Shapes, Colors, and Pavement Markings: Reading the Road
Shape and color are the fastest way to classify a sign, and questions test this heavily. Learn the shape-color vocabulary cold, then apply it to pavement markings.
Sign shapes and colors
- Octagon (red): STOP - the only octagon on the road.
- Triangle pointing down (red/white): YIELD.
- Diamond (yellow): warning.
- Rectangle (white): regulatory; (green): guide; (blue): services; (brown): recreation; (orange): construction.
- Pentagon (yellow): school zone or school crossing.
- Circle (yellow): railroad advance warning.
- Crossbuck (white X): railroad crossing.
- Shield: Interstate route marker.
Pavement markings
- Yellow lines separate traffic moving in opposite directions; white lines separate traffic moving in the same direction.
- Solid line: do not cross; broken line: you may cross when safe.
- Double solid yellow: no passing in either direction.
- Broken yellow beside solid yellow: passing allowed on the broken side only.
- White crosswalk lines, stop bars, and RR markings mark where to stop and where to look.
Traps to watch for
A common trap is the yellow-line rule: yellow means opposite directions, white means same direction - not "yellow means caution." Another trap is the broken-versus-solid pairing: the broken line is on the side where passing is allowed. Also, a red circle-slash is a prohibition symbol, not a warning.
Rule of thumb
Say the shape, then the color, then the meaning: octagon-red-stop, triangle-down-yield, diamond-yellow-warning, pentagon-yellow-school, circle-yellow-railroad.
Worked example: A two-lane road has a solid yellow line on your side and a broken yellow line on the other. Passing is allowed for oncoming traffic on their broken side, but not for you on your solid side.