West Virginia driving lesson · Signs, Signals, and Markings
Regulatory signs: what you must and must not do
A 3-minute lesson from the West Virginia course. Read the rules and examples, follow the handbook page references, and check your understanding before you move on.
Square and rectangular signs state traffic laws: speed limits, turns you can't make, and which way traffic flows. Most are white with black letters; the most important ones are red with white letters.
Know the rule
Most regulatory signs are white with black letters; when the message is very important, the sign is red with white letters.
No Right Turn and No Left Turn signs show which way you can't turn at an intersection, such as when meeting a one-way street or where turning is unsafe.
Wrong Way and Do Not Enter signs warn that traffic in that direction is prohibited; entering that lane will likely put you head-on with another vehicle.
Speed Limit signs show the fastest speed allowed under optimal weather and road conditions; some also show a minimum speed. Advisory speed signs on interstate ramps are black on yellow.
You come off an interstate and see a black-on-yellow 35 mph sign on the curving ramp. That's an advisory speed: the maximum recommended safe speed for that ramp. Slow to it before the curve.
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 does a red circle with a diagonal bar through a symbol always mean?
Proceed with caution
Yield to oncoming traffic
'NO' — that action is prohibited
Merge left
Answer: 'NO' — that action is prohibited
A red circle with a diagonal bar always means 'NO,' prohibiting the pictured action.
