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

The Numbers to Remember

• Knowledge test fee: $7.50 per attempt.
• Minimum age for a Level 1 instruction permit: 15; regular adult instruction permit: 18.
• Instruction permit validity: 6 months.
• Failed the test? Wait 1 week before retesting.
• Road skills test: 3 attempts maximum.
• Vision requirement: at least 20/40 in one eye.
• No phones, PDAs, or Bluetooth devices allowed in the exam room — only the applicant may enter.
• Tests are given in person at DMV designated locations; WV does not publish an official question count or pass percentage.

Sign Shapes at a Glance

• Octagon, red — Stop (the only sign with this shape).
• Downward triangle, red/white — Yield.
• Diamond, yellow — General warning; diamond, orange — construction/maintenance zone.
• Circle, yellow — Railroad crossing ahead.
• Pennant, yellow — No passing zone.
• Rectangle — Regulatory (speed, one-way) or guide info, depending on color.
• Green — direction/guide. Blue — services. Brown — recreation.

Right-of-Way in One Breath

• Uncontrolled intersection: yield to whoever is already in it; if tied, yield to the right.
• Four-way stop: first to stop goes first; if tied, right-hand car goes first.
• Left turns: yield to all oncoming traffic and pedestrians first.
• Roundabouts: yield to traffic already circulating.
• Emergency vehicle with lights/siren: pull right and stop.
• School bus, flashing red + stop arm: stop both directions unless a physical median separates lanes.
• Railroad crossing: the train always has the right-of-way.

Top Traps

• The posted speed limit is a ceiling, not a target — rain, fog, ice, or curves usually mean the safe answer is slower than the sign.
• Fog calls for low beams, never high beams — high beams reflect back and cut your visibility further.
• "A little impairment is fine" is never the credited answer — alcohol, drowsiness, and distraction are all treated as equivalent to full impairment on this exam.
• An orange diamond is a construction warning, not a regular hazard warning — don't confuse it with the plain yellow diamond.
• Don't assume the exam is timed like an online quiz — it's given in person by a DMV examiner, with no phone allowed in the room, so build focus habits during practice, not just knowledge.
• Following distance shrinks in your head faster than it does in reality — use the three-second-count method and stretch it further in rain or on gravel.
• A yellow advisory plate under a curve sign gives the safe speed for that curve specifically, separate from the road's general posted limit — questions love to test whether you know the difference.