8.1 Signs, Signals & Pavement Markings
Key Takeaways
- Traffic control devices communicate through shape and colour before a driver can read the legend, which is why shape and colour must be taught as a code rather than as decoration.
- RCW 46.61.055(2)(a) makes a steady yellow a warning that the related green movement is being terminated or a red indication will follow; it is not an instruction to accelerate.
- RCW 46.61.055(3)(a) permits a left turn on red from a one-way or two-way street into a one-way street carrying traffic in the direction of the turn, not only from a one-way street.
- A yellow centre line separates opposing traffic and a white line separates traffic moving in the same direction; broken lines permit crossing where safe and solid lines discourage or prohibit it.
8.1 Signs, Signals & Pavement Markings
[!NOTE] Why this belongs in an instructor guide. Traffic control devices sit inside the required curriculum standard "rules of the road" in WAC 308-108-155(2)(a)(ix), and the Washington Driver Guide is one of the five preparation sources DOL names for the instructor exams. Washington's devices conform to the national Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices adopted for state highways under RCW 47.36.030, which is why the shape-and-colour code is consistent across jurisdictions.
Reading shape and colour first
A driver identifies a device by shape and colour at a distance long before the legend is legible. Teaching the code, rather than teaching individual signs, is what produces a driver who responds correctly to a sign they have never seen.
| Shape | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Octagon | Stop - the only octagonal sign |
| Equilateral triangle, point down | Yield - the only downward triangle |
| Round | Railroad crossing advance warning |
| Pennant (horizontal triangle) | No passing zone, posted on the left |
| Diamond | Warning |
| Pentagon | School zone or school crossing |
| Rectangle, vertical | Regulatory |
| Rectangle, horizontal | Guide or information |
| Crossbuck | Railroad grade crossing at the tracks |
| Colour | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Red | Stop, yield, or prohibition |
| White background with black legend | Regulatory |
| Yellow | General warning |
| Fluorescent yellow-green | Pedestrian, bicycle and school warning |
| Orange | Construction and maintenance |
| Green | Guidance, permitted movements, distances |
| Blue | Motorist services |
| Brown | Recreation and cultural interest |
| Pink | Incident management |
The fluorescent yellow-green is worth calling out. Washington uses it specifically for the most vulnerable users, and a driver who registers that colour should be scanning for people rather than for vehicles.
Signal indications
RCW 46.61.055 is the traffic control signal legend, and it is worth reading rather than paraphrasing.
| Indication | Meaning under RCW 46.61.055 |
|---|---|
| Circular green | Proceed straight, right or left unless a sign prohibits the turn. A turning operator must stop to allow vehicles lawfully within the intersection control area to complete their movements, and must stop for pedestrians and personal delivery devices lawfully within it, per RCW 46.61.235(1) - 46.61.055(1)(a) |
| Green arrow | Enter only to make the movement indicated, or another movement permitted by an indication shown at the same time; same duty to stop for traffic and pedestrians within the area - 46.61.055(1)(b) |
| Steady yellow, circular or arrow | A warning that the related green movement is being terminated or that a red indication will follow immediately, after which traffic must not enter the intersection - 46.61.055(2)(a) |
| Steady circular red | Stop at the marked stop line, else before the crosswalk on the near side, else before the intersection control area, and remain standing until an indication to proceed is shown - 46.61.055(3)(a) |
| Turn on red | After stopping, a right turn is permitted from a one-way or two-way street into a two-way street, or into a one-way street carrying traffic in the direction of the turn; a left turn is permitted from a one-way or two-way street into a one-way street carrying traffic in the direction of the turn - unless a posted sign prohibits it. The operator must remain stopped for other traffic within or approaching the area and for pedestrians and personal delivery devices - 46.61.055(3)(a) |
| Steady red arrow | Do not enter to make the indicated movement; the same turn-on-red permissions apply after stopping - 46.61.055(3)(c) |
| Flashing red | Treat as a stop sign - stop, then proceed when safe |
| Flashing yellow | Proceed with caution |
| Flashing yellow arrow | The turn is permitted but not protected; yield to oncoming traffic and to pedestrians in the crosswalk |
| Nonfunctioning signal | Under RCW 46.61.183, where a signal is temporarily without power on all approaches, or is not displaying any green, red or yellow indication to your approach, consider the intersection an all-way stop, then yield in accordance with RCW 46.61.180(1) and 46.61.185 - except when directed to proceed by a flagger, police officer or firefighter |
The left turn on red entry catches most people out. Washington permits it from a one-way or a two-way street, provided the street being entered is one-way carrying traffic in the direction of the turn. A rule stated as "one-way to one-way only" is narrower than the statute.
