You see a sign in the shape of an octagon ahead. What does the shape alone tell you to do?
-
A.
Slow down and prepare to yield.
-
B.
Come to a complete stop. Correct
-
C.
Watch for a school crossing.
-
D.
Merge with traffic from the right.
The answer is "Come to a complete stop."
The octagon is reserved for stop signs only. No other traffic sign in the system uses an eight-sided outline, which is why the shape alone is enough to tell you to stop, even when the face of the sign is dirty, faded, or partly covered. Yield signs are downward-pointing triangles. School zones use a five-sided pentagon. Merge warnings are yellow diamonds. Reading the shape first is the point of the system; the text just confirms what the shape already told you.
The traps in the wrong answers
A. Slow down and prepare to yield.
The downward-pointing triangle is the yield sign, not the octagon. Misreading: Confuses the octagon with the yield triangle, which the manual says means reduce speed and yield right of way, not come to a complete stop.
C. Watch for a school crossing.
School zones use a five-sided pentagon, not an octagon. Misreading: Treats the octagon as a school-zone shape; the manual reserves the octagon exclusively for the stop sign.
D. Merge with traffic from the right.
Merge warnings are yellow diamond-shaped warning signs, not octagons. Misreading: Confuses a red regulatory octagon with a yellow diamond warning sign; the manual lists the octagon only under prohibitive regulatory signs meaning stop.
This question tests your knowledge of Road Signs in Oregon. Source: Oregon Driver Manual, "Signs and Traffic Signals: Regulatory Signs (Prohibitive)," p.7..
Related Oregon questions
- A diamond-shaped sign with a yellow background and a black symbol means: →
- A brown sign with white letters along the highway points to: →
- Blue signs along the highway tell you about: →
- A green sign with white lettering on the freeway most often gives you: →
- A white sign with a red circle and a slash through a symbol means: →
The Oregon book is on the way
Drop your email and we'll send the free Oregon cheat sheet now, plus a note the moment the book is available.