NY Road Signs Cheat Sheet.
The night-before summary, built like the exam.

The four New York departures

These are the rules where an answer learned in another state becomes wrong here.

• Right turn on red: allowed statewide after a full stop — prohibited in New York City unless a sign permits it. No sign means no.
• School bus on a divided highway: you still stop. Both directions, all roadways in the state, including in front of schools and in school parking lots.
• Under-21 alcohol: .02 to .07 — below the adult .08, above zero.
• School bus carrying pupils: may not turn right on any red light, anywhere.

Turning on red

• Right on red: full stop, yield, then go — unless in NYC without a permitting sign.
• Left on red: only one-way road into another one-way road, after a full stop. Two-way onto one-way does not qualify.

New York numbers

• Signal a turn or lane change at least 100 feet ahead.
• U-turn banned where visibility is under 500 feet either way.
• Work area limits as low as 25 mph may be posted, and are enforceable.
• Learner permit from age 16.
• School bus passing, first conviction: $250–$400, five points, up to 30 days jail.
• Zero tolerance, first finding: six-month suspension + $100 termination fee + $125 civil penalty ($225).
• Second zero tolerance: revoked at least one year or until 21 — whichever is longer.

U-turns: banned outright

• Near hilltops and curves with under 500 feet of visibility.
• New York City business districts.
• School zones.
• All limited access expressways — the whole road, not just interchanges.

Begin the turn from the left portion of the lane nearest the centreline. Never swing right first.

Right-of-way order

1. Traffic already in the intersection.
2. Uncontrolled intersection: driver on the left yields to the driver on the right.
3. Traffic circle: yield to drivers already in it.
4. Entering from a driveway or lot: stop and yield to road traffic and pedestrians.
5. Four-way stop: first to arrive goes; ties yield right.
6. Turning left on a green ball: yield to oncoming traffic.

Signals

• Flashing red = stop sign. Stop, yield, go when safe.
• Steady yellow = red is coming; stop if safe to do so.
• Flashing yellow X over a lane = left turns only (a steady X closes the lane).
• A traffic officer overrides signs, signals and pavement markings.

Alcohol: three thresholds

• 0.08 adult limit.
• 0.04 commercial — attaches to the vehicle being driven, not to the licence held.
• .02–.07 under 21. A 19-year-old at .04 is in violation.

Implied consent: driving is consent to testing; refusal suspends the licence on its own track, so an acquittal on the charge does not save the licence. Only time lowers BAC.

Signs and lines (national)

• Octagon = stop. Downward triangle = yield. Diamond = warning. Pentagon = school. Circle = railroad. No two messages share a shape.
• Orange = work zone. Blue = motorist services. Brown = recreational and cultural.
• White separates same-direction lanes; yellow separates opposing traffic. Solid yellow on your side = no passing on your side.
• Following distance: three seconds in good conditions; more in rain, at night, or loaded.