Oklahoma driving lesson · Signs, Signals and Markings
Sign shapes and colors
A 3-minute lesson from the Oklahoma course. Read the rules and examples, follow the handbook page references, and check your understanding before you move on.
Traffic signs warn you about hazards, identify your route, set the speed and movement of traffic, and point you to places of interest. Their shapes and colors have fixed meanings, so you can read a sign from a distance, or even when it's damaged or covered with dirt or snow.
Know the rule
Even if a stop sign is damaged or blocked by dirt or snow, you know by its octagonal shape and red color that you must stop.
Under 47 O.S. §11-207, defacing, damaging, destroying or removing any traffic control device, sign or signpost (or obstructing or damaging roads) is a misdemeanor.
After a snowstorm you approach an octagonal sign caked with snow; you can't read a word. The red octagon shape tells you it's a stop sign: stop fully before the crosswalk, marked or not, and wait until the way is clear.
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?
Red triangle
Yellow diamond
Red circle
Red octagon
Answer: Red octagon
Stop signs are always red octagons, recognizable even if damaged or dirty.
