Pavement markings — Oregon Permit Test

You must obey all pavement markings unless you see a police officer or road worker redirecting traffic.

Paint carries the same authority as a sign, and only a person on the road can override it.

You must obey all pavement markings unless you see a police officer or road worker redirecting traffic.

Yellow markings separate traffic moving in opposite directions and mark the left edge of one-way roads and ramps, two-way left turn lanes, and painted medians.

Yellow always means the other side of it is trouble — either oncoming traffic or the edge of your roadway.

Yellow Markings are used to separate traffic moving in opposite directions (center line) and to mark the left edge of one-way roads and ramps, two-way left turn lanes, and painted medians.

On a double center line of one solid and one broken yellow line, a broken line on your side means you may pass and a solid line on your side means you may not.

The same painted pair permits passing one way and forbids it the other, so the only line that governs you is the one nearest your wheels.

A broken yellow line on your side of the lane indicates you are allowed to pass. A solid yellow line on your side of the lane indicates you are not allowed to pass.

A broken yellow center line indicates a two-way road used for traffic traveling in opposite directions, and passing is allowed for both directions of travel.

Both directions may pass on the same stretch at the same moment, which is why a gap that looks long enough can be shared with a driver you cannot see.

Broken yellow center line: Indicates a two-way road used for traffic traveling in opposite directions. Passing is allowed for both directions of travel.

A double solid yellow line means passing is not allowed for traffic in either direction, but you may turn left across it to enter or exit a roadway after waiting for oncoming traffic to clear.

The line bans passing, not crossing. Turning into a driveway across it is lawful; overtaking somebody is not.

Double solid yellow line: Indicates passing is not allowed for both directions of traffic. You may turn left, to enter or exit a roadway, across double solid yellow lines after waiting for oncoming traffic to clear.

A solid yellow line marks the left edge of one-way roads and ramps.

On a one-way road there is no oncoming traffic for yellow to separate, so here it is telling you where your roadway stops.

Solid yellow line: Marks the left edge of one-way roads and ramps.

Where a two-way left turn lane is provided you must not turn left from any other lane, and because traveling in it is illegal you enter just before the turn and wait there until traffic clears.

Drivers treat it as a running lane to get ahead, and it is the one place where a car coming the other way may be aimed straight at you.

If a two-way left turn lane has been provided, do not make a left turn from any other lane. It is illegal to travel in a two-way left turn lane, so enter the lane just before you want to make the turn.

You may turn left across a painted median after waiting for oncoming traffic to clear, but you may not use it as a turn lane, and traveling in a median with double yellow lines is illegal.

It looks like the two-way left turn lane and is not one. Crossing it is allowed; sitting in it is the violation.

You may make a left turn across a painted median after waiting for oncoming traffic to clear. You may not use a painted median as a turn lane. It is illegal to travel in a median with double yellow lines.

Yellow diagonal stripes within a painted median warn of fixed objects ahead or areas where vehicle use is not allowed, and it is illegal to drive in or turn across them.

Unlike the rest of the median, these cannot be crossed at all — there is often something solid painted around.

Yellow diagonal stripes: Used within a painted median to inform you of fixed objects in the road ahead or areas where vehicle use is not allowed. It is illegal to drive in or make a turn across these stripes.

White markings separate lanes of traffic flowing in the same direction and mark the right edge of travel lanes, and are also used for crosswalks, stop lines, symbols and words.

White means everyone around you is going your way, which is the fastest way to read an unfamiliar road at speed.

White Markings are used to separate lanes of traffic flowing in the same direction and mark the right edge of travel lanes.

A wide solid white line directs traffic into specific lanes such as turn lanes and separates bike lanes from other traffic lanes, and crossing it is permitted but discouraged.

Permitted but discouraged is the exact status — crossing one is lawful, and it usually means moving into space a cyclist is entitled to.

Wide solid white line: Used to direct traffic into specific lanes, such as turn lanes, and to separate bike lanes from other traffic lanes. Crossing a wide solid white line is permitted but discouraged.

A double solid white line means you are not allowed to change lanes, and is usually accompanied by a sign prohibiting lane changes for a certain distance.

It is the one white marking that forbids rather than advises, and it appears where a lane change would put you across traffic that cannot slow.

Double solid white line: Usually accompanied by a sign prohibiting lane changes for a certain distance. Means you are not allowed to change lanes. Stay in your lane.

A dotted white line before an exit ramp or intersection tells you the lane you are in will not continue on the same route, and at a freeway entrance ramp it tells you that you are entering the freeway and must merge.

It is the marking that answers the question drivers ask too late — whether staying in this lane takes them off the road they meant to be on.

When used prior to an exit ramp or intersection, it informs you that the lane you are traveling in will not continue on the same route, such as a right-turn only lane or an exit only lane on the freeway.

A stop line is a solid white line across your lane showing the point at which you are required to stop.

Stopping past it puts the vehicle where the crossing traffic and the pedestrians are, which is the reason the line is drawn short of them.

Stop line: A solid white line across your lane to show the point at which you are required to stop.

A yield line is a row of triangles in your lane pointing toward your vehicle, marking the point at which you are required to yield.

It is the marking drivers read as decoration. The triangles point at you because the duty to yield is yours, not that of the traffic you are joining.

Yield line: A row of triangles in your lane, pointing toward your vehicle to indicate the point at which you are required to yield.

White chevrons may be used to inform you of fixed objects in the road ahead or other areas where vehicle use is not allowed.

They mark the space around something solid, so the paint is telling you where the road stops rather than where a lane begins.

White chevrons: May be used to inform you of fixed objects in the road ahead or other areas where vehicle use is not allowed.

Red markings designate where transit only vehicles such as buses, light rail trains or bikes may travel continuously: a solid red lane is a transit only lane and not for cars, while striped red lines show where you may enter that lane to turn, park or enter a driveway.

Red is the one lane color that means the lane is not yours at all, and the striped section is the only part of it you may cross into.

Solid red lane: Transit Only lane, not for cars.

A bike lane is identified by a wide white line with a bicycle symbol or by a bike lane sign, and bike lanes may be painted green; not all transit only lanes are red, so always look for signs or other markings on the road.

Neither marking is guaranteed to be colored, so the line and the symbol are what identify the lane rather than the paint you notice first.

Bike lane: Identified by a wide white line with a bicycle symbol or a bike lane sign.

When may an Oregon driver disregard a pavement marking?

When a police officer or road worker is redirecting traffic. Paint carries the same authority as a sign, and only a person on the road can override it. 2026-2027 Oregon Driver Manual, p.22: “You must obey all pavement markings unless you see a police officer or road worker redirecting traffic.”