MUTCD R3-9b · Regulatory signs
The center lane is shared by both directions for making left turns only
What it means
The center lane is shared by both directions for making left turns only
What to do about it
CENTER LANE ONLY marks a two-way left-turn lane: traffic from both directions uses it to prepare for and make left turns. It is not a travel lane or a passing lane. (MUTCD R3-9b, Section 2B.32.)
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.
- R3-8b Advance lane control variant showing the permitted movement from each lane ahead
- R3-8L Post-mounted sign showing the configuration of all lanes ahead so you can pick the right one in time
- R3-8R Layout of every lane on the approach ahead
- R3-9a Overhead sign for the shared centre lane used by traffic in both directions to make left turns. It is not a travel lane or a passing lane
- R3-9cP Plaque marking where the two-way left-turn lane begins
- R3-9dP Plaque marking where the two-way left-turn lane ends
