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

Everything below is fair game on the North Carolina knowledge exam. Read it twice tonight, once tomorrow morning, and let the shapes and numbers do the heavy lifting.

Sign Shapes

• Octagon — stop; red with white letters.
• Downward triangle — yield; red and white.
• Diamond — warning; yellow with black symbols.
• Pentagon — school zone or school crossing.
• Round — railroad advance warning.

Sign Colors

• Orange — construction or work zone.
• Blue — motorist services: gas, food, lodging.
• Brown — recreational and cultural areas.
• White rectangle, black letters — regulatory; it is law, not advice.

Pavement Markings

• Yellow lines — traffic moving in opposite directions.
• White lines — lanes moving the same direction.
• Solid yellow on your side — no passing.
• Broken yellow on your side — pass only when the oncoming lane is clear.
• Double solid yellow — no passing from either direction.

Signals

• Steady yellow — red is coming; stop if you safely can.
• Flashing red — full stop, then go when safe (stop-sign rules).
• Flashing yellow — slow down, proceed with caution.

Right-of-Way

• Four-way stop — first to arrive goes; a tie yields to the right.
• Left turn — yield to oncoming traffic until a real gap opens.
• School bus with flashing reds and stop arm — both directions stop, unless you are opposite on a divided highway.
• Emergency vehicle behind you — pull to the right edge and stop.
• Roundabout — yield to traffic already circulating.
• Driveway exit — sidewalk pedestrians first, then road traffic.

Speed and Space

• Three-second following gap in good conditions; stretch it in rain, ice, or behind big vehicles.
• Posted limit is a maximum for ideal conditions — slow for weather, darkness, fog.
• Fog — drive so you can stop within the distance you can see.
• Hydroplaning — off the gas, steady wheel, no hard braking.
• Ice forms first and melts last on bridges, overpasses, and shade.

Alcohol and Drugs

• 0.08 — adult per se limit in a private vehicle.
• 0.04 — limit behind the wheel of a commercial vehicle.
• Implied consent — driving means consenting to chemical testing; refusal is an automatic suspension.
• Only time sobers; coffee, showers, and exercise do not.
• Judgment goes first; medications can impair alone or multiply alcohol.

North Carolina Licensing Numbers

• Level 1 Limited Learner Permit — ages 15 to 17.
• Adults 18 and older — apply in person; may start with a learner permit.
• Driver education — 30 classroom hours plus a vision/medical screening; minimum 6 hours behind the wheel.
• Level 1 permit fee — $25.50.
• First 6 months on Level 1 — supervised only, 5 a.m. to 9 p.m.; no mobile devices in the vehicle.
• New license — 60-day Temporary Driving Certificate while the card arrives by mail.

Night-Before Strategy

• Answer sign questions from shape and color before rereading the question text.
• For marking questions, name the color, then ask: solid or broken on my side?
• In right-of-way questions, the answer that yields more is usually the answer.
• Reject any answer promising a shortcut to sobriety or an excuse to hold speed in bad conditions.