Warning signs — Virginia Permit Test
Warning signs on the Virginia permit test — 18 rules, each with the reason behind it and a question on it while it is fresh.
The rules
This sign warns that the road ahead bends. Slow down before the bend, because braking hard in the middle of it can break traction.
Tires grip for turning or for braking, not both at once, so the slowing has to be finished before the wheel is turned.
This sign warns of a sharp turn ahead. A sharp turn is tighter than a curve, so slow down more than a curve would need.
A turn this tight has to be taken at walking-pace speeds in a heavy vehicle, and the sign is the only warning of how tight it is.
This sign warns that two lanes going the same way are about to become one. Drivers in both lanes share the job of merging safely.
Both drivers waiting for the other to yield is how a merge turns into a stopped lane or a sideswipe.
This sign warns that the right lane ends soon. Drivers in the right lane must move left as space opens, and drivers on the left should let them in.
A lane that ends puts a car with nowhere to go beside you, and refusing the gap leaves that driver braking on the shoulder.
This sign warns that a divided highway begins. The road splits into two one-way roadways with a median between them, so keep right.
Drivers who take the wrong side here meet traffic head-on, which is why the split gets its own warning before it starts.
This sign warns that a divided highway ends. The median stops and traffic runs in both directions again, so keep right.
A driver used to a divided road stops expecting anything to come the other way, and this is the point where something does.
This sign warns of a steep grade ahead. Check your brakes and use a lower gear so the brakes do not overheat on the way down.
Brakes fade when they get hot, and a long descent on the brake pedal alone can use them up before the bottom of the hill.
This sign warns that the surface gets slippery when wet. Slow down, do not brake hard or change direction suddenly, and leave more room ahead.
On a slick surface a sudden move is what breaks the grip, so the safest input is the gentlest one you can make.
This sign warns of a rough patch, a bump or uneven lanes ahead. Loose gravel and construction surfaces are hardest on motorcycles.
A ridge that a car rolls over can take a motorcycle down, so the warning matters most to the vehicle you are sharing the lane with.
This sign warns that the bridge ahead is narrower than the road. Slow down and hold your lane, because there is less room on either side.
The bridge rail sits close to the lane, and a driver who drifts wide on a narrow bridge hits a solid wall instead of a shoulder.
This sign warns that a crossroad is ahead. Be alert for vehicles entering the road you are traveling on.
A car joining from the side arrives at right angles, and the driver is watching for a gap rather than watching for you.
This sign warns that a traffic signal is ahead. Slow down and be ready to stop, because the light may change before you reach it.
This sign is placed where the signal itself is hidden until the last moment, usually by a crest or a bend in the road.
This sign warns that a stop sign is ahead. Slow down now so you can stop at the sign rather than past it.
The advance sign exists because the stop itself cannot be seen far enough away to slow down comfortably.
This sign warns that deer cross the roadway here. Slow down, stay alert and be ready to stop, especially at dusk and dawn.
An animal this size comes through the windshield rather than under the car, so the warning is about your own safety as much as its.
This sign warns that people on bikes cross or ride beside traffic here. Drive with care and leave them room.
A bike is narrow enough to sit in your mirror blind spot, and this sign marks where one is most likely to be there.
This sign warns of a place where people cross on foot. Slow down and be ready to stop for anyone entering the crosswalk.
A person on foot who is struck at speed usually does not survive it, and they have no metal around them at all.
This sign gives the safe speed for a highway exit or a curve. It is a maximum for that stretch, not the general speed limit.
The number is worked out for the tightest part of the ramp, which is usually further round than the point where you can still see.
This sign warns that a circular intersection is ahead. It may have one lane or more than one.
A circular intersection needs a different approach from a crossroads, and this sign is the only warning you get before choosing a lane for it.
On the test
When should a driver slow down for the bend this sign warns of?
Before reaching it, not partway around it. Tires grip for turning or for braking, not both at once, so the slowing has to be finished before the wheel is turned.
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.
Where these come from
Every rule here is checked against Virginia Driver’s Manual, published by the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles, and against the state code itself. Last checked 2026-09-02.
- https://www.dmv.virginia.gov/licenses-ids/exams/know-exam
- https://www.dmv.virginia.gov/sites/default/files/forms/dmv39.pdf
- https://www.dmv.virginia.gov/sites/default/files/documents/dmv39i.pdf
- https://www.dmv.virginia.gov/licenses-ids/learners/apply
- https://www.dmv.virginia.gov/licenses-ids/learners/restrictions
- https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/title46.2/section46.2-870/
- https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/title46.2/section46.2-873/
- https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/title46.2/section46.2-874/
- https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/title46.2/section46.2-862/