NJ · STUDY GUIDE
Road Signs, Signals & Markings
Sign shapes and colors, traffic signals, and pavement markings — core knowledge-test material, shown visually. This guide has 37 questions, each citing the NJ manual section it comes from — the first 18 are free to read below.
1 · PAVEMENT MARKINGS
Passing is allowed only when:
- ✓ The center line on YOUR side is broken
- · Both center lines are solid
- · You're on any multi-lane road
- · Traffic is light
Broken line on your side = may pass; solid = no. Both broken = both sides may pass. The pass must be COMPLETE before the lines turn solid again.
📖 NJ Manual · Ch. 4 · Passing, p. 642 · TRAFFIC SIGNALS
When a traffic signal is dark because of a power failure, treat the intersection as:
- ✓ A four-way stop
- · An open intersection
- · Yield-controlled
- · Right-of-way for the bigger road
An unlit signal is a 4-way stop: stop, look left and right, yield, and go only when safe.
📖 NJ Manual · Ch. 4 · Intersections, p. 673 · TRAFFIC SIGNALS
A right turn on red in New Jersey is legal:
- ✓ After a full stop and yielding to traffic and pedestrians — unless a No Turn on Red sign is posted
- · Never
- · Without stopping if clear
- · Only between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m.
Full stop first, then yield to everything — including hard-to-see bicycles and mopeds that may have a green.
📖 NJ Manual · Ch. 4 · Right Turn on Red, p. 724 · TRAFFIC SIGNALS
A "stale" green light is one that:
- ✓ Has been green for some time — be prepared for it to change
- · Is flickering
- · Has faded paint
- · Is about to turn green
A long-green light is due to change; slow and be ready. Most signal crashes happen in the first seconds after a light changes.
📖 NJ Manual · Ch. 4 · Stopping Regulations, p. 745 · RAILROAD CROSSINGS
With flashing red lights or descending gates at a railroad crossing, you must stop:
- ✓ Within 50 feet, but not less than 15 feet, from the nearest rail
- · At least 5 feet from the gate
- · At least 100 feet back
- · Anywhere you can see the tracks
The legal stopping zone is within 50 feet but no closer than 15 feet from the nearest rail. Never cross until gates rise, bells stop, and lights stop flashing — a train at 60 mph needs more than a mile to stop.
📖 NJ Manual · Ch. 4 · Stop at Railroad Crossings, p. 766 · RAILROAD CROSSINGS
Behind a school bus or a truck carrying hazardous materials at a railroad crossing, expect it to:
- ✓ Always stop — even when no train is signaled
- · Speed across quickly
- · Stop only at night
- · Honk and proceed
School buses, buses, and hazmat vehicles must stop at every crossing. Be ready behind them.
📖 NJ Manual · Ch. 4 · Stop at Railroad Crossings, p. 767 · RAILROAD CROSSINGS
If your car stalls on railroad tracks and a train approaches, run:
- ✓ At a 45-degree angle away from the tracks, TOWARD the direction the train is coming from
- · Straight down the tracks away from the train
- · Directly away from the tracks at 90 degrees
- · Back to the car for belongings
Running toward the train (at 45° away from the tracks) keeps you clear of debris thrown forward by the impact. Get out and away even when no train is visible, then call the ENS number or 911.
📖 NJ Manual · Ch. 5 · Stalling on Railroad Tracks, p. 1068 · RAILROAD CROSSINGS
A freight train traveling at 55 mph needs about ___ to stop:
- ✓ A mile or more
- · 300 feet
- · Three car lengths
- · A quarter mile
Trains can't swerve and can't stop short — and the train you see is closer and faster than it looks. Trains always have the right-of-way.
📖 NJ Manual · Ch. 8 · Trains, p. 1539 · RAILROAD CROSSINGS
Near a railroad crossing, you may NOT pass another vehicle within:
- ✓ 100 feet of the crossing
- · 50 feet
- · 500 feet
- · There's no limit
No passing within 100 feet — and with a manual transmission, don't shift gears while actually crossing the tracks. Only proceed when there's room to clear the tracks completely; trains overhang the rails by three feet or more on each side.
