Road Signs and Signals
Read the shape before the words
Ontario codes signs by shape and colour so a driver can react before reading a word. An octagon is always STOP; an inverted triangle is always YIELD; a diamond always warns of a hazard ahead; a white rectangle with a black border is regulatory (speed limits, turn prohibitions, parking rules); an orange diamond means construction or maintenance; green rectangles give directions and distances; brown marks points of interest; blue marks services. A yellow X-shaped crossbuck marks a railway crossing, and a red circle with a slash means prohibited.
Signals and their traps
The classic exam trap is assuming YIELD means stop. It does not: slow down, be ready to stop, and proceed only when the way is clear. A solid red means stop and stay stopped. In Ontario you may turn right on a red after a complete stop unless a sign forbids it, and you may turn left on a red only from a one-way street onto another one-way street. Flashing red is an all-way stop; flashing amber means slow down and proceed with caution. A green light does not give you the right to block an intersection - enter only if you can clear it. A green arrow protects the movement shown. Amber means stop unless you are already too close to stop safely; it is never a signal to accelerate.
Worked example
You sit at a red light on a two-way street, wanting to turn left into a one-way street. Is that legal? No. Ontario allows left turns on red only when you are turning from a one-way street onto another one-way street. The reverse - two-way to one-way - requires a green light or green arrow.
Rule of thumb
If a sign's shape or colour is unfamiliar, name the category first (warning, regulatory, construction, information); that alone usually eliminates the wrong answers.