A double solid yellow line down the center of a two-lane road indicates:
- Lanes are moving in opposite directions and drivers are not permitted to pass. ✓
- Lanes are moving in opposite directions and drivers are permitted to pass when it is safe to do so.
- Lanes are moving in the same direction and drivers are not permitted to pass.
- Lanes are moving in the same direction and drivers are permitted to pass when it is safe to do so.
Answer: A. Lanes are moving in opposite directions and drivers are not permitted to pass.
A double solid yellow line down the center means lanes are moving in opposite directions and drivers are not permitted to pass.
Why this is the answer
The Florida handbook says yellow lane lines separate traffic moving in opposite directions. It also says that with double solid yellow lines, vehicles moving either direction must not pass or cross those lines. There are limited exceptions: you may turn left or pass a bicyclist when it is safe. So the key rule is no passing across a double solid yellow line, even though the two sides carry traffic going opposite ways.
Why the other answers are wrong
- B. Lanes are moving in opposite directions and drivers are permitted to pass when it is safe to do so. — It gets the opposite-direction part right, but passing is not permitted across double solid yellow lines just because it seems safe.
- C. Lanes are moving in the same direction and drivers are not permitted to pass. — It says the lanes move in the same direction, but yellow lines separate lanes moving in opposite directions; white lines separate same-direction lanes.
- D. Lanes are moving in the same direction and drivers are permitted to pass when it is safe to do so. — It is wrong about both direction and passing, since yellow lines mark opposite-direction traffic and double solid yellow lines prohibit passing.
Remember it
Solid yellow on both sides means stay in your lane and do not pass; only a left turn or a safe bicyclist pass is allowed.