Work-Zone Flagger on U.S. 10 at Rice
At 8:05 a.m. on U.S. Highway 10 near Rice, Minnesota, you are driving a passenger car eastbound in a 55 mph zone. You pass an orange 'ROAD WORK AHEAD' sign, then a 'SPEED LIMIT 45' sign with a 'WORK ZONE' plaque and a smaller 'FINES DOUBLE WHEN WORKERS PRESENT' message. A flagger in an orange vest stands in the eastbound lane about 300 feet ahead, holding a STOP/SLOW paddle. The paddle is turned to STOP, and six vehicles are queued in front of you. You are due at a meeting in St. Cloud at 9:00 a.m. and have already driven 40 minutes. After two minutes, the flagger rotates the paddle to SLOW and waves the queue forward. No workers are visible beyond the flagger, but an excavator is parked near the shoulder and the lane narrows to 10 feet. A dump truck is pulling out of a gravel access point 200 feet past the flagger.
1. When the flagger rotates the paddle from STOP to SLOW, what does that authorize, and what speed should you use past the excavator and the dump truck?
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The SLOW paddle authorizes you to proceed only when the way is clear; it is not a signal to resume the normal 55 mph limit. The work-zone sign set 45 mph, and that regulatory limit remains in force through the work area regardless of whether you personally see a worker. With a 10-foot narrowed lane, an excavator near the shoulder, and a dump truck entering from a gravel access, 45 mph is an upper limit, not a target. Accelerate gently, keep well below 45-perhaps 20–25 mph-and cover the brake as you approach the truck. The flagger controls the queue, but the flagger does not clear the dump truck from your path. If the truck moves across your lane, stop and wait; do not assume the SLOW signal gives you priority. Signal early and leave a gap so the truck driver can see you.
2. The plaque says fines double when workers are present. You see no workers beyond the flagger. May you drive 55 mph until you actually see a worker?
Read the worked answer
No. The double-fine plaque is a penalty warning, not the switch that turns the 45-mph limit on or off. The 'SPEED LIMIT 45' sign is the enforceable limit for the work zone; worker presence affects the fine amount, not the lawful speed. The flagger, the excavator, the narrowed lane, and the dump truck are all evidence that the zone is active even if no one is visible in your immediate line of sight. A worker could be behind the excavator or in a trench. Driving 55 would also leave too little margin for the truck entering the roadway. Treat the 45 sign as binding until an 'END ROAD WORK' sign or a new speed-limit sign appears. If conditions are worse than normal-rain, dust, equipment-go slower than 45.