Do Not Pass sign

Federal designation R4-1 in the MUTCD, the national standard every state signs to. Posted at the exact point a no passing zone begins, usually right where the centerline changes from broken to solid yellow.

How to recognise it

This sign is a wide rectangle in white, the standard background for a rule you must obey. These carry the force of law. Ignore one and you have broken a traffic rule, not just a guideline. Most are white rectangles with black text, and the handful that are not, the stop and yield signs, get their own unmistakable shapes.

What the test wants you to know

This is the posted regulation, while the yellow pennant shaped No Passing Zone sign is only the advance warning that the zone is coming. If a question shows both signs, the pennant is the one drivers reach first, and this one marks where the restriction actually starts.

The sign people confuse it with

Do Not Pass gets mixed up with No Passing Zone more than any other pairing in this category. Put them side by side and the difference is obvious, which is exactly why it is worth doing once rather than meeting them cold in the exam.

Do Not PassYou may not pass another vehicle here, no matter what the pavement markings show

No Passing ZoneThe start of a stretch where passing another vehicle is prohibited

Practise it

Reading about a sign is not the same as recognising it in half a second with an examiner watching. Every state road signs test on this site shows the sign and asks you to name it, then shows four faces and asks you to pick the right one.

Take a road signs test