Florida DMV Test: Common Mistakes

Below a curve warning sign, you see a smaller yellow sign showing a number such as 35. According to the Florida manual, what does that number tell you?

An advisory speed panel posted with a warning sign gives the fastest safe speed for the hazard ahead. Drivers who read the yellow number as a white regulatory speed-limit sign reach for choice D, but the posted regulatory limit still applies before and after the curve; the advisory panel only recommends a safe speed through it.

• The minimum speed required through the curve to avoid a citation.: Advisory panels give a maximum safe speed, not a minimum; minimum speeds apply only where posted on highways. This answer borrows the highway minimum-speed rule and applies it to an advisory warning panel.
• The speed at which the curve was engineered and tested by state highway crews.: The panel is a driver instruction, not an engineering spec for the roadway. This answer reads the number as a technical design figure rather than the recommended driving speed.
• The legal speed limit that replaces the posted regulatory limit for this stretch of road.: Advisory panels are yellow warnings, not regulatory limits; the posted speed limit still applies. This answer treats a yellow warning panel as if it were a white regulatory speed-limit sign.

A yellow diamond warning sign shows two lanes narrowing into one on the right side. According to the Florida manual, what does it tell drivers to do?

The right lane ends and traffic in it must merge left, while drivers already in the left lane should leave room for the merge. The tempting wrong answer is the slower-traffic-keep-right rule, because drivers reach for that familiar highway habit any time a sign shows lanes changing near the right edge.

• Slower traffic must move over to the right-hand lane.: That is the Slower Traffic Keep Right regulatory instruction, not the Reduction of Lanes warning. This answer reaches for the slower-traffic-keep-right habit whenever a sign shows lanes changing near the right edge.
• The divided highway is ending; keep to the right.: Divided Highway Ends is a separate sign; this warning is about a lane dropping, not a median dropping. This answer swaps a lane-drop diagram for the median-end diagram taught on the same page.
• A restricted lane for buses is starting on the right.: Restricted lane notices are regulatory signs; this yellow warning marks a lane ending, not a restriction beginning. This answer treats any lane-change diagram as a restricted-lane notice.

You approach a ONE LANE BRIDGE warning sign on a two-lane road. What does the Florida manual require before you cross?

The bridge holds only one vehicle at a time, so the driver must confirm the span is clear of oncoming traffic before entering. The tempting wrong answer is the stay-in-your-lane response, because drivers group the two bridge signs into one instruction and repeat the Narrow Bridge rule that sits next to this one in the manual.

• Yield only to oncoming trucks and buses at the bridge.: The rule applies to every oncoming vehicle, not just heavy vehicles; only one vehicle at a time may occupy the bridge. This answer narrows the yield to heavy vehicles from the shared-road rule about CMVs swinging wide.
• Stay in your lane; the bridge fits two lanes with tight clearance.: That instruction belongs to Narrow Bridge; a one-lane bridge does not carry two lanes at once. This answer groups the two bridge signs into a single instruction, repeating the Narrow Bridge rule beside it.
• Reduce your speed to the 20 MPH school-zone limit.: The 20 MPH figure comes from the school-zone speed limit and does not attach to the One Lane Bridge sign. This answer reaches for the school-zone number as a generic slow-down for narrow passages.

A yellow diamond warning sign shows two arrows pointing in opposite directions. What does the Florida manual say it warns about?

A Two-Way Traffic Ahead sign warns that the roadway is changing to two-way flow with oncoming traffic, so stay right and watch for vehicles in the other lane. The Divided Highway Ahead answer traps test-takers who see two opposing arrows and read them as a median beginning rather than as a switch in traffic flow.

• You must choose a left or right exit at a fork.: Fork-direction guidance is handled by regulatory signs like Must Turn or Keep Right, not by a yellow warning diamond. This answer carries over the regulatory Must Turn sign's pick-a-direction habit because both signs share the two-opposing-arrows look.
• The center lane is a shared left-turn lane.: Shared turn lanes are marked by the regulatory Center Turn Lane sign, not by a yellow warning of opposing traffic. This answer links opposing arrows to the center-turn-lane diagram taught nearby.
• A divided highway with a physical median begins ahead.: A median or physical barrier beginning is the Divided Highway Ahead sign; Two-Way Traffic Ahead warns of a change to two-way flow with oncoming traffic. This answer sees two opposing arrows and reads a median beginning rather than a switch to two-way flow.