West Virginia driving lesson · Signs, Signals, and Markings
Sign shapes you must know
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.
A sign's shape and color carry meaning even when fog, rain, snow or darkness hide the words. On the test, and on the road, you should know what a sign means from its outline alone.
Know the rule
If fading light, fog, rain, snow or darkness make the letters hard to read, you still must recognize the sign by shape and color and respond.
At a stop sign, stop behind any marked or unmarked crosswalk. With no markings or crosswalk, stop before entering the intersection, where you can see traffic from all directions.
The five-sided pentagon warns of a school zone ahead or marks a school zone crossing. Maximum speed in a school zone is 15 mph when children are present or when specified.
A right-side-up triangle with a reflective red border and fluorescent orange center identifies a slow-moving vehicle or one that has made an emergency stop.
Driving in heavy fog, you see an eight-sided sign but can't read it. Treat it as a stop sign: stop fully behind the crosswalk or before the intersection, and yield to pedestrians and cross traffic.
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 always used for a stop sign?
Octagon (eight-sided)
Triangle (upside down)
Pentagon (five-sided)
Diamond
Answer: Octagon (eight-sided)
The eight-sided octagon shape is reserved exclusively for stop signs.
