A 3-minute lesson from the Illinois course. Read the rules and examples, follow the handbook page references, and check your understanding before you move on.
These warning signs tell you the road itself is about to change: it curves, drops, narrows, loses a lane or merges. Slow down before you reach the change, not in the middle of it.
Know the rule
Turn and curve signs are posted before turns and curves. The shape of the arrow shows what to expect: a right turn, a curve, a turn-and-curve combination, or a winding road. A small sign below may show the maximum safe speed.
LANE REDUCTION signs warn that the number of lanes in your direction is dropping, temporarily for work or permanently. Be ready to change lanes or let others merge.
In congested traffic, use both lanes up to the lane-reduction point, then merge there, alternating turns. When traffic isn't congested, merge into the open lane as early as possible.
MERGING LANES: two lanes going the same way will soon become one. On expressways, the driver already on the expressway should slow down to let the driver on the ramp merge.
CHANGE IN DIRECTION (chevron) signs mark a change in direction or narrowing of the road, often on the outside of a sharp curve or on approaches to a narrow bridge.
DIVIDED HIGHWAY signs are posted before a divided highway begins and just before it ends. TWO-WAY ROADWAY means you're leaving a divided road for a two-way highway.
