If you see orange construction signs and cones on a freeway, you must:
- Slow down because the lane ends ahead.
- Be prepared for workers and equipment ahead. ✓
- Change lanes and maintain your current speed.
Answer: B. Be prepared for workers and equipment ahead.
When you see orange construction signs and cones on a freeway, you must be prepared for workers and equipment ahead.
Why this is the answer
The handbook says warning signs and message boards appear when workers, slow-moving equipment, and closed lanes are ahead. It tells you to go through the work zone carefully: slow down, leave extra space, expect sudden slowing or stopping, watch for lane changes, and avoid distractions. It also says to prepare to slow down or stop for highway equipment. Orange signs and cones are your early notice that people and machines may be in or near your lane, so the right response is to get ready for them, not to hold your speed.
Why the other answers are wrong
- A. Slow down because the lane ends ahead. — The signs and cones warn of a work zone with workers and equipment, not specifically that the lane ends ahead, so slowing for a lane ending is the wrong reason.
- C. Change lanes and maintain your current speed. — The handbook says to slow down in a work zone, so changing lanes while keeping your current speed skips the slowing the passage calls for.
Remember it
Orange means people: assume a worker or a piece of equipment could be just past the cones, so lift off the gas and get ready to stop.