Driver's License Test Prep
California Practice Road Signs

A red circle with a red diagonal line drawn through a symbol is telling you what?

  1. A.
    You must yield to traffic entering from that direction.
  2. B.
    Do not do what the symbol shows. Correct
  3. C.
    The action shown must be done only during posted hours.
The Why

The answer is "Do not do what the symbol shows."

A red circle with a diagonal line through a picture is a prohibition sign; the pictured action is not allowed. Choice A leans on the driver's habit of treating red on any sign as a yield or stop trigger, though the manual assigns this specific shape the 'do not do this' role.

Why the others miss

The traps in the wrong answers

A. You must yield to traffic entering from that direction.

Yield rules are marked by the downward-triangle YIELD sign, not by a prohibition circle with a line through a symbol. This answer sees red on a sign and defaults to a yield response because red registers as a stop-or-yield cue.

C. The action shown must be done only during posted hours.

The prohibition applies at all times; no time qualifier is part of the red-circle-with-line meaning. This answer reads the sign as a time-limited restriction, borrowing from the posted-hours pattern on parking signs.

The Rule

This question tests your knowledge of Road Signs in California. Source: California Driver Manual, "Red Circle with a Red Line Through It," p.38..

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