Reading the Road When the Sign Is Missing
You are on an unfamiliar road at dusk. A sign is missing from its post (you see only the empty pole and bent bracket). You need to infer the rules from what remains: the pavement shows a solid double yellow line to your left and a broken white line to your right; ahead, a stop line and the word "STOP" painted on your lane; a pedestrian signal across the intersection shows a steady orange hand. There is a side street entering from the right with no markings at all. You want to turn right onto that side street.
1. Using only the markings and signals you can see, what can you infer about lane direction, passing, and your obligation at the intersection?
Read the worked answer
The solid double yellow means two-way traffic with no passing across the centerline - you stay right of it. The broken white line to your right separates your lane from an adjacent same-direction lane (or shoulder edge, depending on width), meaning traffic to your right moves the same way you do. The painted STOP word and stop line are a regulatory marking requiring a full stop at the line even though the sign is gone - pavement legends carry the same force as the sign.
The steady orange hand means do not start crossing; if you were already in the crosswalk you'd continue, but you must yield to pedestrians finishing. Net: stop at the line, stay right of the double yellow, and treat the missing sign as still legally in effect because the markings and legend establish the rule.
2. You plan a right turn onto the unmarked side street. What must you check, and what does the absence of markings on that street tell you (and not tell you)?
Read the worked answer
Before turning right you must: come to a complete stop at the line, signal, check mirrors and blind spot for cyclists or pedestrians on your right, and yield to any pedestrian in the crosswalk (the orange hand means pedestrians may still be clearing). Then turn into the nearest lane.
The unmarked side street tells you nothing reliable about its rules - absence of paint is not permission. It could be a one-way street, have a stop sign you can't yet see, or be a low-volume road with an uncontrolled intersection. So you approach prepared to yield to traffic already on it and to stop again if a sign or marking appears. The reasoning: markings communicate rules, but their absence is silent, not permissive - you default to caution and right-of-way yielding.