The flashing yellow arrow deserves explicit instruction because it is comparatively recent and is easy to misread as a protected movement. Its whole point is to indicate a permitted-but-unprotected left. The safe teaching phrase is: flashing yellow arrow means you may go when you have judged the gap; it never means the oncoming traffic has stopped.
The steady yellow is the indication novices handle worst. Teach the decision rule rather than a duration: as the light changes, ask whether you can stop safely. If yes, stop. If stopping would require harsh braking that risks a rear-end collision, continue through. The wrong instinct - accelerate to beat it - is the one to name and refute explicitly.
Pedestrian indications add a third layer: a walking figure means begin crossing, a flashing upraised hand with a countdown means do not begin but finish if already crossing, and a steady upraised hand means do not cross.
Pavement markings
The colour code is simple and absolute:
- Yellow separates traffic moving in opposite directions, and marks the left edge of a divided highway or one-way roadway.
- White separates traffic moving in the same direction, and marks the right edge of the roadway.
The line pattern then encodes permission:
| Marking | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Broken yellow | Passing permitted when safe |
| Solid yellow on your side, broken on the other | You may not pass; oncoming traffic may |
| Double solid yellow | Passing prohibited in both directions; do not cross except to turn left where permitted |
| Two solid yellow lines with broken inner lines, both directions | Two-way left turn lane - for left turns only, from either direction; never a travel or passing lane |
| Broken white | Lane changes permitted when safe |
| Solid white | Lane changes discouraged; a wide solid white often prohibits them |
| Double solid white | Lane changes prohibited |
| White transverse stop line | Where to stop at an intersection |
| White crosswalk lines or ladder bars | A marked crosswalk |
| Yellow diagonal hatching | A neutral area not for travel |
The two-way left turn lane is the marking Washington novices most often misuse, typically by treating it as a merge or acceleration lane. Teach it as: enter only to turn left, as close to the turn as practical, and never travel in it.
Teaching device recognition in the car
Call signs out loud, early. Commentary drives should include device identification: "diamond ahead - curve warning - reducing speed." Naming a device at distance is the perceptual skill being trained.
Ask for the response, not the name. "What is that sign?" tests recall. "What are you going to do about it?" tests driving. Prefer the second.
Use the shape code deliberately. Occasionally ask a student to identify a sign at a distance where only the shape is visible, and have them predict the legend. Being right builds confidence in the code; being wrong is instructive.
Rehearse the yellow-light decision explicitly. Before it happens, tell the student what you expect: "if the light turns yellow, tell me whether you can stop safely, then act." Making it a spoken decision converts a reflex into a judgement.
Point out markings the student has stopped seeing. Experienced drivers habituate to pavement markings. A novice never learns to read them if nobody names them. Two-way left turn lanes, solid white lines at freeway ramps and hatched gore areas are the high-value ones.
Teach the inoperative-signal rule before a power cut happens. Windstorms take signals out across western Washington most winters, and a student who has never been told to treat a dark signal as an all-way stop will guess.
[!WARNING] Exam traps in this section
- A steady yellow means the green is terminating, not "speed up."
- A flashing yellow arrow is permissive, not protected.
- A nonfunctioning signal is an all-way stop under RCW 46.61.183.
- Left on red is permitted from a one-way or two-way street into a one-way street carrying traffic in the direction of the turn.
- Yellow separates opposing traffic; white separates same-direction traffic.
- A two-way left turn lane is never a travel or passing lane.
- Fluorescent yellow-green is reserved for pedestrian, bicycle and school warnings.
A driver approaches a signalised intersection displaying a flashing yellow arrow for the left turn. What does that indication mean?
What does a lane bounded on both sides by a solid yellow line with a broken yellow line inside it indicate?
Which sign shape and colour combination is reserved for pedestrian, bicycle and school warnings?