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California driving lesson · Signals, Signs & Right-of-Way

Regulatory & warning sign gallery

A 2-minute lesson from the California course. Read the rules and examples, follow the handbook page references, and check your understanding before you move on.

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Read time
2 minutes
Course unit
Signals, Signs & Right-of-Way
Checkpoint questions
4
Source pages
41, 42, 43

Regulatory signs tell you what you must or must not do. Warning signs, usually yellow diamonds, alert you to conditions ahead. Obey all warning signs regardless of their shape or color.

Know the rule

Obey all warning signs regardless of their shape or color.

Handbook p. 41 ↗

Red-and-white and white regulatory signs shown in the handbook:

  • No U-Turn, No Left Turn, No Right Turn
  • NO PARKING ANY TIME
  • ONE WAY
  • DO NOT BLOCK INTERSECTION
Handbook p. 42 ↗
No bicycles
No Left Turn
One way
ONE WAY
Do not block intersection
DO NOT BLOCK INTERSECTION

Warning signs shown in the handbook:

  • Slippery When Wet, Merging Traffic, Lane Ends, Added Lane
  • Divided Highway, End Divided Highway, Two Way Traffic
  • Traffic Signal Ahead, Stop Ahead, Yield Ahead
  • Pedestrian Crossing, Crossroad, T Intersection
  • Curve, Winding Road, Directional Arrow
Handbook p. 43 ↗
Slippery when wet
Slippery When Wet
Merge
Merging Traffic
Right lane ends
Lane Ends
Divided highway begins
Divided Highway
Stop ahead
Stop Ahead
Side road right
T Intersection
Winding road
Winding Road

Put it into practice

It starts to rain and you pass a yellow diamond showing a car with wavy tire tracks: Slippery When Wet. Slow down. On a wet road the handbook says to reduce your speed by 5 to 10 mph.

Check your understanding

Read the question, decide on an answer, then open it to check the explanation. These are Roadwise study questions based on the source handbook.

You only need to obey warning signs that are diamond-shaped.
  1. True
  2. False

Answer: False

The handbook says to obey all warning signs regardless of their shape or color.

Handbook p. 41 ↗
Which of these is a white regulatory sign shown in the handbook?
  1. Slippery When Wet
  2. ONE WAY
  3. Merging Traffic
  4. Stop Ahead

Answer: ONE WAY

ONE WAY appears with NO PARKING ANY TIME and DO NOT BLOCK INTERSECTION as a white regulatory sign; the others are warning signs.

Handbook p. 42 ↗
A DO NOT BLOCK INTERSECTION sign is posted and traffic ahead is backed up. When may you enter the intersection?
  1. When your light is green
  2. When the car ahead starts moving
  3. When there is room to cross completely
  4. When you are turning right

Answer: When there is room to cross completely

It is against the law to stop or block an intersection when there is not enough space to completely cross before the light turns red.

Handbook p. 45 ↗
Which of these is a warning sign rather than a regulatory sign?
  1. NO PARKING ANY TIME
  2. Traffic Signal Ahead
  3. ONE WAY
  4. No Left Turn

Answer: Traffic Signal Ahead

Traffic Signal Ahead is shown among the warning signs; the other three are regulatory signs.

Handbook p. 43 ↗
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