Driver's License Test Prep
Texas Practice Construction Signs

You have passed the last channelizing device in a Texas work zone. When does the manual say you may return to the normal driving lane?

  1. A.
    Immediately after passing the first cone
  2. B.
    When a flag person waves you back
  3. C.
    As soon as the lane opens up
  4. D.
    Only after checking traffic behind you Correct
The Why

The answer is "Only after checking traffic behind you"

The manual holds the lane change until you have checked traffic behind you, so a following driver already committed to that lane is not sideswiped. Drivers pick 'as soon as the lane opens up' because they focus on the space in front and skip the mirror check, the same habit that produces sideswipe crashes on any lane change.

Why the others miss

The traps in the wrong answers

A. Immediately after passing the first cone

Cones do not clear you to rejoin the through lane; traffic behind must be checked first. This answer reads the first channelizing device as a starter signal for a lane change, a shortcut nothing in the manual authorizes.

B. When a flag person waves you back

A flag person's instructions must be obeyed when one is directing you, and the manual is clear on that. This question, though, turns on the channelizing-device rule for returning to the normal lane, which requires you to check traffic behind you first. This answer extends the flag person's stop-and-slow authority to every work-zone lane change, in place of the mirror check the channelizing-device rule assigns to the driver.

C. As soon as the lane opens up

An open lane ahead is not enough; the manual requires a mirror check before returning. This answer treats the lane change as a matter of finding space ahead, the same shortcut that causes sideswipes on any highway.

The Rule

This question tests your knowledge of Construction Signs in Texas. Source: Texas Driver Manual, "Channelizing Devices," p.36..

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