A yellow warning sign is sometimes joined with a smaller yellow-and-black sign that shows a number. What does that number tell you?
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A.
The distance in feet to the hazard ahead
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B.
The recommended reduced speed for the area ahead Correct
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C.
The maximum legal speed limit for the area ahead
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D.
The minimum legal speed required in the area
The answer is "The recommended reduced speed for the area ahead"
The smaller yellow-and-black plate is an advisory: it names the reduced speed suggested for the hazard the warning sign flags, not an enforced limit. Choice C is the trap for a driver used to black-on-white regulatory speed limit signs; yellow-and-black is advisory, so the number is a suggestion for the curve or condition ahead rather than a legal maximum.
The traps in the wrong answers
A. The distance in feet to the hazard ahead
Distance-to-hazard information, when given, uses a separate supplemental plate and is not what the recommended-speed sign carries. This answer reads the number as a distance because distance plates and speed plates both appear as small yellow rectangles under a warning.
C. The maximum legal speed limit for the area ahead
Legal maximum limits appear on regulatory speed-limit signs, which use black text on a white background, not yellow with black. This answer reads any posted number as an enforceable maximum, treating the color of the sign as irrelevant to whether it carries legal weight.
D. The minimum legal speed required in the area
Minimum speeds are posted on regulatory signs of their own, not on the advisory plate beneath a warning. This answer reasons that if a warning implies caution, the number below must set a floor drivers cannot drop below.
This question tests your knowledge of Road Signs in New York. Source: New York State Driver's Manual, "Warning Signs," p.30..
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