Signs, signals and pavement markings
You are approaching a red YIELD sign. What does it require of you?
- Slow down and be ready to stop to let others go first. Correct answer
- Come to a full stop every time, then go when it is clear.
- Keep your speed, because cross traffic must yield to you.
Why
A YIELD sign asks you to slow down and be prepared to stop so that any vehicle, bicyclist or pedestrian can go before you. That is the difference from a STOP sign, where the full stop is always required, at the limit line or before the crosswalk, or before the intersection when neither is marked. A YIELD sign never gives you priority; the duty runs from you to everyone else. The same idea appears painted on the pavement as a yield line, a row of solid white triangles pointing toward approaching vehicles that shows where to yield or stop.
Where this comes from
California Driver's Handbook, June 2025 edition. The correct answer is Slow down and be ready to stop to let others go first.
The rule behind this one
California road signs, signals and pavement markings goes through the whole topic, with the page of the California Driver's Handbook behind every rule.