Driver's License Test Prep
US Road Signs Construction Signs

What does this Slow Traffic Ahead sign require of a driver approaching it?

Orange horizontal rectangular sign with a black border and black text reading SLOW TRAFFIC AHEAD on two lines.
  1. A.
    Ease off the throttle now because traffic ahead is moving much slower. Correct
  2. B.
    Come to a complete stop before reaching the marked line.
  3. C.
    Yield to workers entering the roadway from the shoulder.
  4. D.
    Merge into the adjacent lane before reaching the sign.
The Why

The answer is "Ease off the throttle now because traffic ahead is moving much slower."

Traffic ahead is moving much slower than you are, so start easing off now. Cover the brake, check your mirror so the driver behind you has time too, and be ready to brake harder or stop if the queue ahead is standing still. The pick that treats this as a stop order comes from a driver carrying the red-octagon reflex to any orange work-zone message; the sign gives you an early cue to slow down, not a fixed point to halt at.

Why the others miss

The traps in the wrong answers

B. Come to a complete stop before reaching the marked line.

The sign is a warning of slower traffic ahead, not a command to halt at a stop line, and no stop line is posted with it. This answer treats an orange slow-down warning like a red octagon and expects a painted stop line to halt at.

C. Yield to workers entering the roadway from the shoulder.

This warning is about slower traffic in your lane, not people on foot beside it, so no yield to workers is called for. This answer confuses the text warning of slower traffic with the symbol sign that shows a worker in the roadway.

D. Merge into the adjacent lane before reaching the sign.

Slow Traffic Ahead flags slower speeds in your lane, not a lane ending, so no merge is required. This answer reads a slower-traffic warning as the lane-closed-ahead or merge-arrow sign that forces drivers to change lanes.

The Rule

This question tests your knowledge of Construction Signs on the roads of every US state . Source: Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices, sign W23-1 (Slow Traffic Ahead)..

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