Signal arrows — Delaware Permit Test
Signal arrows on the Delaware permit test — 6 rules, each with the reason behind it and a question on it while it is fresh.
The rules
A signal arrow applies only to the direction it points, while a round light applies to all directions.
A driver going straight who obeys a green turn arrow drives into traffic that still has a red ball against it.
The difference between round color lenses and arrows is that arrows apply only to a specific direction, while round lenses apply to all directions.
A steady red arrow requires a full stop, and you may not go in the direction it points.
Turning against a steady red arrow puts you across lanes that have a green right then.
A full stop is required when a steady red arrow is displayed. You may not proceed in the direction of a steady red.
A flashing red arrow permits a turn in its direction after you come to a full stop and pick a safe gap.
A driver who treats it like a steady red sits through a whole cycle; one who skips the stop turns blind into traffic.
Turns are permitted in the direction of a flashing red arrow after coming to a full stop.
A steady yellow arrow means the green arrow has ended; if you are too close to stop safely, continue with care.
A driver who thinks the protected turn is still on turns into oncoming cars that are about to get a green.
A green arrow display has ended. If you are too close to stop safely, continue thru the intersection with care.
A flashing yellow arrow permits a turn in its direction after you yield to oncoming traffic and pedestrians.
A driver who thinks the flashing yellow arrow is protected turns into an oncoming car that has a green.
The movement in the indicated direction is permitted after yielding to opposing traffic and pedestrians.
A steady green arrow means proceed with caution in the direction the arrow points, still yielding to anyone lawfully in the intersection.
A walker still in the crosswalk does not vanish because your arrow turned green.
Proceed with caution in the direction the arrow points.
On the test
How does an arrow signal differ from a round signal light?
An arrow covers just the way it points. A driver going straight who obeys a green turn arrow drives into traffic that still has a red ball against it. Delaware Driver Manual, p.71: “The difference between round color lenses and arrows is that arrows apply only to a specific direction, while round lenses apply to all directions.”
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 Delaware Driver Manual, published by the Delaware Division of Motor Vehicles, and against the state code itself. Last checked 2026-10-05.
- src/assets/drivers-manuals/DE.pdf (Delaware Driver Manual, July 2026, Delaware Division of Motor Vehicles, retrieved 2026-09-14; sha256 pinned in SOURCES.json)
- src/assets/drivers-manuals/DE.pages.txt (scripts/de-text.sh: plain pdftotext cropped to keep the section tab out, physical 47 under -layout; the fixture every citation here was cut from and verified against; sha256 pinned in SOURCES.json)
- src/assets/drivers-manuals/DE-exam.html (Delaware Division of Motor Vehicles, Driver's License Exam, https://dmv.de.gov/DriverServices/drivers_license/index.shtml?dc=dr_lic_written, read 2026-10-05; states both exam figures; sha256 pinned under examSource)
- https://dmv.de.gov/menu/forms_manuals.shtml (read 2026-10-05; links the manual)
- https://dmv.de.gov/DriverServices/faqs/index.shtml?dc=dr_faq_general (read 2026-10-05; its 30 and 24 are the exam page's figures before 2024-12, per the Internet Archive)