Driver's License Test Prep
Texas Practice Road Signs

According to the Texas manual, a pennant-shaped road sign gives advance warning of what?

  1. A.
    A school crossing
  2. B.
    A no-passing zone Correct
  3. C.
    A railroad grade crossing
  4. D.
    A T-intersection
The Why

The answer is "A no-passing zone"

The manual assigns the pennant shape to advance warning of no-passing zones, which is why you see it on the left side of a two-lane road before the stripe changes. The trap is a railroad grade crossing: pennant is a rare shape most drivers cannot picture, so a learner defaults to another 'advance warning' target from the shape table and picks the railroad option.

Why the others miss

The traps in the wrong answers

A. A school crossing

School crossings use the pentagon shape in the manual. Picked because a driver recalls pennants and pentagons as two rare shapes and merges them into one memory.

C. A railroad grade crossing

Round is the manual's shape for railroad advance warning. Reached for by a learner who cannot picture a pennant and defaults to the most familiar advance-warning target from the table.

D. A T-intersection

T-intersection warnings use a diamond shape in the manual, not a pennant. Chosen by a driver who assumes any triangular hint of a shape must be pointing to an upcoming intersection.

The Rule

This question tests your knowledge of Road Signs in Texas. Source: Texas Driver Manual, "Chapter 5, Table 17: Signs by Shape," p.26..

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