Highway markings — Vermont Permit Test

Highway markings help a driver position the vehicle, guide them through situations, show where passing is allowed and warn of conditions ahead.

The paint is doing the work of a sign on every foot of the road rather than at one point on it.

They help a driver correctly position their vehicle, help direct them through various situations, let them know when passing is allowed and warn drivers of upcoming conditions.

Yellow center lines divide a highway into travel lanes. A multi-lane highway without a median has double solid lines between the two opposing lanes of travel.

Yellow always means the traffic on the other side of it is coming toward you.

Multi-lane highways without a median have double solid lines to indicate the two opposing lanes of travel.

Where two or more lanes of travel go in the same direction, a broken white line divides each side of the highway into separate lanes.

White between lanes tells you the traffic beside you is going your way, which is what makes a lane change possible.

When two or more lanes of travel are permitted in the same direction, a broken white line is used to divide each side of the highway into separate lanes for vehicles traveling in the same direction.

If there is a solid line, or two solid lines, it is recommended that you do not pass.

A solid line is painted where the view ahead is too short for a pass to be finished safely.

If there is a solid line or two solid lines, it is recommended that you do not pass.

If there is a solid line but a broken line in your lane, you may pass when it is clear ahead. If the solid line is in your lane and the broken line is in the other, you should not pass, but the vehicle in the other lane may.

The broken half of the pair belongs to whoever has the view, and that is not always you.

If there is a solid line in your lane but a broken line in the other lane, you should not pass, but the motor vehicle in the other lane may pass.

A continuous two-way left turn lane is not a travel lane, because traffic from both directions uses it to turn left. Signal and move into it a short distance before your turn, with all of your vehicle inside it.

Somebody is coming the other way into the same lane, so the less time you spend in it the better.

A short distance prior to your left turn, you should signal and carefully move into the turning lane.

A yield line is a series of white triangles painted on the highway, pointing toward approaching cars, showing drivers where to stop if they must yield.

At a wide or angled entrance the paint shows the spot where stopping actually gives you a view.

This series of white triangles, pointing toward approaching cars, shows drivers where they should stop, if they are required to yield to pedestrians or other vehicles.

Turning from one road onto a multiple lane road where there is a choice of lanes, right turning drivers must turn into the right lane and left turning drivers must first turn into the left lane.

Two cars can turn at once as long as each stays in its own path, and that only works if both start where they should.

Left turning drivers must first turn into the left lane.

Where two lanes turn in the same direction, each turning lane must stay in its own path throughout the turn, and you remain in the designated lane until the turn is complete.

Drifting across during the turn puts your car into the space the driver beside you is already using.

When there are two lanes turning in the same direction each turning lane must stay in their own turning path throughout the turn.

Changing lanes while turning is an illegal maneuver and leads to crashes. Lane changes may take place after the turn has been completed.

A sudden lane change raises the risk of a crash, and inside a turn nobody is expecting it at all.

Avoid changing lanes while turning. This is an illegal maneuver and leads to crashes.

Drivers must follow through on the direction marked in the lane they are in. Turning out of a lane marked with a straight arrow is illegal and unsafe.

The driver beside you is relying on the arrow in your lane to know where your car is going.

if a driver is driving in a lane with a straight arrow, it is illegal and unsafe to attempt a turn to the right or left once they are at the intersection

What do highway markings do for a driver?

Position the vehicle, guide it and show where passing is allowed. The paint is doing the work of a sign on every foot of the road rather than at one point on it. 2025 Vermont Driver's Manual, p.34: “They help a driver correctly position their vehicle, help direct them through various situations, let them know when passing is allowed and warn drivers of upcoming conditions.”