Road Sign Meanings: Shapes, Colors and Symbols Explained

Road signs use shape and color to signal what kind of message you are seeing before you read a word. In the states we sampled, an octagon means STOP, a point-down triangle means YIELD, a diamond warns of a hazard, and red means stop, yield or do what is posted. These meanings come from the road sign sections of nine state driver handbooks, and our research does not confirm them for the other 41 states.

Road sign shapes and what they mean

• Octagon (8 sides): STOP signs only. Texas and Pennsylvania both say the STOP sign is the only octagon on the road, and Delaware calls it its only 8-sided sign.
• Triangle, point down: YIELD signs only. Illinois describes the yield sign as three-sided, red and white.
• Diamond: warns of existing or possible hazards. Alabama says warning signs are usually diamond-shaped, with exceptions. Delaware's work zone warnings are mostly orange diamonds.
• Pennant: advance warning of a no-passing zone, placed on the left side of the road. In Pennsylvania it is the only pennant-shaped warning sign.
• Pentagon (5 sides): school advance and school crossing signs. Pennsylvania says the school sign is the only pentagon on the roadway.
• Round: railroad advance warnings. Illinois says the round sign indicates a railroad crossing ahead.
• Rectangle: vertical rectangles are generally regulatory, and horizontal rectangles are generally guide signs (Texas). New York says regulatory signs are normally white rectangles with black letters or symbols, though some are other shapes.
• Crossbuck (X-shaped): reads RAILROAD CROSSING. New York says to yield when you see one, and Delaware says it has the same meaning as a yield sign.

Road sign colors and what they mean

• Red: stop, yield or do what is posted (Texas). Illinois says red regulatory signs must be obeyed, including STOP, YIELD, DO NOT ENTER and WRONG WAY.
• Yellow: general warning or caution (Texas and Illinois).
• Yellow-green: pedestrian, bicycle, school and playground warnings (Illinois).
• Fluorescent yellow: pedestrian crossings and school zones (Alabama).
• White: regulation (Texas). In New York, regulatory signs are normally white with black letters or symbols.
• Green: permitted movements and direction guidance (Texas). Illinois says green guide signs tell you where you are, which way to go and the distance to destinations. New York says destination signs are green with white letters.
• Blue: motorist services (Texas). New York says service signs are blue with white letters or symbols.
• Brown: public recreation and scenic guidance (Texas). Illinois uses brown for parks and recreation signs.
• Orange: construction and maintenance warnings (Texas). New York says work area signs are orange with black letters or symbols.
• Pink: may be used for traffic incident signing (Illinois).

Road sign symbols and meanings

Shape and color narrow down the category, and the symbol or words tell you the specific rule. Delaware's Highway Sign and Signal Test asks you to identify symbols such as keep right, no U-turn and no right turn. Alabama says its regulatory signs are mostly black and white, with some exceptions shown in color.

Ohio and California use a red circle with a slash or line through it to show a prohibition. Ohio uses a red circle with a slash to mean NO, and California uses a red circle with a red line through it to show what you cannot do.

Common road signs on the permit test, by state

• Alabama: regulatory signs are mostly black and white, with some exceptions in color. Fluorescent yellow marks pedestrian crossings and school zones. Warning signs are usually diamonds, with exceptions.
• California: a yellow-and-black circular or X-shaped sign warns of a railroad crossing. A red circle with a red line through it shows what you cannot do. DO NOT ENTER and WRONG WAY signs are red-and-white regulatory signs.
• Delaware: the stop sign is the only 8-sided sign and is red with white letters. The yield sign is the only sign of its shape. The school warning sign is five-sided, black on yellow, and used only for schools and school crossings. The round black-on-yellow sign warns of a highway-rail intersection. Guide signs are white on green, service signs are white on blue, and recreation signs are white on brown.
• Illinois: regulatory signs must be obeyed. The octagon is STOP, the triangle is YIELD, and DO NOT ENTER is posted on one-way streets. The five-sided school sign is yellow or yellow-green with black symbols. The no-passing sign is three-sided, yellow with black letters, and is placed on the left side of a two-lane road. A pass-with-care sign marks the end of a no-passing zone.
• New York: a crossbuck means yield. Flag-person signals and work-area speed limits apply where people work on or near the roadway.
• North Carolina: STOP is a red octagon with white letters. YIELD is a red and white triangle with the point at the bottom. Warning diamonds include STOP AHEAD and curve and intersection signs. Orange is reserved for work zones. Railroad advance warnings are round, yellow, with a black cross and RR. The no-passing pennant is yellow and sits on the left side of the road.
• Ohio: prohibitory signs use a red circle with a slash to mean NO. Guide signs are square or rectangular and green, brown or blue. Work zone signs generally have an orange background.
• Pennsylvania: the STOP sign is the only octagon on the highway, the no-passing pennant is the only pennant-shaped warning sign and sits on the left side of the road, and the school sign is the only pentagon on the roadway.
• Texas: the stop sign is a red octagon with white letters, or a yellow sign with black letters. The advisory speed sign gives the highest safe speed around the curve ahead.

Reading a sign is one skill. Recognizing it quickly under test conditions is another. Practice with the GetMyPermit permit practice test and check the signs your own state's handbook covers.

States not covered here

Our research does not confirm sign shape and color meanings for the other 41 states, including Florida, Georgia, Idaho and Virginia. For those states, check your state's driver handbook or DMV before you test.

For DC, the DC DMV's knowledge test covers traffic laws, road signs and driving safety rules, according to the DC DMV knowledge tests page. The DC automobile driver manual is on the DC DMV manual page. We did not confirm its sign shape and color meanings, so read its sign section directly.

Sources

• Texas driver handbook (DL-7)
• Pennsylvania driver's manual (Pub 95)
• Illinois driver's manual (DSD A-112)
• Alabama driver manual (ALEA)
• New York driver manual (MV-21)
• Delaware driver manual
• North Carolina driver handbook
• California driver handbook
• Ohio driver handbook
• DC DMV knowledge tests
• DC DMV automobile driver manual