Driver's License Test Prep
US Road Signs Warning Signs

What should a driver understand from this Curve Right sign?

Yellow diamond with black border containing a thick black arrow that sweeps in a smooth curve from lower left up to the upper right.
  1. A.
    Slow before the rightward curve and keep to your lane. Correct
  2. B.
    Stop at the curve and yield to oncoming traffic before entering.
  3. C.
    Make a sharp right turn at the intersection ahead.
  4. D.
    Merge left because the right lane ends ahead.
The Why

The answer is "Slow before the rightward curve and keep to your lane."

This is a warning of a rightward curve, so be ready to slow before the bend as the road calls for and hold your lane through it. Drivers who read a yellow warning diamond as though it carried the regulatory force of a red-and-white sign, expecting it to command a stop or yield, are the ones drawn to the stop-and-yield answer.

Why the others miss

The traps in the wrong answers

B. Stop at the curve and yield to oncoming traffic before entering.

A yellow warning diamond advises a speed adjustment before the curve; it does not command a stop or a yield to oncoming traffic. This answer reads the yellow warning diamond as though it carried the regulatory force of a red-and-white sign, commanding a stop or a yield at the curve.

C. Make a sharp right turn at the intersection ahead.

The rounded arrow shows a gentle bend in the roadway itself, not the right-angle corner of an intersection turn. This answer confuses the smooth curved arrow of W1-2R with the right-angle arrow of the W1-1R Turn sign, which warns of a much tighter bend.

D. Merge left because the right lane ends ahead.

This sign shows a curving road, not a tapering lane line, so no merge is called for here. This answer treats a bend drawn into the roadway itself as though it were the tapering lane-line diagram used on lane-reduction warnings.

The Rule

This question tests your knowledge of Warning Signs on the roads of every US state . Source: Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices, sign W1-2R (Curve Right)..

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