Driver's License Test Prep
US Road Signs Road Markings

A white left-turn arrow is painted in the lane you are driving in as you approach an intersection. What does it require?

White arrow on dark pavement with a vertical shaft turning sharply to the left, ending in a wide arrowhead pointing left.
  1. A.
    If you stay in this lane, you must turn left at the intersection Correct
  2. B.
    You may turn left or continue straight ahead
  3. C.
    You may turn left only on a green arrow signal
  4. D.
    You may use this lane for any movement as long as you signal
The Why

The answer is "If you stay in this lane, you must turn left at the intersection"

A left-turn-only arrow reserves the lane for left turns, so if you remain in this lane at the intersection you must turn left. The left-or-straight answer is the trap: it carries over from the combined arrow at other intersections, whose second head points straight to permit that movement, and reads a single left head as if it worked the same way.

Why the others miss

The traps in the wrong answers

B. You may turn left or continue straight ahead

A single left-head arrow reserves the lane for left turns only. A combined arrow would carry a second head pointing straight to permit that movement. Assumes a lane arrow suggests options rather than assigning one, so a single left head reads as 'left turn available here' instead of 'left turn required.'

C. You may turn left only on a green arrow signal

The pavement arrow marks lane use, not signal permission. When the signal permits movement, you still must turn left because the arrow reserves this lane for that turn. Fuses the pavement marking with the signal head, borrowing a protected-turn signal rule and attaching it to a symbol that only assigns the lane a movement.

D. You may use this lane for any movement as long as you signal

The arrow assigns this lane a required movement, not a suggested one. A turn signal does not convert a left-only lane into a general-purpose lane. Applies the 'signal before you change lanes' habit to a pavement symbol, treating a turn signal as a workaround for the lane's assigned use.

The Rule

This question tests your knowledge of Road Markings on the roads of every US state . Source: Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices, marking 3B.24 (Left-Turn Arrow)..

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