Rhode Island · Handbook chapter 5 · 4 min read

Chapter 5: Signals, signs and roadway markings

Rhode Island hand signals, line colors and patterns, shared turn lanes, roundabouts and rotaries, traffic lights and arrows, the signs shown in the manual and work zones.

Why this chapter matters

Signs, lights and pavement lines tell you what you may and may not do, often before you can see the hazard. These are some of the most reliable points on any permit test.

Turn signals and hand signals

• You must signal by hand or with your turn signals when pulling out of a parking space and at least 100 feet before a turn.
• Hand signals, all with the left arm: left turn, arm straight out; right turn, arm bent up; stop or slow, arm bent down.

Roadway markings

• Yellow lines separate traffic going in opposite directions. White lines separate traffic going the same direction.
• Solid lines: no passing and no lane changes, except in emergencies or for legal turns, parking and breakdowns. Single or double solid yellow lines forbid passing.
• Broken lines: you may pass with care (yellow or white) and change lanes (white).
• Solid beside broken: if the solid line is on your side, do not pass; if the broken line is on your side, you may pass with care.
• A shared turn lane is a center lane with a solid yellow line on each outside edge and a broken yellow line inside. Use it only to turn, and do not enter it more than 100 feet before your turn.
• A shared-lane marking (sharrow) shows where bicyclists are likely to ride within a lane and that they may use the full lane.

Roundabouts and rotaries

• Traffic moves counterclockwise around a center island. Roundabouts use YIELD signs, not STOP signs or signals.
• A yellow diamond with a circle of arrows warns that a roundabout is ahead.
• Enter: slow down, yield to pedestrians and to vehicles already in the circle, and merge into a gap. Proceed: never stop inside unless there is an emergency. Exit: signal right and yield to pedestrians.
• Rhode Island law: unless signs say otherwise, a driver entering a rotary yields to all vehicles already in it.

Traffic lights

• Steady red: stop before the crosswalk and wait for green, unless a green arrow lets you go.
• Right on red: allowed after a full stop and yielding to pedestrians and traffic, unless a sign forbids it.
• Steady yellow: red is next. Stop if you safely can; otherwise go through with caution and clear the intersection.
• Steady green: go with caution, yielding to vehicles and pedestrians in the way.
• Flashing yellow: slow down, cover the brake and proceed with caution.
• Flashing red: treat it as a STOP sign.
• Green arrow: a protected turn in the direction of the arrow.
• Red arrow: stop; you may not go in that direction.
• Flashing yellow arrow: you may turn, but only after yielding to oncoming traffic and pedestrians, because oncoming traffic has a green light.
• A stale green has been green for a while and may soon change; a fresh green has just turned green.
• An intersection without signs or signals is uncontrolled: treat it as if it had a YIELD sign. When two vehicles arrive at about the same time, the driver on the left yields to the driver on the right.
• If another driver runs a red light, do not insist on your right-of-way. Cover the brake as you approach any intersection.

Signs in the manual

The manual's cover pages show three sign families:

• Regulatory signs, such as STOP, YIELD, DO NOT ENTER, WRONG WAY, ONE WAY, SPEED LIMIT, KEEP RIGHT, NO U-TURN, NO LEFT TURN, NO TURN ON RED and NO PASSING ZONE.
• Warning signs, mostly yellow diamonds: curves, winding road, crossroad, side road, merge, added lane, road narrows, narrow bridge, hill, slippery when wet, deer, bicycle and pedestrian crossings, two-way traffic, divided highway begins and ends, and railroad crossing.
• Guide signs: route markers (Interstate, U.S. and Rhode Island routes), exits, mile markers and services.

Work zones

• Construction signs are orange, diamond or rectangular.
• Speeding fines are doubled in work zones, 24 hours a day.
• Most work-zone crashes are rear-end collisions, so do not tailgate. Merge early and do not change lanes inside the zone.
• Flaggers have legal authority to control traffic. Obey them and any police officer directing traffic.