The divided highway begins sign is a warning sign. The road ahead divides around a median; keep to the right side. Keep to the right side of the median that is about to appear ahead. It is tested in the Ontario, British Columbia, Alberta and Quebec practice banks on this site, where 10 questions ask about it, and the ones on this page carry the answer and the authority behind it.
Warning signs10 practice questionsTested in 4 provinces
The divided highway begins sign, drawn by us to the standard shape and colours rather than traced from any official artwork.
What it means
The road ahead divides around a median; keep to the right side.
What to do when you see it
Keep to the right side of the median that is about to appear ahead.
How to recognise a warning sign
The shape is almost always a yellow diamond with a black border and a black symbol or arrow. The one exception in this set is the railway advance sign, which is a yellow circle with a black X, kept round on purpose so it stands out from the diamonds around it well before you reach the tracks.
A warning sign tells you about a hazard or an unusual condition ahead so you can adjust your speed and attention before you reach it. It is advice rather than a command with its own penalty, though ignoring it can put you in a position where another rule then applies.
10 questions in our banks show this sign and ask what it requires. Here are 6, each with the answer marked and the authority it rests on.
OntarioG1 knowledge test
This sign appears on a road you are driving along. What changes just ahead?
The roadway splits around a median and you keep to the right side
A median means oncoming traffic is physically separated from yours from this point on. The one thing you have to get right is which side is yours, because a divider gives you no chance to correct after the split.
Highway Traffic Act (Ontario)
British ColumbiaICBC knowledge test
This sign appears ahead of you on a two way road. What is about to change?
The road divides around a median, and you keep to the right hand side
A median or barrier is about to separate the two directions of travel, so you take the roadway on the right. Because opposing traffic is physically held apart past this point the road feels safer, and that is exactly when speed creeps up without a driver noticing.
Motor Vehicle Act (British Columbia)
AlbertaClass 7 knowledge test
This sign faces you on a road you have been sharing with oncoming traffic. What happens ahead?
The road splits around a median and you keep to the right side
From this point each direction gets its own roadway with a median between them. You take the right hand roadway, which matches the side of the road you already drive on. Nothing about the choice is optional, even though the split can look like a fork.
Alberta Driver's Guide (Government of Alberta)
QuebecSAAQ knowledge test
This sign appears as you approach a stretch where the highway is about to change its layout. What is about to happen, and what should you do?
The road splits around a median, so keep to the right side of it
From here the two directions are separated by a median or a barrier, and each roadway carries traffic one way only. Taking the left side would put you against traffic on a road where nobody is looking for a vehicle coming at them. Watch for the point where the median starts, because that is where the two streams part.
Highway Safety Code (Quebec)
OntarioG1 knowledge test
You have just passed this sign. What can you now assume about the road you are on?
Traffic ahead of you is going the same way, and left turns will only be possible where the design allows
A divided road removes the head-on conflict, which makes lane changes the main risk instead. It also removes the ordinary left turn across oncoming traffic, since you can only cross the median at the openings and junctions provided.
Highway Traffic Act (Ontario)
British ColumbiaICBC knowledge test
You have just passed this sign and you realise you needed the roadway going the other way. What must you not do?
Cross the median to reach the other roadway
Once the median begins the two roadways are separate roads, and crossing between them puts you head on into traffic that has no reason to be looking for you. The only correct fix is to keep going to a proper crossing point or an exit.
Motor Vehicle Act (British Columbia)
The other 4 sit in the signs drills, which ask sign questions on their own with the reason for every answer.
The road ahead divides around a median; keep to the right side. Keep to the right side of the median that is about to appear ahead.
What kind of sign is the divided highway begins sign?
It is a warning sign. A warning sign tells you about a hazard or an unusual condition ahead so you can adjust your speed and attention before you reach it. It is advice rather than a command with its own penalty, though ignoring it can put you in a position where another rule then applies.
Which provinces test the divided highway begins sign?
It appears in the Ontario, British Columbia, Alberta and Quebec practice banks on this site: 2 in Ontario, 2 in British Columbia, 3 in Alberta, 3 in Quebec. Every question is original prose citing Highway Traffic Act (Ontario), Motor Vehicle Act (British Columbia), Alberta Driver's Guide (Government of Alberta) and Highway Safety Code (Quebec).
Sources for this page
The meaning and the action are the standard ones taught across Canada. Each question above cites the law or the guide it rests on, and the exam facts on the province pages come from the records below.
Question count and pass mark read from the Alberta driver knowledge test page on the same date, and the ride for hire rule from the Alberta ride for hire services page.
SAAQ published licensing, driving course and knowledge test information
Read through an Internet Archive copy of the SAAQ page captured on 2026-08-13, because the SAAQ turns away visitors from outside Canada. The French page is cited because it is the version the SAAQ updates first.