A red X is displayed over a highway lane. What does it mean?
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A.
Never drive in that lane while the red X is shown. Correct
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B.
Merge left within 500 feet.
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C.
The lane is reserved for high-occupancy vehicles.
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D.
Drive in the lane only when passing.
The answer is "Never drive in that lane while the red X is shown."
A red X closes the lane in that direction; drivers may not enter it at all. D is the trap for drivers who blend the red X with the yellow X rule, which permits brief use only while clearing the lane before it turns red.
The traps in the wrong answers
B. Merge left within 500 feet.
No merge distance is attached to the red X; the closure is immediate. This answer pulls a construction-zone merge distance and drops it onto a red X.
C. The lane is reserved for high-occupancy vehicles.
HOV lanes are marked with diamonds and posted signs, not with an overhead red X. This answer confuses the closed-lane red X with a restricted-use lane marking from other jurisdictions.
D. Drive in the lane only when passing.
A red X closes the lane entirely; passing is not an exception. This answer confuses the red X closure with the left-lane passing-only rule that applies on interstates.
This question tests your knowledge of Traffic Lights in Illinois. Source: Illinois Rules of the Road, "Traffic Signals - Lane Signals," p.78..
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