What should a driver do after seeing this Reduced Speed Limit Ahead sign near a work zone?
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A.
Slow to the posted number before reaching the regulatory sign it announces Correct
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B.
Drop to the shown speed immediately as soon as this sign is visible
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C.
Come to a complete stop before the marked work zone begins
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D.
Keep the current speed until workers are visible in the zone
The answer is "Slow to the posted number before reaching the regulatory sign it announces"
An orange diamond warns of what is ahead, not what is required now. The number posted on this sign starts where the regulatory sign it announces is placed, so you slow through the gap and arrive at that regulatory sign already at the new limit. Drivers who read any sign carrying a speed number as the limit itself brake the moment they see this one, applying the reduction before the zone it belongs to.
The traps in the wrong answers
B. Drop to the shown speed immediately as soon as this sign is visible
The current limit stays in force until the driver passes the regulatory sign this warning announces, so an instant drop at first sight is not what the sign requires. This answer reads an orange diamond carrying a speed number as a regulatory limit itself, since the face looks like a speed limit sign even though the shape and color mark it as advance warning of a limit that has not yet started.
C. Come to a complete stop before the marked work zone begins
The sign warns that a lower speed limit is ahead and does not announce a required stop. This answer groups every orange work zone device into one response, so a flagger's STOP paddle and this reduced-limit warning end up demanding the same action even though only one of them halts traffic.
D. Keep the current speed until workers are visible in the zone
The reduced limit begins at the regulatory sign this warning announces, whether or not workers are within view at that moment. This answer applies the everyday habit of slowing only when a hazard is in sight, so the speed drop waits for a visible worker even though the reduced-speed zone is defined by the regulatory sign the driver is approaching.
This question tests your knowledge of Construction Signs on the roads of every US state . Source: Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices, sign W3-5 (Reduced Speed Limit Ahead)..
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