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Maryland Road Signs Practice study materials
Maryland Road Signs Practice study resources

Maryland Road Signs Practice: Regulatory Signs: Rules You Must Obey

Maryland Road Signs Practice · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.

All guide sections

Regulatory Signs: Rules You Must Obey

Regulatory signs tell you what the law requires or prohibits. On the Maryland knowledge test, expect questions that ask you to identify a sign by shape, color, and legend, and to explain when its rule starts and ends. Most regulatory signs are white rectangles with black legends; STOP is the red octagon, YIELD is the red-and-white triangle, and prohibition signs use a red circle with a slash. These signs are enforceable, not suggestions.

Core rules

  • A STOP sign requires a complete stop at the stop line, at the crosswalk, or before entering the intersection if neither exists. Then yield to traffic and pedestrians.
  • A YIELD sign requires you to slow and give right-of-way. Stop only if necessary; it is not a stop sign.
  • A SPEED LIMIT sign sets the legal maximum from that point until another speed limit or an END plaque. It is not an advisory speed.
  • ONE WAY, DO NOT ENTER, and turn-arrow signs control lane and direction use. A red slash through a symbol means the action is prohibited.
  • NO PARKING and NO STOPPING are different. No stopping forbids even a brief stop; no parking allows a temporary stop to load or unload passengers where local rules permit.
  • NO TURN ON RED prohibits a right turn after stopping; otherwise Maryland generally allows right on red after a full stop and yield.

Worked example

A white sign reads SPEED LIMIT 45. Farther ahead, another reads SPEED LIMIT 30. The legal maximum is 45 mph from the first sign until the 30 sign, then 30 mph. The 30 is a regulatory limit, not a warning or recommendation. If a plaque says TRUCKS 40, the lower limit applies only to trucks.

Traps that cost marks

A rolling stop fails the STOP requirement. YIELD does not always mean stop, but it does mean give way. Do not confuse an advisory speed plaque on a yellow warning sign with a white regulatory speed limit sign. Also check whether a restriction applies to all traffic or only to a named vehicle type.

Key points

  • White rectangle, black legend: regulatory rule; enforceable.
  • STOP means complete stop, then yield; YIELD means slow and give way.
  • Speed limit begins at the sign and ends at the next limit or END sign.
  • Red circle and slash means prohibited.
  • NO STOPPING is stricter than NO PARKING.
  • NO TURN ON RED overrides the usual right-on-red rule.