A 4-minute lesson from the Tennessee course. Read the rules and examples, follow the handbook page references, and check your understanding before you move on.
Lines on the pavement tell you where you may drive, pass, turn and stop. Their color tells you traffic direction: yellow separates opposite directions, white separates lanes going the same way. States follow the federal Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices.
A solid white line marks the right edge of the road. Yellow marks the left edge of lanes going your way. If you have yellow on your right and white on your left, you're going the wrong way.
You may cross solid yellow lines to turn into a driveway or side road if it's safe. In a passing zone, you must be back on your side before the zone ends. Yellow also marks hazards like bridge supports.
White lines marking where pedestrians cross, at intersections or mid-block. Not every crosswalk is painted. Yield to pedestrians in or about to enter one.
Stop behind a white stop line. With no stop line, stop before the first line of a marked crosswalk; with neither, stop before your front bumper crosses the white edge line of the cross street.
A curved arrow with ONLY means you must turn that way. A curved plus straight arrow lets you turn or go straight. Double or triple arrows allow more than one move; a single arrow allows only that one.
On a two-lane road you see a solid yellow line next to your lane and a broken yellow line beyond it. The solid line is on your side, so you may not pass — even with no one coming. The driver going the other way may pass.
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.
If you notice a yellow line to your right and a white line to your left, what does this mean?
You are in a passing zone
You are driving the wrong way
You are in a two-way left-turn lane
You are on a one-way street correctly
Answer: You are driving the wrong way
If yellow is to your right and white is to your left, you are traveling the wrong direction on the roadway.
