Driver's License Test Prep
US Road Signs Road Markings

The word ONLY is painted in white in your travel lane next to a lane-use arrow. What does this require of you?

The word ONLY in bold white uppercase letters on dark gray pavement. The letters fill the height of the frame, and the O at the left edge and the Y at the right edge are slightly cut off by the sides of the image.
  1. A.
    Make the movement the arrow indicates. Correct
  2. B.
    Yield to any driver in the adjacent lane before proceeding.
  3. C.
    Stop at the intersection before making the indicated movement.
  4. D.
    Choose either the arrow's movement or continuing straight ahead.
The Why

The answer is "Make the movement the arrow indicates."

The ONLY legend, paired with a lane-use arrow, reserves the lane for a single movement, so a driver in that lane must turn or continue as the arrow directs. Drivers who read the arrow as one allowed movement alongside a straight-through default are the ones who miss it, because a lane marked ONLY is never applied to a lane that serves more than one movement.

Why the others miss

The traps in the wrong answers

B. Yield to any driver in the adjacent lane before proceeding.

ONLY restricts what movement the lane allows; it does not assign priority between lanes. This answer reads ONLY as a yield instruction rather than a lane-use restriction.

C. Stop at the intersection before making the indicated movement.

The ONLY legend controls lane use, not stopping; stopping is required only when a stop sign, red signal, or other traffic control requires it, and a stop line simply shows where to stop. This answer borrows the stopping requirement of a STOP legend or intersection signal and pins it onto the ONLY legend.

D. Choose either the arrow's movement or continuing straight ahead.

The ONLY legend rules out any second choice; the lane serves the arrow's movement and nothing else. This answer carries the straight-through default from unmarked lanes into a lane where the legend has already excluded it.

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.21 (ONLY Pavement Legend)..

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