Warning Signs
Warning signs alert you to a hazard ahead; they do not order a maneuver. Most are yellow diamonds with black legends, and the Hawaii exam uses them to test whether you can name the hazard, judge how far ahead it is, and choose a speed. Expect items on advisory speed plaques, chevrons, and the difference between a warning and a regulation.
Shape and color first
- Diamond: warning. Pentagon: school. Round: railroad advance warning. Inverted triangle: yield. Octagon: stop.
- Fluorescent yellow-green marks school, pedestrian, and bicycle warnings.
- A yellow rectangular plaque with black numerals is an advisory speed - the recommended maximum for the hazard, not a posted legal limit.
- A distance plaque (“1 MILE,” “500 FT”) tells you how far ahead the condition begins, not how long it lasts.
Groups worth memorizing
- Alignment: curve, reverse curve, winding road, hairpin; chevrons and one-direction large arrows mark the sharpest turns and point in the direction of travel.
- Intersections: crossroad (a road crosses fully), side road (enters from one side), T and Y intersections, merge, lane ends, added lane.
- Surface and structure: slippery when wet, loose gravel, falling rocks, dip, narrow bridge, low clearance, crosswind.
- Traffic: signal ahead, stop ahead, yield ahead, two-way traffic, no-passing zone, reduced speed ahead.
Worked example
You meet a winding road sign with a 25 MPH advisory plaque and a series of chevrons, and you are traveling 40 mph in heavy rain. Reasoning: 25 mph is advisory, so exceeding it is not automatically a speeding violation the way a posted limit would be - but if you lose control, the basic speed rule applies and you can be cited for driving faster than is safe for conditions. The chevrons confirm the curve is sharp enough to need guidance, and wet pavement lengthens your stopping distance. The correct action is to slow to about the advisory speed before the first chevron.
Traps that cost marks
- Treating an advisory speed as a legal limit, or dismissing it because it is “only a suggestion.”
- Confusing crossroad with side road, or merge with added lane.
- Reading a distance plaque as the length of the hazard.
- Forgetting that orange replaces yellow inside a work zone, so a familiar warning may look different.
- Assuming a “signal ahead” sign requires a stop - it only tells you a signal is coming into view.