This sign (yield sign) means:
- Slow down if an emergency vehicle is approaching
- Look both ways as you cross the intersection
- Always come to a full stop at the intersection
- Slow down and be prepared to stop if necessary ✓
Answer: D. Slow down and be prepared to stop if necessary
A yield sign means you slow down and be prepared to stop if necessary.
Why this is the answer
The manual says that when you approach a YIELD sign, you check carefully for traffic and get ready to stop. You give way to vehicles and people already in the intersection or approaching it. It also says a full stop is required only when traffic conditions make it necessary. That is why the sign calls for slowing down and being ready to stop, not an automatic full stop every time.
Why the other answers are wrong
- A. Slow down if an emergency vehicle is approaching — Slowing for an emergency vehicle is not what the yield sign indicates; the passage ties the sign to yielding to traffic and pedestrians at an intersection.
- B. Look both ways as you cross the intersection — Looking both ways is part of checking traffic, but the sign's meaning is to prepare to stop and yield, not merely to look as you cross.
- C. Always come to a full stop at the intersection — The manual says a full stop at a yield sign is required only when traffic conditions require it, so an always-full-stop answer is too broad.
Remember it
When you see yield, think give way: check traffic and be ready to stop if the way is not clear.
Official handbook: New York State Driver's Manual (MV-21), Chapter 4: Traffic Control – Signs