Warning signs are yellow diamonds with black symbols or text. They warn drivers about conditions ahead such as curves, hills, deer crossings, narrow bridges, intersections, school zones, and slippery surfaces. They are advisory but ignoring them frequently results in crashes.
What the exam tests
Warning Signs is one of the topic areas every state DMV exam pulls from. Expect roughly two to five questions per exam from this category, depending on your state. The questions test both your recognition of the underlying rule and your ability to apply it to a specific scenario such as a four way stop, a yellow advisory speed sign, a school bus with extended stop arm, or an emergency vehicle approaching from behind.
Core rules to remember
Yellow diamond shapes that alert you to upcoming hazards. The exam will phrase the question with a concrete scenario, then offer four answers that include the correct rule, a plausible distractor, an incorrect generalization, and a clearly wrong option. Read every choice before answering. Eliminate the obviously wrong options first, then choose the most precisely correct of the two that remain.
Practice questions on warning signs
Below is a sample of practice questions from this topic across multiple states. Each links to a long-form explanation page that walks through the rule, the safety reason, the most common driver mistake, and a study tip.
- While driving on a rural road in Alabama you see a yellow diamond shaped sign with a curved arrow and the number 35. What does it mean? — Alabama
- While driving on a rural road in Alaska you see a yellow diamond shaped sign with a curved arrow and the number 35. What does it mean? — Alaska
- While driving on a rural road in Arizona you see a yellow diamond shaped sign with a curved arrow and the number 35. What does it mean? — Arizona
- While driving on a rural road in Arkansas you see a yellow diamond shaped sign with a curved arrow and the number 35. What does it mean? — Arkansas
- While driving on a rural road in California you see a yellow diamond shaped sign with a curved arrow and the number 35. What does it mean? — California
- While driving on a rural road in Colorado you see a yellow diamond shaped sign with a curved arrow and the number 35. What does it mean? — Colorado
- While driving on a rural road in Connecticut you see a yellow diamond shaped sign with a curved arrow and the number 35. What does it mean? — Connecticut
- While driving on a rural road in Delaware you see a yellow diamond shaped sign with a curved arrow and the number 35. What does it mean? — Delaware
- While driving on a rural road in Florida you see a yellow diamond shaped sign with a curved arrow and the number 35. What does it mean? — Florida
- While driving on a rural road in Georgia you see a yellow diamond shaped sign with a curved arrow and the number 35. What does it mean? — Georgia
- While driving on a rural road in Hawaii you see a yellow diamond shaped sign with a curved arrow and the number 35. What does it mean? — Hawaii
- While driving on a rural road in Idaho you see a yellow diamond shaped sign with a curved arrow and the number 35. What does it mean? — Idaho
Browse all 50 state practice tests →
Why this topic matters
Warning Signs questions are not the kind of trivia you can guess your way through. Get this topic wrong on the road and you risk a crash. Get it wrong on the exam and you delay your permit by at least a day, often a week. The rules in this category are written for the situations that historically cause the most fatalities, so the exam takes them seriously and so should you.