Driver's License Test Prep
US Road Signs Road Markings

A wide solid white line separates a freeway through lane from an exit ramp at the gore. What does it require of you?

A single wide solid white line running straight across the middle of a dark gray pavement background.
  1. A.
    Settle into your lane before the line; crossing it is discouraged. Correct
  2. B.
    Cross freely between the through lane and the ramp.
  3. C.
    Crossing is prohibited and can be ticketed.
  4. D.
    Traffic beyond the line is moving toward you.
The Why

The answer is "Settle into your lane before the line; crossing it is discouraged."

The wide solid white line at a ramp gore forms a neutral area between two paths of same-direction traffic. Settle into either the through lane or the ramp before you reach it, and stay out of the painted zone. The tempting wrong answer is the one that treats the solid white as a broken white lane line. A broken white line invites lane changes; a solid white channelizing line is drawn to hold you in the path you have already chosen, so drivers who are still deciding should decide sooner.

Why the others miss

The traps in the wrong answers

B. Cross freely between the through lane and the ramp.

This treats the wide solid white as a broken lane line, but a solid line is meant to be held. This answer reads a solid white channelizing line as a broken white lane line where routine lane changes are invited.

C. Crossing is prohibited and can be ticketed.

A single solid white channelizing line discourages crossing; only the double solid white version prohibits it. This answer applies the rule that fits the double-line version of the marking to the single-line one drawn here.

D. Traffic beyond the line is moving toward you.

Yellow lines separate opposing directions; white lines separate paths moving the same way. This answer reads white as the color that warns of oncoming traffic, a job the manual reserves for yellow markings.

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.08 (White Channelizing Line)..

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