Traffic signs — Colorado Permit Test

Traffic signs on the Colorado permit test — 6 rules, each with the reason behind it and a question on it while it is fresh.

The rules

Traffic signs tell you about traffic rules, hazards and your current location, and can also give directions and help you locate services.

Four different jobs share one pole. Knowing which job a sign is doing tells you whether it is an order or information.

Traffic signs tell you about traffic rules, hazards, and your current location

Colorado Driver Handbook, p.7

The shapes and colors of traffic signs indicate the type of information they provide.

You can tell what kind of sign it is before you can read a word of it. That is how a sign works at 55 mph.

The shapes and colors of these signs indicate the type of information they provide

Colorado Driver Handbook, p.7

Regulatory signs tell you of laws and regulations that apply at a location, and failure to obey them is a traffic violation.

A regulatory sign is the law standing at the side of the road. Ignoring one is the same as breaking the statute it stands for.

Failure to obey these signs is a traffic violation

Colorado Driver Handbook, p.7

Route signs and markers show the type of roadway by their shape: Interstate, U.S., State or County highway.

The shape tells you what kind of road you are joining before you read the number. That changes what speeds and exits to expect.

The shape of the sign indicates the type of roadway

Colorado Driver Handbook, p.9

Lane control signs give direction and information about where you can turn, often using an arrow symbol, and may be at the side of the road, hung over the road, or painted on the road.

At a wide intersection the lane you are in decides where you may go. The sign or the paint is the only thing that tells you which lane is which.

The signs are along the side of the road or hang over the road

Colorado Driver Handbook, p.8

A reflective orange triangle on the rear of a vehicle means it is designed to travel at speeds slower than 25 miles per hour.

It is a warning that the gap ahead of you is closing far faster than it looks. Rural roads are where this catches drivers out.

A reflective orange triangle on the rear of a vehicle means it is designed to travel at speeds slower than 25 miles per hour

Colorado Driver Handbook, p.9

On the test

What do traffic signs do, according to the handbook?

Tell you rules, hazards, location and directions. Four different jobs share one pole. Knowing which job a sign is doing tells you whether it is an order or information. Colorado Driver Handbook, p.7: “Traffic signs tell you about traffic rules, hazards, and your current location”

How this works

Most practice tests hand you a bank of questions and leave the manual somewhere else. This one puts them together.

You read one law and the reason behind it, then answer a question on that law while it is still fresh. Get it right and you move on; get it wrong and you have found the gap while it is cheap to fix, not on the morning of the exam.

Learning one rule at a time, and proving it immediately, is what turns a manual you skimmed into something you actually know — and it makes studying feel like getting somewhere rather than like waiting to find out.

What it costs

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Where these come from

Every rule here is checked against Colorado Driver Handbook, published by the Colorado Division of Motor Vehicles, and against the state code itself. Last checked 2026-09-16.