California Car / Permit practice
California Car / Permit: Road Signs practice test
Learn the shapes, colors, and meanings of regulatory, warning, and guide signs — from stop and yield to construction and school-zone signs.
Content reviewed against official driver handbooks · August 12, 2026
20 questions · pass with 16 correct. You get instant feedback and an explanation after every answer.
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Study questions with answers
12 sample Road Signs questions with the correct answer, a short explanation, and the official handbook reference. Read through them, then take the quiz above.
Show all 12 questions with answers
1. A blue rectangular sign along the highway usually shows:
Correct answer: Motorist services like gas, food, or lodging
Blue signs point you to motorist services such as gas, food, lodging, and hospitals.
2. A pennant-shaped sign (a horizontal triangle pointing right) posted on the left side of the road warns that:
Correct answer: You are entering a no-passing zone
The pennant-shaped 'No Passing Zone' sign is placed on the left side of the road. It marks the start of a stretch where you may not pass other vehicles.
3. Green highway signs are generally used to:
Correct answer: Give directions and distances
Green signs are guide signs. They give directions, distances, and destinations, such as exits and the miles to a city.
4. What does a yellow diamond-shaped sign showing a red STOP symbol mean?
Correct answer: A stop sign is ahead; prepare to stop.
A diamond-shaped sign with a STOP symbol is the Stop Ahead warning sign. It tells you a stop sign is coming up, so you should get ready to stop. The actual stop sign still requires a full stop before the crosswalk or limit line. It is not a narrowing, dead-end, or merging warning.
5. What does a yellow diamond-shaped sign showing a traffic signal (red, yellow, green) mean?
Correct answer: A traffic signal is ahead; prepare to slow or stop.
A diamond-shaped sign showing a traffic signal is the Traffic Signal Ahead warning sign. It tells you a signal is coming up, so be prepared to slow or stop. It does not mean the road ends, and railroad crossings have their own warning signs. Diamond-shaped signs warn you of specific road conditions and dangers ahead.
6. You approach a white circular sign showing a bicycle crossed out in red. What does it tell you to do?
Correct answer: Bicycles are not allowed on this road.
A red circle with a line through it shows a picture of what you cannot do. When that picture is a bicycle, bicycles are not allowed on that road. It is not a U-turn ban, a wrong-way warning, or a minimum speed rule, since each of those uses a different symbol or wording. Follow the sign's instruction.
7. You approach a white rectangular sign posting a weight limit in tons. What does it tell you to do?
Correct answer: Vehicles over the posted weight may not use this road or bridge.
Vehicles over the posted weight may not use this road or bridge. (This is the "Weight Limit" sign.)
8. What does a red, eight-sided (octagonal) sign always mean?
Correct answer: Come to a complete stop
A stop sign means you make a full stop before the crosswalk or at the limit line. With no line or crosswalk, you stop before the intersection. Check traffic in every direction before you go. Yielding and rolling through is not enough, because a yield sign is the one that only asks you to slow down and be ready to stop.
9. A yellow, diamond-shaped sign is used to:
Correct answer: Warn of possible hazards or changes ahead
Diamond-shaped signs warn you of specific road conditions and dangers ahead, so you can slow down and prepare. They are not rule signs. Rules you must obey, such as speed limits, appear on white rectangular regulatory signs. Obey warning signs whatever their shape or color, and treat the diamond as a prompt to stay alert for what comes next.
10. If you accidentally drive onto a roadway against the flow of traffic and see DO NOT ENTER and WRONG WAY signs, you should:
Correct answer: Back out or turn around when it is safe to do so
DO NOT ENTER and WRONG WAY signs mean you have entered the road against traffic. When it is safe, back out or turn around. At night, red road reflectors shining in your headlights are another sign you are going the wrong way. Continuing forward and expecting other traffic to move for you is not an option.
Source: California Driver Handbook — Regulatory Signs
11. What does a yellow diamond-shaped sign showing a red-and-white yield symbol mean?
Correct answer: A yield sign is ahead; be prepared to yield.
A diamond-shaped sign showing a yield symbol is the Yield Ahead warning sign. It tells you a yield sign is coming, so be ready to give way. When you reach the yield sign itself, slow down and be ready to stop for any vehicle, bicyclist, or pedestrian. It is not a farm-equipment or merging warning.
12. You approach a white rectangular sign reading 'DO NOT PASS'. What does it tell you to do?
Correct answer: Passing other vehicles is prohibited beyond this sign.
Passing other vehicles is prohibited beyond this sign. (This is the "Do Not Pass" sign.)
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