Pavement Markings - Section 2, Part 3 - DMV Study Cards

If the center lane is marked by a single broken yellow line on both sides, drivers traveling in either direction may use the center lane for passing.

How can you know if you can use a center lane for passing?

Road markings show when drivers may use the center lane for making left turns or for passing.

On three lane roads with traffic moving in both directions, how do you know if you can use the center lane for passing or turning?

Road markings guide and warn drivers as well as regulate traffic. Markings may be red, yellow or white. They may be used alone or in combinations. Each has a different meaning.

What are road markings used for?

E-ZPass toll transponders. E-ZPass transponders allow drivers to pay electronically without having to stop to pay with cash. If you have a transponder look for the correct lane marked by a purple EZPass logo.

What do all toll facilities in Virginia accept as payment?

Broken White Lines - Broken white lines separate lanes of traffic going in the same direction. You may change lanes with caution.

What do broken white lines mean?

Dotted White Lines - Dotted white lines are actually small rectangles in a series where each is closely spaced to the next. They are used to show lane assignments in intersections and interchanges where there might otherwise be a tendency to drift out of a lane or an area of intended use. Often they are used to guide two turning lanes through the intersection. Dotted white lines are also used to denote the opening of a turn lane at an intersection and entrance/exit lanes at interchanges.

What do dotted white lines indicate?

Double Solid White Lines - Double solid white lines on the road separate lanes of traffic going in the same direction. Most often they are used to designate special use lanes from conventional lanes as when used to separate a High Occupancy Vehicle lane from the other lanes of an expressway. You may not cross these lines. You may enter the designated special use lane only where signs and markings allow.

What do double solid white lines mean?

Double Solid Yellow Lines - Double solid yellow lines mark the center of the road and separate traffic traveling in two different directions. Passing is not allowed in either direction. You may not cross the lines unless you are making a left turn or passing pedestrians, bicyclists, and riders of scooters or skateboards, when the opposite lane is clear and you can pass safely.

What do double solid yellow lines mean? What is the exception?

Red markings are generally not used; but, some communities do use red curbs to indicate no parking zones.

What do red markings indicate?

Red reflectors on the pavement show areas not to be entered or used. They are positioned on the road surface so that only traffic flowing in the wrong direction would observe them.

What do red reflectors on the road indicate?

Solid White Lines - Solid white lines show turn lanes and discourage lane changes near an intersection, interchange, on and off-ramps, and at other locations where lane changes might be dangerous. Solid white lines also mark the right edge of the pavement. Stop lines, crosswalks, and parking spaces also are marked by white lines. Arrows used with white lines indicate which turn may be made from the lane.

What do solid white lines mean?

Curved and Straight White Lane Arrows - If you are in a lane marked with a curved arrow or a curved arrow and the word ONLY, you must turn in the direction of the arrow. If your lane is marked with both a curved and straight arrow, you may turn or go straight.

What do the arrows in this picture indicate?

Shared Lane Markings (Sharrow), consists of a bicycle symbol with a double chevron arrow above it and is used on travel lanes too narrow for motor vehicles and bicycles to share side-by-side. Sharrows clarify where bicyclists are encourage to ride in the lane and remind drivers to expect bicyclists on the road.

What do the bicycle and arrow marking indicate in this photo?

Yield Line - A yield line is a line of triangles extending across the roadway that may be used with a yield sign to show the point at which you must yield or stop if necessary. A yield line is often seen at the entrance of a roundabout.

What do the triangles in this picture represent and where might you see them?

If both sides of the center lane are marked by a solid yellow line and a broken yellow line, drivers traveling in either direction may use the lane for making left turns. However, they may not travel further than 150 feet in this lane.

What do the yellow lines in this picture indicate? How far can you travel in one of these lanes before turning?

Yellow center lines mean two-way traffic, flowing in opposite directions.

What do yellow center lines indicate?

On an unmarked two-lane road, you may pass a slow moving vehicle on the left side if there are no signs prohibiting passing. Make sure that they way is clear.

What do you do if you are on a two-lane road in Virginia that does not have lane markings and the car is going really slow in front of you and you would like to pass it?

Continue on, they will photograph your license plate and send you a bill.

What do you do if you mistakenly enter an EZPass lane and don't have an EZPass?

Broken Yellow Center Lines - Broken yellow center lines mean that passing on the left is allowed in either direction when the way ahead is clear.

What does a broken yellow center line mean? What is the exception?

Broken Yellow Line Alongside a Solid Yellow Line - A broken yellow line alongside a sold yellow line means that passing is allowed from the side of the broken line, but not from the side of the solid line. Vehicles on the solid yellow line side may only cross the line to pass pedestrians, bicyclists, and riders of scooters or skateboards, when the opposite lane is clear and you can pass safely.

What does a broken yellow line alongside a solid yellow line mean? What is the exception?

Do not stop, stand, or park.

What does a red curb indicate?

Stop only long enough to pick up or drop off passengers.

What does a white curb indicate?

Stop only long enough to load or unload. Stay with your car.

What does a yellow curb indicate?

High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes are marked on highways by a diamond shape in the center of the lane. HOV lanes may also be special lanes separated by a barrier or solid double white lines. During heavy traffic periods, HOV lanes are reserved for buses, vanpools, carpools, other high occupancy vehicles, motorcycles, and certain clean special fuel vehicles. Road signs show the minimum number of passengers a vehicle must carry (excluding motorcycles and clean fuel vehicles) to use the HOV lanes and the times that HOV restrictions are in effect. If the lanes are separated by a barrier, they are reversible. This means that during certain times of the day, traffic flows one way. During other times of the day, traffic flows in the opposite direction. A diamond-shaped marking may also indicate that the lane is reserved for use as a bus lane.

What does the diamond indicate in the picture?

Bicycle lanes are indicated by a solid or dashed white line or green pavement markings and a bicyclist symbol. A bicycle lane is for the preferential use of bicyclists. Drivers should not drive in the bicycle lane except when necessary to turn left or right. Before turning, check your mirrors for bicyclists that may be behind you and yield to bicycles in the lane.

What does this green lane with a bicycle symbol indicate?

Look for and follow signs for cash only lanes. Slow down as you approach toll plazas. Be extra cautious as you approach, enter, and depart toll plazas. There may be other drivers changing lanes and/or toll employees crossing the lanes.

What should you do if you approach a toll and do not have an EZPass?