New Mexico driving lesson · Traffic Control Devices
Work zone, regulatory & guide signs
A 3-minute lesson from the New Mexico course. Read the rules and examples, follow the handbook page references, and check your understanding before you move on.
Beyond warning signs, you'll see orange work-zone signs, regulatory signs that state the law, and guide signs that help you find your way. Knowing shapes and colors lets you react before you can read the words.
Know the rule
Work area signs are generally diamond or rectangular, orange with black letters or symbols. They warn of reduced speed, detours, slow construction equipment and poor or changing road surfaces.
Regulatory signs are square, rectangular or a special shape, usually white, red or black, and give rules for direction, lanes, turns, speed and parking.
Prohibition signs: no left turn, no right turn, no U-turn
Know the rule
Speed limit signs show the maximum, to be driven only in ideal conditions, or a required minimum. Slow down for rain, snow, ice, slippery roads or fog.
You see a reflective orange triangle on the back of a horse-drawn wagon on a rural road. It's traveling under 25 mph, so slow down early and pass only where legal and safe.
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.
What shape is a stop sign?
An octagon (8 sides)
A diamond
A pentagon (five sides)
A triangle
Answer: An octagon (8 sides)
A stop sign has eight sides and is red with white letters.
