Exit Only Panel: Meaning and What to Do
The yellow panel reading EXIT ONLY is attached to a green guide sign over a lane that leaves the freeway at the next exit. Traffic in that lane must exit; it does not continue on the through route. On overhead signs, a down arrow above the panel points to the exact lane.
Exit Only Panel
The yellow panel is the only place yellow appears on freeway guide signs, and it is used for exactly this reason: to make a lane drop impossible to miss. Drivers who ignore it find themselves on a ramp, and drivers who realize too late try to cut back across the gore.
What to do when you see the exit only panel
If you are not exiting, move out of the lane under the EXIT ONLY panel as soon as you see it, checking your mirror and blind spot. If you are exiting, stay in that lane and it will take you to the ramp. Where two panels appear, two lanes exit; count the down arrows.
The signs it is confused with
Tests pair it with the ordinary green exit sign, where an arrow shows the ramp but the through lanes continue, and with the white Right Lane Must Exit regulatory sign that some highways add. Yellow on a green sign always means a lane is leaving.
Signs are one topic of ten on every test
Every state practice test covers signs, signals, and markings among its ten topics, with every answer explained. Pick your state and see how its exam asks about signs like this one; it is free, with no sign-up.
Choose your stateQuestions about the exit only panel
What does an exit only panel mean?
The lane beneath it leaves the freeway at the next exit. Move out of it if you are continuing on the through route.
Why is the panel yellow?
To stand out against the green guide sign. Yellow appears on freeway guide signs only to warn of a lane that is dropping off.
How do I know which lane it applies to?
On overhead signs the down arrow above the panel points to the lane. On a roadside sign it applies to the lane nearest the exit.
What if I am in the exit only lane by mistake?
Change lanes early and safely. If you cannot, take the exit and re-enter the freeway rather than crossing the gore.
How does this sign appear on the written test?
In freeway lane-choice questions and as a color question asking why a yellow panel appears on a green sign.