📖 NJ Manual · Ch. 8 · Trains, p. 15310 · TRAFFIC SIGNALS
On a HORIZONTAL traffic signal, the red light is always:
- ✓ On the left
- · On the right
- · In the middle
- · On top
Vertical signals put red on top; horizontal signals put red on the LEFT. A green arrow, when present on a vertical signal, is at the bottom.
📖 NJ Manual · Ch. 11 · Traffic Signals, p. 21211 · TRAFFIC SIGNALS
A steady YELLOW light means:
- ✓ Stop before the intersection unless you're too close to stop safely
- · Speed up before the red
- · Yield to the right
- · Pedestrians may cross
Stop if you safely can. A yellow ARROW means a protected turn is ending.
📖 NJ Manual · Ch. 11 · Yellow Light, p. 21212 · TRAFFIC SIGNALS
A FLASHING red light means ___ and a FLASHING yellow means ___:
- ✓ Stop, then go when safe; slow down and proceed with care
- · Go; stop
- · Yield; stop
- · Both mean stop and wait
Flashing red = stop sign behavior. Flashing yellow = caution. At railroad crossings, flashing red means a train — go only when all warning devices deactivate.
📖 NJ Manual · Ch. 11 · Flashing Signals, p. 21213 · TRAFFIC SIGNALS
A green ARROW shown with a red signal means:
- ✓ Proceed only in the arrow's direction, cautiously, yielding to pedestrians
- · All directions may go
- · Stop completely
- · The signal is broken
The arrow protects only its own movement — everything else obeys the red.
📖 NJ Manual · Ch. 11 · Green Arrow, p. 21214 · TRAFFIC SIGNALS
The orange raised-palm symbol tells pedestrians:
- ✓ Don't leave the sidewalk — those already crossing have time to finish
- · Cross quickly
- · Push the button again
- · The crosswalk is closed permanently
Raised palm = don't start; the white walking silhouette (often with countdown) = may cross, and turning drivers must yield to them.
📖 NJ Manual · Ch. 11 · Pedestrian Signals, p. 21315 · TRAFFIC SIGNS
The three basic categories of traffic signs are:
- ✓ Warning, guidance, and regulatory
- · Big, medium, and small
- · State, county, and local
- · Permanent, temporary, and electronic
Warning (hazards), guidance (routes and destinations), and regulatory (speed and movement).
📖 NJ Manual · Ch. 11 · Sign Categories, p. 21316 · TRAFFIC SIGNS
The only sign shaped as an eight-sided octagon is:
- ✓ STOP
- · YIELD
- · Railroad crossing
- · School zone
Octagon = STOP, exclusively. Triangle = YIELD, pennant = no-passing warning, pentagon = school, round = railroad advance warning.
📖 NJ Manual · Ch. 11 · Color and Shape Chart, p. 21417 · TRAFFIC SIGNS
A yellow PENNANT-shaped sign warns of:
- ✓ A no-passing zone
- · A school ahead
- · Road work
- · A sharp curve
The sideways pennant marks no-passing zones; orange diamonds mark construction; yellow pentagons mark schools.
📖 NJ Manual · Ch. 11 · Color and Shape Chart, p. 21418 · TRAFFIC SIGNS
BLUE signs provide:
- ✓ Motorist services and information
- · Hazard warnings
- · Speed regulations
- · Recreation guidance
Blue = services, brown = recreation and scenic areas, green = direction guidance, orange = construction, white vertical rectangles = regulations.
📖 NJ Manual · Ch. 11 · Color and Shape Chart, p. 214Tip: use your ← and → arrow keys
FullPass is an independent study aid. Questions are reviewed against the cited official NJ driver's manual; the state licensing agency remains the final authority.