The Keep Right sign is as foundational as it gets when it comes to road signs that you’ll find a lot of while you’re driving along. It’s meant to instruct you quite simply… to keep to the right.
Specifically, if you notice the Keep Right sign, make sure you stay on the right-hand side of a particular bit of road feature. The latter could include a divider, obstruction, or traffic island.
What Does The Keep Right Sign Mean?
It’s a simple message, but effective in keeping traffic flowing smoothly, preventing accidents, and ensuring that drivers remain on the correct side of the road. If you see the Keep Right sign as you’re driving, the first thing you need to do is to stay on the right side of the road feature. As we noted earlier, these road features include medians, traffic islands, or other obstructions.
The Keep Right sign is used to guide you and other traffic safely around these obstacles. On top of that, they make sure that vehicles are traveling in the correct lane and direction. If not, you failing to obey this sign can lead to dangerous situations. These may include accidentally driving into oncoming traffic or colliding with road features and other obstacles.
What Does It Look Like?
The Keep Right sign has a similar design across all states, so it ought to be very easy for you to spot… A rectangular white sign with a black border. In the center, the sign contains a black arrow curving to the right, around a black median symbol. That black arrow clearly indicates the direction that you should follow to avoid a road obstruction, median, or divider.
Given its simple design, the bright white background and contrasting black symbols make the Keep Right sign highly visible. That’s even if you’re looking at it from a distance. Particularly, as this sign is mostly found in areas where road layouts might be confusing, like construction zones. This design makes it highly legible when driving at higher speeds or in low-light conditions.
Where Is The Keep Right Sign Found?
As we mentioned briefly earlier, the Keep Right signs are typically placed and can be found in places where road features or obstructions require that you stay to one side of the road. Here are some of the places where you’ll typically find this road sign:
- Median Or Traffic Islands – To make sure that you safely pass and drive by around any specific road obstructions, this sign directs you to stay on the right side of a median or traffic island.
- Construction Zones – In areas where the road layout has been temporarily changed due to any construction work, the Keep Right sign helps to guide you around any detours or barriers.
- Highway Off-Ramps – You might also find this road sign on highway exits where the road splits. These show that you must stay on the right side of the road to avoid entering oncoming lanes.
What To Do
Whenever you spot a Keep Right sign, here are some of the things you should do to stay safe on the road:
- First off, make sure that you stay alert and look out for the obstruction or median that the sign is trying to warn you about. Once you’ve spotted this road sign, prepare to steer to the right to avoid it.
- Whenever you’re approaching the Keep Right sign, ensure that you follow the direction of the arrow on the sign. This should show you how to safely navigate around a particular obstruction up ahead.
- And remember, don’t attempt to drive or go to the left of the specific road feature. That’s there are other road signs or signals up ahead that indicate that you have to change lanes. Only then can you go left.
- If necessary, be sure to adjust your vehicle’s speed, too. This depends on the road conditions or the size of that particular obstruction. Otherwise, you may have to slow down to navigate your car safely around the obstacle. And while you’re here, keep an eye out for any additional signs that indicate further changes to the road layout or speed limits.
What To (Not) Do
While the Keep Right sign might look and sound simple, I’ve seen enough drivers make more than a handful of mistakes when they come across it. Here are some of the common mistakes that you should avoid repeating:
- The most common mistake I’ve seen many folks make is ignoring the Keep Right sign in any place where there is heavy traffic or significant distractions. Even if it’s unintentional, in busy intersections or construction zones, you could end up in an accident, or blocking traffic.
- Typically an innocent mistake that’s nevertheless hazardous, I’ve also seen some drivers mistakenly try to pass on the left-hand side of an obstruction. This is normally the case if you’ve missed the sign or hadn’t noticed it in time. This can be quite dangerous, particularly if it leads to oncoming traffic.
- Crucially, some drivers also mistakenly fail to slow down enough when they’re approaching the Keep Right sign, and speed right past an obstruction on the road. Remember that speeding in areas with road features would significantly reduce reaction times and increase the risk of hitting an obstruction on the road.