Alabama Motorcycle: Road Signs Practice Test

Question 1

A round yellow sign carrying a large X with two letter R's warns of what, and what should you do about it?

Accepted Answer

Tracks lie ahead, so reduce speed, look both ways, and prepare to stop — The advance warning disc tells you tracks are coming up, so ease off the speed, look carefully each way, and be ready to halt, because a train needs a long way to stop.

Answer

A rail yard is nearby, so sound your horn as you go by

Answer

The road ahead is closed, so find another route

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A crossing gate has failed, so cross without slowing

Question 2

What is a SOFT SHOULDER sign telling an Alabama driver?

Accepted Answer

The strip beside the pavement will not hold a vehicle, so stay on the paved surface — The ground just past the edge of the pavement will not carry a vehicle's weight there, so the manual warns drivers to keep off it.

Answer

The shoulder is set aside for slow-moving vehicles

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Loose gravel has been spread over the travel lanes

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The paved surface ends shortly and becomes dirt

Question 3

What must a driver do when facing a YIELD sign?

Accepted Answer

Slow down and give way to pedestrians and to traffic on the road being entered — The white-on-red triangle tells you to reduce speed enough to let people on foot and vehicles already using the intersecting roadway go ahead of you.

Answer

Come to a full halt every time before moving on

Answer

Hold the posted speed, because cross traffic is required to stop

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Stop only when a police officer is present at the corner

Question 4

You pass a blue and white sign beside an Alabama highway. What sort of message does that color pairing carry?

Accepted Answer

Services for motorists, such as fuel, food, or a hospital — Guide signs are color coded: green with white for directions, blue with white for services a driver may need, and brown with white for recreation or cultural sites.

Answer

A hazard waiting in the road ahead

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A rule you are legally obliged to follow

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A state park or a historic site

Question 5

A yellow curve sign has a speed number displayed on a small plate below it. What does that number mean?

Accepted Answer

The safest top speed for making that turn — The plate under a curve warning gives advice rather than a statutory limit: it is the fastest you can safely take that particular bend.

Answer

The legal maximum for the whole road

Answer

The lowest speed the law allows through the curve

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How far away the curve is, in hundreds of feet

Question 6

Alabama sorts traffic signs into three classes according to the job each one does. What are those three classes?

Accepted Answer

Regulatory signs, warning signs, and guide or information signs — Signs are grouped by function: some control how traffic moves, some alert you to a hazard ahead, and some point you toward places, routes, and services.

Answer

Painted signs, reflective signs, and electronic signs

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Federal signs, state signs, and county signs

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Permanent signs, temporary signs, and seasonal signs

Question 7

Which shape does Alabama use for most of its warning signs?

Accepted Answer

A diamond balanced on one corner — The usual warning sign is a square turned to stand on one of its corners, although a handful of warning signs break that pattern.

Answer

An eight-sided octagon

Answer

A triangle pointing downward

Answer

A tall vertical rectangle

Question 8

Alabama posts minimum speed limit signs most often on which kind of roadway?

Accepted Answer

Freeways and other controlled-access highways — A posted floor on speed keeps slow vehicles from obstructing faster traffic, so it turns up mainly on freeways and similar limited-access routes.

Answer

Residential streets

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Unpaved county roads

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Marked school zones

Question 9

Apart from the few that appear in another color, what color scheme do Alabama's regulatory signs use?

Accepted Answer

Black lettering and symbols on a white background — Regulatory signs govern how traffic moves and must be followed without hesitation, so they are kept plain: dark markings on a white field.

Answer

Black on a yellow background

Answer

White lettering on a brown background

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Black on an orange background

Question 10

Where on a two-lane Alabama road is the pennant-shaped NO PASSING ZONE sign posted?

Accepted Answer

On the left side of the road, where the zone starts — That pennant sits on the driver's left to mark the point at which the stretch of road where passing is banned begins.

Answer

On the right shoulder, halfway through the zone

Answer

Overhead in the middle of the roadway

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On the right side, at the point the zone ends

Question 11

On Alabama warning signs, what is a fluorescent yellow background reserved for?

Accepted Answer

Locations where people walk across, such as pedestrian crossings and school zones — That especially bright shade separates places where people cross on foot, school areas included, from the ordinary run of hazard warnings.

Answer

Bridges and overpasses

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Sharp curves and steep grades

Answer

Highway work zones

Question 12

A warning sign inside a highway work zone differs from an ordinary warning sign in what way?

Accepted Answer

Its background is orange rather than yellow — Ordinary warning signs pair black markings with yellow, but the ones posted where crews are working trade that yellow for orange.

Answer

It is round instead of diamond shaped

Answer

It carries white lettering on blue

Answer

It is always mounted on the left shoulder

Alabama Motorcycle: Road Signs practice test

Study questions with answers

1. A round yellow sign carrying a large X with two letter R's warns of what, and what should you do about it?

2. What is a SOFT SHOULDER sign telling an Alabama driver?

3. What must a driver do when facing a YIELD sign?

4. You pass a blue and white sign beside an Alabama highway. What sort of message does that color pairing carry?

5. A yellow curve sign has a speed number displayed on a small plate below it. What does that number mean?

6. Alabama sorts traffic signs into three classes according to the job each one does. What are those three classes?

7. Which shape does Alabama use for most of its warning signs?

8. Alabama posts minimum speed limit signs most often on which kind of roadway?

9. Apart from the few that appear in another color, what color scheme do Alabama's regulatory signs use?

10. Where on a two-lane Alabama road is the pennant-shaped NO PASSING ZONE sign posted?

11. On Alabama warning signs, what is a fluorescent yellow background reserved for?

12. A warning sign inside a highway work zone differs from an ordinary warning sign in what way?

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