A regulatory sign containing a red circle with a slash through the middle indicates:

1. That drivers should come to a complete stop.
2. That an action is forbidden. ✓
3. That some drivers should yield to other drivers.
4. That drivers should drive under the speed limit.

Answer: B. That an action is forbidden.

A regulatory sign with a red circle and a slash through it means that an action is forbidden.

Why this is the answer

The Texas handbook explains that regulatory signs tell drivers what they should or should not do in given situations, and that drivers must obey them the same way they obey traffic laws. The slash across the symbol is the part of the sign that carries the "should not" message, so the sign is telling you that whatever is pictured is not allowed. The handbook's sign chapter is about these instructions to drivers, which is why the forbidden-action reading fits.

Why the other answers are wrong

• A. That drivers should come to a complete stop. — A complete stop is ordered by a stop sign, and the passages describe regulatory signs generally as instructions about what to do or not do, not as stop orders.
• C. That some drivers should yield to other drivers. — Yielding is described in the handbook's roundabout section as giving way to traffic already in the circle, which is a different instruction from a crossed-out symbol.
• D. That drivers should drive under the speed limit. — Driving under the speed limit is a speed rule, and the passages do not tie the red circle and slash to any speed instruction.

Remember it

Think of the slash as a crossed-out picture: whatever the symbol shows, you are not to do it.