Regulatory Signs: What Kentucky Requires, Not Suggests
What this domain tests
The regulatory portion of the Kentucky knowledge test checks whether you can separate a legal requirement from a recommendation. Regulatory signs command: they are white-on-black rectangles or red-and-white devices, and violating one is a citable offense. Kentucky draws these items from the Kentucky Driver's Manual and from KRS Chapter 189, the state's traffic code.
The core devices
- STOP (R1-1) - octagon, red with white legend. Stop before the stop line; if the line is missing, before the crosswalk; if neither, before the edge of the intersecting roadway. All wheels stay behind the line.
- YIELD (R1-2) - inverted triangle. Slow and be ready to stop, but a full stop is required only when traffic is present.
- SPEED LIMIT (R2-1) - white rectangle. It is the maximum for ideal conditions, not a target. Kentucky's basic speed law still requires you to slow below the posted number for rain, fog, ice, or darkness.
- DO NOT PASS (R4-1) and the yellow NO PASSING ZONE pennant (W14-3). Passing stays prohibited until the next passing-permitted marking.
- Lane-use (R3 series) - mandatory turn lanes and the two-way left-turn center lane, which you enter only to begin a left turn.
- Parking (R7 series) - "No Parking" allows stopping to load or unload; "No Standing" allows only brief passenger pickup.
Worked example
A white SPEED LIMIT 45 sign stands just before a curve, and beneath a curve-warning diamond is a yellow "40 MPH" plaque. The 45 is enforceable by citation. The 40 is advisory: the speed at which the curve can be negotiated comfortably. Exceeding the advisory is not automatically a violation, but after a crash it becomes evidence that you were driving too fast for conditions.
Traps that cost marks
Stopping beside the sign instead of at the line; treating YIELD as an obligatory full stop; reading a yellow speed plaque as a legal limit; and confusing No Parking with No Stopping.