Pavement markings — Pennsylvania Permit Test
Pavement markings on the Pennsylvania permit test — 10 rules, each with the reason behind it and a question on it while it is fresh.
The rules
Yellow lines divide traffic traveling in opposite directions, and are used to mark the center of two-lane roads and the left edge of divided highways, one-way streets and ramps.
The color tells you at a glance whether anything is coming the other way.
Yellow lines divide traffic traveling in opposite directions.
Solid white lines divide lanes of traffic traveling in the same direction, and also mark the right edge of the road.
White means everybody beside you is going your way, so a lane change costs you nothing head-on.
Solid white lines divide lanes of traffic traveling in the same direction. Solid white lines are also used to mark the right edge of the road.
As a general rule a broken traffic line may be crossed and a solid line may not, except when making a turn.
One rule covers every line on the road, which is why it is worth learning in that form.
As a general rule, broken traffic lines can be crossed and solid lines cannot, except when making a turn.
A single broken yellow centerline marks the center of a two-way, two-lane road, and passing is allowed on either side when it is safe.
Passing there means using the lane oncoming traffic is entitled to, so the gap must be real.
A single, broken yellow centerline shows the center of a two-way, two-lane road. Passing is permitted on either side, if safe conditions exist.
A double solid yellow centerline means passing is not allowed from either direction, even where no no-passing sign is posted.
The lines mark road where nobody can see far enough ahead to pass safely.
Even if it is not marked with a NO PASSING sign, passing by traffic traveling in either direction is not allowed on roads marked in this manner.
Where a solid yellow line runs beside a broken yellow line, you may pass if the broken line is on your side, and you may not pass when the solid line is on your side.
Your own side of the line is the one that decides, and the solid side cannot see far enough.
You may pass if the broken line is on your side of the road and safe conditions exist, but you may not pass when a solid yellow line is on your side of the road.
A single solid white line marks the right edge of the road, and also separates lanes of traffic going the same way where changing lanes is discouraged.
It goes where a lane change is most likely to surprise somebody, such as beside an on-ramp.
Solid white lines are also used to mark the right edge of the road.
A center lane marked on both sides by one solid and one broken yellow line may only be used for left turns, in either direction, and never for through traffic or passing.
It is a lane for waiting to turn, and drivers coming the other way are using it too.
it means this lane may only be used for left turns
Broken white lines show which lanes may be used by vehicles traveling the same way, and you may cross them to pass when the passing lane is clear.
They mark the only lines on a multi-lane road you may freely cross.
Broken white lines show which lanes can be used by vehicles traveling the same way. You may cross the broken white lines to pass
Words and arrows painted on the road back up the messages on signs, such as STOP AHEAD before a stop sign, SCHOOL before a school zone and R X R before a railroad crossing.
You are already looking at the road, which is exactly where a warning is easiest to catch.
R X R before a railroad crossing
On the test
What do yellow lines divide?
Traffic traveling in opposite directions. The color tells you at a glance whether anything is coming the other way. PA Driver's Manual, p.22: “Yellow lines divide traffic traveling in opposite 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 PA Driver's Manual, published by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, and against the state code itself. Last checked 2026-09-06.