Road Signs You Must Know — New York Driver's License Practice Test

This appendix highlights a core set of road signs every driver must recognize on sight, without stopping to read a caption: signs like Stop, Yield, Railroad Crossing, School Crossing, Slippery When Wet, No Left Turn, No U-Turn, One Way, and Hospital To The Right. Learning to read a sign's category at a glance — before you even process its words — is the underlying skill this appendix is teaching.

Frequently tested is the ability to sort a sign by what it's telling you to do. Some signs are regulatory — they state a rule you must obey, like Stop, No Left Turn, No U-Turn, and One Way / Do Not Enter. Others are warning signs — they alert you to a condition or hazard ahead so you can adjust your driving, like Yield, Railroad Crossing, School Crossing, Slippery When Wet, Merging Traffic, and Hill Ahead. A few, like Hospital To The Right, are guide signs that simply give you directional information.

A common mistake is treating every sign the same way, rather than recognizing that a regulatory sign demands an action (stop, don't turn) while a warning sign demands caution and a speed or lane adjustment (slow down, watch for a crossing). The manual points test-takers to Chapter 4 and the separate Road Signs Quiz for the full picture, since this appendix only lists the most essential examples, not every sign in the system.