Right Turn Only Sign: Meaning and What to Do
The white rectangle with an upward-curving right arrow over the word ONLY assigns a mandatory movement: from this lane, the right turn is the only legal choice. It is the signed version of the pavement arrows, posted where drivers need the message before the marking is visible under traffic.
Right Turn Only Sign
Lane-use control signs work as a set: each lane at a complex intersection may carry its own arrow, and your movement is decided when you choose the lane, not at the stop line. Continuing straight from a turn-only lane cuts across neighbors who trusted the sign.
What to do when you see the right turn only sign
If you are in the lane under the sign, turn right; changing to another lane must happen before the solid line begins. If the turn is not where you are going, plan the lane change early, and when you miss it, take the turn and recover; a wrong turn is a detour, a lane violation at the stop line is a collision path.
The signs it is confused with
Tests pair it with the red-slash prohibition signs, opposite logic: prohibition signs remove one movement, ONLY signs remove every movement but one. Questions also combine it with pavement arrows to check that signs and markings carry the same authority.
Signs are one topic of ten on every test
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Choose your stateQuestions about the right turn only sign
What does a right turn only sign mean?
From the lane it governs, the right turn is the only legal movement. The choice is made when you enter the lane; the stop line is too late.
What if I am in a turn-only lane by mistake?
Make the turn and recover on the next block. Going straight from a turn-only lane crosses drivers who trusted the sign, which is exactly the crash it exists to prevent.
Do pavement arrows mean the same thing as the sign?
Yes; lane-use arrows painted in the lane carry the same rule, and intersections usually post both so the message survives worn paint and queued traffic.
Why do intersections dedicate lanes to one movement?
Throughput and predictability: signals time each movement separately, and a lane that mixes turners and through drivers wastes the phase and invites late lane changes.
How is the lane-control family tested?
As sign identification and lane-choice scenarios: which lane may go straight, which must turn, and when the lane decision has to be made.