North Carolina · Handbook chapter 9 · 5 min read

Chapter 9: Signals, signs and pavement markings

North Carolina traffic signals and arrows, flashing yellow arrows, ramp meters, hybrid beacons, the shapes and colors of regulatory, warning and guide signs, route markers, pavement lines and colored markers, and traffic officers.

Why this chapter matters

North Carolina gives a separate traffic signs test: you must name signs by color and shape and say what they mean, and for a Class C license you need 9 of 12 right. Signals and lines also come up on the knowledge test.

Traffic signals

• Failing to yield to a pedestrian when turning right on red carries a penalty of $100 to $500.
• If a signal is dark or broken, treat the intersection as an all-way stop, unless an officer is directing traffic.
• A ramp meter on a freeway entrance: red means stop and wait, green means go and merge, dark means merge normally.
• A hybrid beacon at a mid-block crosswalk is dark until someone pushes the button. Then it flashes yellow, turns steady yellow, then steady red (stop). During flashing red, stop and then go only when the crossing is clear.

Regulatory signs

• STOP: the eight-sided red sign with white letters. The octagon is used only for STOP. Stop at the stop line, or before the crosswalk, or where you can see the cross street.
• YIELD: a triangle pointing down, red and white. Slow down and give way, stopping if traffic requires it.
• Rectangles and squares in black and white or red and white show speed limits and other rules, such as NO U-TURN or KEEP RIGHT EXCEPT TO PASS.
• DO NOT STOP ON TRACKS reminds you never to stop on a railroad track.
• The accessible parking sign marks spaces only for vehicles with a disability plate or placard.

Warning signs

• Most are diamonds, black on yellow. Black on orange diamonds warn of construction or maintenance work.
• The pennant, a sideways yellow triangle on the left side of the road, marks the start of a no-passing zone.
• STOP AHEAD warns of a STOP sign hidden by a curve or other object.
• The round yellow sign with an X and RR gives advance warning of a railroad crossing. At the crossing itself is the white X-shaped crossbuck, with a plaque below it if there is more than one track.
• The five-sided (pentagon) sign marks a school zone or school crossing.

Guide signs and route markers

• Green, brown or blue rectangles give directions, distances, recreation sites and services. Hospital, Highway Patrol and telephone signs are blue and white.
• Odd route numbers generally run north and south; even numbers run east and west.
• Interstate routes use a red, white and blue shield. U.S. routes use a shield. N.C. routes use a diamond. N.C. secondary road signs are rectangles.
• Never stop in the road to read a sign. Pull onto the shoulder when it is safe.

Pavement markings

• Yellow lines separate traffic going in opposite directions; white lines separate traffic going the same direction.
• A broken yellow center line: passing with care is allowed. A double solid yellow: no passing either way. On a two-lane road you may pass when the broken line is on your side.
• A solid white line marks the right edge; a solid yellow line marks the left edge of a divided highway. If you see them the other way round, you are going the wrong way.
• A two-way left-turn lane in the center is only for left turns. Do not use it to pass or to merge.
• Reflective markers: white and yellow improve lines at night in the wet, red markers mean you are facing the wrong way, and blue markers can show a nearby fire hydrant.

Traffic officers

An officer's directions override signals and signs. A raised hand with the palm toward you and a long whistle blast means stop; a wave and short blasts mean go. At night officers may use a flashlight.