Signs — Wisconsin Driver's License Practice Test

This section teaches you to read traffic signs by their shape and color, so you can recognize them at a glance even before you read the words. It groups signs into families: warning, regulatory, construction, destination and service, route markers, and railroad-crossing signs. One rule comes first — always follow the directions of police, school crossing guards and road workers, even when they differ from a traffic light or sign.

Warning signs are yellow with black letters or symbols and are mostly diamond shaped, alerting you to a hazard ahead such as a curve, a hill, a signal, a lane ending or a deer crossing. Regulatory signs tell you the rules of the road and use special shapes and colors: a Stop sign has eight sides and is red with white letters, a Yield sign is a downward-pointing red and white triangle, and a No Passing Zone is a yellow pennant. Construction signs are orange diamonds or rectangles that warn of workers on or near the road, where traffic fines double.

Guide and service signs help you find your way rather than warn you: destination signs are green or brown with white lettering and show directions and distances, while service signs are blue and point to things like a hospital or camping. Route markers change shape and color by road type — a U.S. route looks like a badge, a state road like a milk jug, and an Interstate is a shield with red on top and blue on the bottom. At railroad crossings, watch for the round yellow warning sign with a black X, never try to beat a train, do not stop on the tracks, and do not cross unless there is room on the other side — and if a gate is lowering or raising, do not drive around or under it.