center lines forbid passing in either direction; with a solid and a dashed yellow line, you may pass only when the dashed line is on your side. Once in a turn lane you must complete the turn. You may cross the solid yellow line on your side to enter a shared center left-turn lane, marked with left-turn arrows, for left turns (or permitted U-turns) from either direction; watch for oncoming drivers using the same lane, never use it to pass, and travel no more than 300 feet in it.
HOV lanes, marked with a diamond, serve carpools, vanpools, buses and motorcycles, are separated by a solid white line, and require the posted occupancy. Reversible lanes change direction on fixed schedules, are usually marked by double-dashed white lines, and are governed by overhead signals: a green arrow means you may use the lane, a red X means you may not, and a steady yellow X means the lane is changing direction and you should leave it as soon as safe. Reserved lanes (such as transit-only) are posted by sign or marking. Express toll and high-occupancy toll lanes are free for buses, vanpools, carpools and motorcycles and open to solo drivers who pay; a Good To Go! account is the best way to pay tolls.
Crosswalks: yield to people in or about to enter one, including when in-pavement lights flash; every intersection is legally a crosswalk whether marked or not. Bike lanes carry solid white lines and bike symbols; a buffer of two solid white lines with diagonal hatching is part of the bike lane and may be entered only for a legal turn after checking, and some lanes are separated by bollards, posts or planters. Stop before the stop line or crosswalk. Fire lanes are marked with red stripes or a red curb; never stop or park there. Yellow stripes show where you may not drive. Sharrows mark a lane shared with bicycles: expect riders, drive slowly and leave 3 feet when passing. At a bicycle box, bicyclists cross first on green and you may not turn right on red; stay behind the white line until the box is clear.
Practise this with Washington Driver License questions
More of this guide
Your WDL number and License Express, the 30-day rule for new residents, standard versus enhanced cards and REAL ID, the instruction permit at 15 or 15½, the 6-month, 50-hour and 6-clean-month rules at 16 and 17, the intermediate license passenger and 1 a.m. to 5 a.m. limits, agricultural permits, the two exams and their 2-year validity, renewals and the 8-year rule, offenses that cost the license, implied consent, the .08 and .02 BAC and 5 ng THC limits, test refusal, the open container law and the 10-day address rule.
Title and registration, the 5-day report of sale and 15-day title transfer, plates front and rear, the $25,000/$50,000/$10,000 insurance minimums, driver assistance systems and their limits, 2/32-inch tread, the half-hour headlight rule, high beams at 500 and 300 feet, brake lights at 100 feet, hand signals, the 10-inch air-bag distance, belt fit, rear-facing to 2, harness to 4, boosters to 4 feet 9 inches and no front seat under 13, hand-to-hand and hand-over-hand steering, braking levels, ABS, pitch, roll and yaw, reference points and blind zones.
Vision and hearing rules, the earbud ban and one-ear hands-free exception, the no-phone rule for permit and intermediate drivers, alcohol, cannabis, medication and polydrug impairment, fatigue and the 20-minute nap, aggressive driving as a traffic offense, racing, road rage as a crime and how to report it, informed decisions and the OODA loop, the hand-held device ban and doubled fines, attention and scanning, litter fines, idling and the Clean Car Law, and self-evaluation.
Yielding to pedestrians until they clear your lane and one more, service animals, school buses on two-lane and multilane roads and doubled fines, transit buses pulling out, large vehicles and the 450-foot stop, seeing both headlights before merging, snowplows, motorcycles and the full lane, bicyclists and the 3-foot rule, bike lanes, trains and the 15 to 50-foot stop, the Emergency Notification System sign, light rail, agricultural vehicles and emergency vehicles.
Every intersection is a crosswalk, four-way and two-way stops, uncontrolled intersections, turning into the closest lane and signaling 100 feet ahead, U-turns, T and Y intersections, mid-block crossings, calming circles, roundabouts at 15 to 25 mph, diverging diamonds, the 20 mph school zone, work zones, the emergency zone move-over or 10-under rule and 50 mph cap, the full no-parking list with its 30, 5, 75, 20, 50, 12 and 15-foot distances, curb colors, the Dutch Reach, children and animals left in cars, parallel and hill parking, disabled and EV spaces, towing, loads, animals, ferries and beach driving.
Fatal crash factors, risk awareness and the plan-communicate-check-execute-evaluate routine, what speeding does, safe speed for conditions, the two-vehicle-length space, merging and zipper merging, eye-lead time and the 15-second count, fields of vision, night driving within 400 feet, curves and the laws of motion, slippery roads, black ice, skids and hydroplaning, blowouts, engine, headlight and accelerator failures, flares at 200 to 300 feet, what to do after a crash, the 4-day collision report, injuries and 911, power lines and the 35-foot rule, the emergency kit, police stops and the 15-day ticket rule.