The MO road sign test: the signs to know

What is the MO road sign test like?

The Driver Guide describes it in one line: it checks your ability to recognize and understand traffic signs. Neither the guide nor the Highway Patrol publishes how many signs it has or its pass mark, so learn every group below rather than a short list. Signs also turn up in the written test, so the work pays off twice.

Regulatory signs

Regulatory signs give rules you must follow. Most are white rectangles with black or red letters. A red circle with a slash means you can't do what's inside it. The stop sign is the only red octagon, and the yield sign is a red and white triangle.

• Stop: full stop at the line, crosswalk or intersection edge
• Yield: slow down and give way to traffic
• Do not enter this road
• Wrong way: pull off, turn around, go back
• One way: traffic goes in the arrow's direction only
• Speed limit: the most you may drive in ideal conditions
• No left turn
• No right turn
• No U-turn
• No trucks
• Keep right of the island or obstruction

Warning signs

Warning signs are yellow, usually diamonds, with black symbols or words. They don't give a rule. They tell you a hazard is ahead so you can slow down and be ready to stop. A curve sign often comes with a plate showing the safe speed, and the guide says never to go faster than that in rain, snow or ice.

• Stop sign ahead: be ready to stop
• Traffic signal ahead
• Pedestrian crossing: slow down and yield
• Merge: traffic will join your road
• Lane ends: merge left and yield
• Added lane: no merging needed
• Divided highway begins
• Divided highway ends: two-way traffic
• Curve with an advisory speed
• Reverse turn: two sharp turns, 30 mph or less
• Large arrow: sharp change of direction
• Chevron: slow down for the curve
• T intersection: turn right or left
• Side road enters from the right
• Roundabout ahead: slow down
• Soft shoulder: don't drive off the pavement
• Slippery when wet
• Deer crossing

Railroad and slow-vehicle signs

The round yellow sign and the RR on the pavement both warn that tracks are ahead. The crossbuck at the tracks means yield. If red lights flash or a gate comes down, you must stop 15 to 50 feet from the tracks. The pennant marks the start of a no passing zone, and the orange triangle is on vehicles going under 25 mph.

• Railroad ahead: slow down, look and listen
• Railroad marking on the road: tracks ahead
• Crossbuck: yield to trains
• Crossbuck with plate: the number of tracks
• No passing zone starts here
• Slow-moving vehicle: under 25 mph

School and work zone signs

School signs are yellow-green, and the pentagon shape is kept for them. Work zone signs are fluorescent orange. In a Missouri work zone, speeding or passing carries a minimum fine of $250 for a first offense and $300 after that, on top of any other fine.

• School zone
• School crossing: watch for children
• School bus stop ahead
• Road work ahead
• Flagger ahead: follow the flagger
• Workers on or near the road
• Shoulder work ahead
• Loose gravel

Guide and service signs

Green signs give directions and distances, brown ones point to parks and recreation, and blue ones show services. On interstates, odd numbers run north and south and even numbers east and west. Exit numbers go up as you drive east or north.

• Interstate route marker
• Mile marker: where you are on the route
• Rest area ahead
• Hospital
• Gas
• Parking reserved for people with disabilities

Traffic lights on the test

A signal that's dark, because the power is out, works as a four-way stop.

• Red: stop. Right on red after a full stop, unless a sign says no
• Steady yellow: the light is about to turn red
• Flashing red: same as a stop sign
• Flashing yellow: slow down and go with care
• Flashing yellow arrow: turn after a safe gap
• Green arrow: protected turn
• Red arrow: no turn until it changes

The road sign test when you renew

Every Missouri license renewal includes a vision test and a road sign test. Drivers who learned years ago are often caught out by newer signs such as the flashing yellow arrow and the roundabout sign, so it's worth a look before your renewal date.