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Montana driving lesson · Signs, Signals & Markings

Work zones and school zones

A 3-minute lesson from the Montana 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
3 minutes
Course unit
Signs, Signals & Markings
Checkpoint questions
6
Source pages
37, 38, 39

Work zones and school zones both double your fines. Orange means construction ahead with workers nearby; around schools, children are small, hard to see and unpredictable.

Know the rule

Orange is the basic color of work-zone devices: signs, barricades, drums, cones, tubes, flashing arrow panels and flaggers. Most work-zone signs are diamond-shaped; a few are rectangular.

Handbook p. 37 ↗
Sequential work zone advance warning signs
Construction and maintenance signs

Know the rule

Diagonal stripes on a barricade or vertical panel point your way: stripes sloping down to the right mean bear right; sloping down to the left mean bear left.

Handbook p. 37 ↗
Bear right (chevron panel)
Barricade stripes: bear right

Know the rule

Large flashing or sequencing arrow panels, used day and night, guide you into the right lane and warn that part of the road ahead is closed.

Handbook p. 38 ↗

Know the rule

Flaggers wear orange vests, shirts or jackets and use red flags or STOP/SLOW paddles to stop, slow or guide traffic.

Handbook p. 38 ↗
Flagger stop and proceed paddles
Flagger signals for stop and proceed

Know the rule

Traffic fines double in work zones. There is no standard work-zone speed limit — the Department of Transportation, local authority, utility company or contractor sets one for each zone.

Handbook p. 38 ↗

Know the rule

Driving in a construction zone in a way that endangers people or property, or removing, ignoring or intentionally striking a traffic control device, is a misdemeanor with the same penalty as reckless driving.

Handbook p. 37 ↗

Reckless Endangerment of a Highway Worker

The charge for knowingly or negligently driving in a construction zone in a way that endangers people or property, or removing, ignoring or striking a traffic control device.

Handbook p. 38 ↗
15 mph

How low a school zone speed limit may be set

Handbook p. 39 ↗

School zone

The area from a school's front door across its campus and property, the streets next to it, and as many surrounding blocks as the local authority sets for a special speed limit.

Handbook p. 39 ↗

School zone rules

  • Fines are doubled in all school zones in Montana
  • Always yield to pedestrians in school crosswalks
  • Stop before the crosswalk so other drivers can also see pedestrians
  • Never drive through a column of schoolchildren crossing the road
  • Never pass a crossing guard directing children while holding the official sign in the stop position
  • Watch for children near schools and parks day and night
Handbook p. 39 ↗

Put it into practice

You drive past an elementary school at 7 p.m. and see kids on the playground. Slow down anyway: children use school grounds at all hours, and they may think that if they can see you, you can see them.

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.

Are traffic fines doubled in highway construction/work zones?
  1. No, fines are the same as elsewhere
  2. Yes, fines double in work zones
  3. Only when workers are present
  4. Only fines at night are doubled

Answer: Yes, fines double in work zones

The handbook states traffic fines double in work zones for violations.

Handbook p. 38 ↗
Who sets the specific speed limit within a construction or work zone?
  1. Only the state legislature
  2. It is always 25 mph statewide
  3. DOT, local authority, utility, or contractor
  4. Only local police departments

Answer: DOT, local authority, utility, or contractor

There's no standard work zone speed; it is set specifically for each zone by the relevant authority or contractor.

Handbook p. 38 ↗
Diagonal stripes on a barricade slope downward to the right. What does this tell drivers?
  1. Bear to the left
  2. Stop immediately
  3. The road is closed ahead
  4. Bear to the right

Answer: Bear to the right

Stripes sloping downward to the right mean the driver should bear right; sloping left means bear left.

Handbook p. 37 ↗
How low can a posted school zone speed limit be set in Montana?
  1. As low as 25 mph
  2. As low as 15 mph
  3. As low as 10 mph
  4. As low as 20 mph

Answer: As low as 15 mph

School zone speed limits may be set as low as 15 mph under Montana law.

Handbook p. 39 ↗
What happens to traffic fines in Montana school zones?
  1. They double only when children are present
  2. They are doubled in all school zones
  3. They double only during posted school hours
  4. They stay the same as elsewhere

Answer: They are doubled in all school zones

Fines are doubled in all school zones throughout Montana.

Handbook p. 39 ↗
A crossing guard is directing children across the road while holding an official stop sign. What must drivers do?
  1. Proceed slowly around the children
  2. Yield, then pass behind the children
  3. Only stop if a police officer is present too
  4. Stop while the guard is crossing children

Answer: Stop while the guard is crossing children

Drivers may not drive past a crossing guard holding a stop sign while children are crossing.

Handbook p. 39 ↗
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