CHAPTER 3 SIGNS, SIGNALS AND PAVEMENT MARKINGS

Responsible Driving (Red book)NOTES & STUDY GUIDE

Types of Road Signs• Regulatory Signs • Warning Signs

Sub category (construction Signs)

• International Signs• Guide Signs

Sub categories (directional, route markers, roadside service & recreational signs)

Regulatory Signs• Regulate or CONTROLS the MOVEMENT of traffic. These signs tell you and other drivers what you MUST do and what you MUST not to do when driving.

Colors include:

•RED•WHITE•BLACK•GREEN on WHITE•WHITE on BLACK

Shapes include:

•SQUARE•OCTAGON•TRIANGLE•CROSSBUCK•VERTICAL RECTANGULAR•HORIZONTAL RECTANGULAR

International Signs

• An international sign is a sign that you can UNDERSTAND without KNOWING another LANGUAGE. The meaning is conveyed by COLORS, shapes, SYMBOLS and NUMBERS

WARNING SIGNSalerts you to CHANGES in the CONDITION or use of the road ahead. Warning signs include those that tell you about CONSTUCTION and MAINTENANCE, school zones and crossings, RAILROAD CROSSINGS, curves, INTERSECTIONS, changes in road width, DEER CROSSINGS

Diamond (is the most common shape)

Vertical rectangleHorizontal rectangleCircle, pentagon, pennantColors include:

YELLOW with Black symbol

Fluorescent yellow-green

Shapes include:

CONSTRUCTION SIGNS are a sub category of WARNING SIGNS. They are DIAMOND shaped and are orange with BLACK symbols or letters• Informs the motorists that there is work being done on the roadway ahead.

Guide Signs• U.S. route markers, State route marker, County route

markers - one of FOUR kind of guide signs. Routes are numbered ROADWAYS that crisscross the continent. Interstates that travel north and south are ODD. Numbers and interstates that go east and west are EVEN numbers.Interstates that lead INTO cities have 3 digits and begin with ODD digits. IF a 3 digit route begins with an even number, the route goes AROUND the city or connects to interstate highways at both ends.

• Directional or destination signs are mounted over HIGHWAY lanes. They tell you WHERE you are, which lane to TAKE to get to you DESTINATION, what EXITS are coming up, and how FAR the exits are? Smaller signs on the side of the road tells you HOW far you are FROM different places. Directional or MILAGE signs are either WHITE or GREEN.

Guide Signs continued

• Roadside services - are road signs that tell you WHERE a specific place can be found when traveling. (such as rest stops and service stations. These signs are BLUE and have WHITE lettering

• Recreational areas - indicates the NAME of a specific park or campground. These signs are BROWN with WHITE lettering.

Pavement Markings:

Yellow lines – Traffic that is traveling in the OPPOSITE directions on a roadway is SEPARATED by a BROKEN yellow line or DOUBLE solid yellow LINES, or a

combination of broken and solid yellow lines. If the solid line of the combination solid broken yellow lines is the first one to your LEFT, you may not cross it to pass another vehicle. If the broken yellow line is the first one to your left, you may cross it to PASS a vehicle when it is safe to do so. When two solid yellow lines divide a road, NEITHER you nor drivers traveling in the OPPOSITE direction can cross them to pass another vehicle.

White Lines

• Are PARALLEL to the roadway mark the lanes for traffic moving in the same direction. If the lines are BROKEN, you can move from lane to lane when it is safe to do so. Single white lines between lanes of traffic moving in the same direction are meant to DISCOURAGE passing at high-risk locations.

Shared-left LaneA lane in the MIDDLE of a roadway when traffic is

traveling in opposite directions, remember to not MOVE into the lane too soon. The longer you stay in the lane, the more likely it is you will meet someone coming in the OPPOSITE direction. Watch for vehicles pulling out of entrances and side streets. They may cross in front of

you, CUTTING you off. Do not use

a shared left-turn lane for

anything but turning LEFT.

Pavement Markings continued• Stop lines - A SOLID line on the driver’s SIDE of the road.

• Crosswalks – at INTERSECTIONS where 2 solid lines are, so pedestrians are PERMITTED to cross the road.

ROADWAY MARKINGS• Arrows on road – white arrows on the roadway IDENTIFY

lanes from which you can drive STRAIGHT or turn right or left.

• Edge lines – Separate the SHOULDER from the travel lane and show the EDGES of highways.

Roadway Markings continued

• Rumble strips – normally RAISED strips on the HIGHWAY or shoulder that are put there to alert the motorist they need to slow down or driving off the roadway.

• Speed bumps – another type of speed CONTROL device that is a raised BUMP that is a low ridge that runs across a street that is designed to slow down cars.

Traffic controls:

• Traffic signals – The traffic light is hung vertically with the RED at the top, YELLOW in the middle, and GREEN on the bottom.

• Traffic Officers signals – A police office can take the place of and OVER RULE traffic control signals. When a traffic officer is PRESENT and DIRECTING traffic, you should always FOLLOW the officer’s signals even if they go AGAINST those of an AUTOMATIC signal.

Lane-use lights:

• Red X – NEVER drive in a lane under a RED X signal.

• Green arrow – Drivers are PERMITTED to drive in a lane under a GREEN arrow.

• Yellow X – A steady yellow X INDICATES the driver should safely VACATE this lane, because it will soon be controlled by a RED X.

• Flashing yellow X – A flashing yellow X indicates the lane is to be used, with CAUTION, for LEFT turn movements ONLY.

Special Warning Signs• These are signs to alert SLOW moving vehicles. A

FLUORESCENT and reflective ORANGE triangular sign indicates slow-moving vehicles, such as FARM and CONSTRUCTION equipment on public highways. This sign must be placed on the BACK of their vehicles to WARN approaching MOTORISTS.

HOV lanes

• Stands for HIGH occupancy VEHICLE lane for vehicles carrying 2 or more OCCUPANTS.

Road exit lanes:

• Acceleration lanes – Are EXTRA lanes at highway ENTRANCES used by motorists to SPEED up and join the FLOW of traffic.

• Deceleration lanes – Are EXTRA lanes at a highway EXIT, are located on the RIGHT hand side of the ROADWAY.

• Zebra lines - Are lines on road EXIT ramps and in PARKING lots to indicate that NO parking is allowed.