A 3-minute lesson from the Mississippi course. Read the rules and examples, follow the handbook page references, and check your understanding before you move on.
Work zones put people and equipment right beside traffic. Orange signs mean construction or maintenance: slow down, don't tailgate and be ready to stop. On rural roads, watch for vehicles that can't keep up with traffic.
Know the rule
Give construction workers a 'brake': reduce your speed in work zones, be prepared to stop suddenly, and don't tailgate.
Work zone signs are generally diamond or rectangular, orange with black letters or symbols. They warn of workers ahead, reduced speed, detours, slow-moving construction equipment, and poor or suddenly changing surfaces.
Barriers such as drums, cones and tubes (panels) keep traffic out of hazardous work zones and closed roads and, with signs and markings, guide you through.
A fluorescent or reflective orange-and-red triangle on the rear of an animal-drawn vehicle, farm equipment or construction equipment marks a SLOW-MOVING VEHICLE. Watch for them day and night.
Watch for tractors, combines and other farm equipment crossing the road or traveling on state highways in rural areas. Pass with caution: the operator may not hear approaching vehicles.
Animal-drawn vehicles and horseback riders have the same right to use the road and must follow the same rules. Pass with caution, don't honk or rev your engine (it may scare the horse), and expect left turns into fields and driveways.
Topping a rural hill, you come up on a buggy with an orange triangle on the back. Slow down well behind it, don't honk, and pass only where it's safe and legal, watching for it to turn left into a field.
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.
In a work zone, a flagger signals you to slow down using a hand-held sign. What should you do?
Proceed at the normal posted speed
Ignore the flagger and follow posted signs only
Stop only if a police officer is also present
Follow the flagger's instructions
Answer: Follow the flagger's instructions
You must follow the instructions of a person directing traffic with a sign or flag in a work zone.
