Vermont Road Signs (A Complete Guide)

Road safety is everyone’s business.

And being familiar with the Vermont road signs helps you with this.

But you’ll encounter countless signs along Vermont’s roadways — and keeping them all straight in your head may become a challenge.

Don’t worry — we’re here to give you a complete guide.

We’ll look at the 3 kinds of signs:

Traffic lights
Traffic signs
Highway markings

We’ll go through all of them and even provide examples for each.

So are you ready to learn more?

Let’s go!

Vermont Traffic Lights

First, let’s talk about traffic lights.

Yes, the ones you see at intersections.

Now, you’re probably familiar with its colors — red, yellow, and green. But these may have varying meanings, depending on what you see (they can be steady, flashing, or arrows).

So let’s take it one by one.

Steady Lights

Don’t forget to keep these in mind about red, yellow, and green steady lights.

Flashing Lights

Sometimes, you’ll notice a traffic light flashing red or yellow signals. Here’s what they mean:

Flashing Red Light.

Like a steady red light, a flashing one requires you to stop. However, you don’t need to wait for the light to change before proceeding.

Once you yield the right of way to other vehicles, pedestrians, and bicycles, you can continue driving.

Flashing Yellow Light.

A flashing yellow light doesn’t require you to stop. However, you must slow down and yield the right of way to oncoming vehicles. After this, you can go forward (but always proceed carefully).

Arrows

Sometimes, you won’t see a solid or flashing light. Instead, it’ll display arrows.

Okay, the traffic lights should be easy enough.

Now let’s move on to something a bit harder to memorize.

Vermont Road Signs

Road signs in the Green Mountain State come in three forms:

Warning Signs
Regulatory Signs
Work Zone Signs

Before we jump into that, let’s look at several signs with unique shapes. While most road signs are diamond-shaped or rectangular, these are not.

That means you can identify them by shape alone, which is handy if it’s far off, dirty, or covered in snow.

Warning Signs

Warning signs are easy to spot. These are usually diamond-shaped, yellow or fluorescent green, and have black markings.

When you see one, you need to slow down as these typically indicate that you’ll encounter potential hazards on the road ahead.

Here are some warning signs you may encounter while driving in Vermont.

You may also get additional information from warning signs, such as safe speeds or distances.

Regulatory Signs

Look for regulatory signs to know what you can or can’t do in an area. These are usually rectangular, white, with red or black markings.

Some examples are speed limit signs, prohibition signs (No U-Turn, No Parking, No Entry, etc.), or those supporting passing and turning laws.

Work Zone Signs

You’ll find regulatory and warning signs scattered across Vermont, but you’ll only see work zone signs in places with ongoing road maintenance or construction.

These signs are orange with black markings, but they’re not the only things you’ll see.

You may also see the following in work zones:

Always obey what the work zone signs tell you to ensure safety for all — and to avoid annoying tickets.

Vermont Highway Markings

Did you know that the markings painted on the road are also signs?

These help drivers in several ways:

Correct positioning on the road
Direction for specific situations
Indicating when passing is allowed
Warning drivers of changing conditions

Now, let’s look into the different highway markings.

In Vermont, highways typically have yellow center lines. These have two purposes:

They divide the highway into travel lanes. Yellow lines indicate that traffic goes in opposite directions.
They create center turn lines, which should remain unused except when vehicles from either direction are preparing for a left turn.

Other highway markings (which you can find in the image above) include:

Broken white lines: These divide lanes where traffic flows in the same direction. Broken lines also mean that passing is allowed.
Solid lines: Whether yellow or white, these prohibit passing.
Solid line and broken lines: Passing is only allowed when you’re on the side of the broken lines. If you’re on the solid line side, you cannot pass.

Besides that, here are more highway markings you’ll encounter:

Yield line: A row of white triangles pointing in your direction (if you’re approaching it). It tells you where to stop if you must yield to other vehicles or pedestrians.
Lane control signs: These tell drivers which lane to use when turning.

Speaking of lane control markings (this can also be posted signs), here are some things to remember about them:

When entering a multiple-lane road, you must turn into the right lane when turning right. For those turning left, you must go into the left lane first, even if it’s further from your point of origin.
If two lanes turn in the same direction, maintain your turning path. So if you were in the second lane, you must turn into the second lane.
Avoid changing lanes while turning. If you need to switch, wait until you’ve completed it.
Always follow the direction indicated on the lane you’re using. For example, if yours only has a straight arrow, don’t attempt to turn when you reach the intersection.

The Wrap Up

So, are you ready to hit the road?

Now that you know about the different Vermont road signs, you can ensure safety for all when you do.

Just make sure that you follow each one.

And don’t worry if you can’t memorize them all — it’s good enough to just get the general shapes, colors, and ideas. With this, you can already make a good guess of what the sign means.

Drive safely!

	Solid Red Arrow You cannot turn in the direction where the red arrow points. Wait at the crosswalk or stop line and only proceed when the light changes.
	Solid Yellow Arrow Prepare to stop when you see a solid yellow arrow because it’s about to turn red. However, if you’re already within an intersection when it happens, you can continue turning left if there is no conflicting traffic.
	Flashing Yellow Arrow You can turn left only after you yield the right of way to pedestrians in the crosswalk. The same goes for oncoming traffic — remember, they have a green light, so you must wait for a gap in the flow to turn safely.
	Solid Green Arrow You can complete your turn because you have the right of way. Oncoming traffic should have a red light. If not, yield the right of way.

	A stop sign is the only one with eight sides. Seeing one requires you to stop (before a stop line or a crosswalk), scan the intersection, and ensure you yield the right of way before proceeding.
	If you see an inverted triangle, that’s a yield sign. As its name implies, you must yield the right of way to pedestrians or other vehicles. It also requires you to slow down.
	A round yellow sign with an X and two Rs is a railroad crossing sign. It warns you that there are railroad tracks ahead.
	An X-shaped sign, better known as a crossbuck, indicates where the railroad tracks are. Slow down when you encounter one, and keep your eyes and ears open for approaching trains. Sometimes, you’ll see signs underneath it. These indicate how many tracks are present (so one might be clear, but a train may be on the other — be doubly careful!). Some railroad crossings also have gates or flashing lights. Don’t attempt to cross if these are activated.
	There’s one sign that looks like a triangle with its ends cut off — that’s a sign slow-moving vehicles use. So if the vehicle in front of you displays one, you know that it can’t go over 25 mph.

	Steady Red Light Stop before the crosswalk, stop line, or before the intersection when the traffic light is red — and stay there until the light turns green. You can usually make right turns even if the light is red. However, you must first come to a complete stop and yield the right of way to other vehicles and pedestrians. However, remember that some intersections don’t allow it. You must wait for the light to turn green before proceeding if you see a “No Right Turn on Red Signal” sign (or anything similar to it). Lastly, law enforcement trumps traffic lights. So if a police officer signals you to proceed, you can (carefully), even if the light is red.
	Steady Yellow Light The primary purpose of a yellow light is to tell drivers that the light is about to turn red. It means begin slowing down in preparation to stop. However, if you’re too close to the intersection (or already in it), continue cautiously crossing until you reach the other side.
	Steady Green Light You can cross an intersection at a green light but always check first if it’s safe. Also, a left turn requires you to yield the right of way to oncoming vehicles before proceeding.