Driver's License Test Prep
California Practice Regulatory Signs

A red YIELD sign requires drivers to:

Downward-pointing red triangle with a white interior triangle and the word YIELD in red letters.
  1. A.
    Come to a full stop every time
  2. B.
    Speed up to merge with cross traffic
  3. C.
    Slow down and be ready to stop Correct
The Why

The answer is "Slow down and be ready to stop"

A YIELD sign requires slowing and being ready to stop, not stopping every time or accelerating. The full-stop answer comes from lumping YIELD in with STOP; the manual keeps YIELD a conditional slowdown, not an automatic halt.

Why the others miss

The traps in the wrong answers

A. Come to a full stop every time

The manual reserves the automatic full stop for STOP signs; YIELD is a slowdown, with a stop only if needed. This answer applies the STOP-sign rule to a YIELD, a mix-up that comes from grouping the two red signs together.

B. Speed up to merge with cross traffic

The manual calls for slowing, not accelerating, at a YIELD sign. This answer borrows the freeway on-ramp habit of accelerating to match traffic and misapplies it to a city YIELD.

The Rule

This question tests your knowledge of Regulatory Signs in California. Source: California Driver Manual, "Red YIELD Sign," p.35..

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