MUTCD R10-18a · Regulatory signs
Traffic signal violations are photo enforced
What it means
Indicates that traffic signal violations are photo enforced.
What to do about it
It is a regulatory sign: it states a law you must obey, not a suggestion. Ignoring it is a citable violation. (MUTCD R10-18a.)
Practice this on the real test format
Signs are the part of the DMV written test people fail on, because reading them is a skill rather than a fact to memorize. Aprobify drills all 1034 of them, and tells you why each answer is what it is.
Get the appSign designations follow the MUTCD and the California MUTCD published by Caltrans; meanings are checked against the California Driver's Handbook (DL 600, rev. 6/2025). Edited by Fernando Aguilera. Aprobify is not affiliated with the California DMV.
Signs in the same family
These sit next to it in the regulatory signs series — the ones most easily mixed up with it.
- R10-15R Requires right-turning vehicles to yield to pedestrians
- R10-16 Requires U-turning vehicles to yield to right-turning traffic
- R10-17a Allows right turn on red arrow after coming to complete stop
- R10-18 Traffic laws are enforced by photo surveillance
- R10-19aP Supplemental plaque indicating photo enforcement
- R10-19P Supplemental plaque with symbol indicating photo enforcement