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New Jersey driving lesson · Signs, Signals, and Road Markings

Sign shapes and colors

A 3-minute lesson from the New Jersey course. Read the rules and examples, follow the handbook page references, and check your understanding before you move on.

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Read time
3 minutes
Course unit
Signs, Signals, and Road Markings
Checkpoint questions
6
Source pages
215, 216

You can read many signs before you're close enough to see the words. Shape and color alone tell you whether a sign warns, guides or regulates. A few shapes are reserved for one message only.

Three basic kinds of signs

  • Warning: hazards ahead that are difficult to see
  • Guidance: guide you to a destination by identifying the route
  • Regulatory: regulate traffic speed and movement
Handbook p. 215 ↗

Know the rule

Pedestrian crossing and bicycle warning signs may use yellow-green or standard yellow to alert drivers to share the road and yield.

Handbook p. 215 ↗

Shapes with a special meaning

Shapes with a special meaning
Shape and colorSidesMessage
Red octagon8STOP signs only
Red triangle3YIELD signs
Yellow pennant3No-passing warning
Yellow pentagon5School signs
White XNoneRailroad crossing (crossbuck)
Yellow roundNoneRailroad crossing advance warning
Handbook p. 216 ↗

Colors of rectangles and diamonds

Colors of rectangles and diamonds
Color and shapeMessage
White vertical rectangleRegulation (such as speed signs)
Blue rectangle or squareMotorist services and information
Brown rectanglePublic recreation and scenic guidance
Green rectangleDirection guidance
Orange diamondConstruction and maintenance warning
Yellow diamondRoadway hazard and railroad crossing warning
Handbook p. 216 ↗

Know the rule

When the maximum safe speed around a curve or turn is lower than the posted limit, an advisory speed sign is used with the warning sign.

Handbook p. 216 ↗

Warning signs

Yellow, diamond-shaped signs with a black symbol or words, for road conditions and hazards such as deer, railroad or school crossings, or curves.

Handbook p. 216 ↗
Stop
Red octagon: STOP
Yield
Red and white triangle: YIELD
No passing zone
Yellow pennant: no passing zone
School zone
Yellow pentagon: school

Put it into practice

Far ahead you see a sign shaped like a sideways triangle on the left side of the road. Even before you can read it, you know it's a pennant: a no-passing zone starts there.

Check your understanding

Read the question, decide on an answer, then open it to check the explanation. These are Roadwise study questions based on the source handbook.

What shape and color is a STOP sign?
  1. Red triangle
  2. Red octagon
  3. Yellow diamond
  4. White rectangle

Answer: Red octagon

A STOP sign is a red octagon with white wording and border.

Handbook p. 216 ↗
What shape and color is a YIELD sign?
  1. Red octagon
  2. Yellow pennant
  3. Red triangle
  4. Orange diamond

Answer: Red triangle

A YIELD sign is a red inverted triangle with a white border.

Handbook p. 216 ↗
What does a yellow, pennant-shaped sign indicate?
  1. A no-passing warning zone
  2. A school zone
  3. A railroad crossing
  4. A regulatory speed limit

Answer: A no-passing warning zone

A yellow pennant-shaped sign is a no-passing warning sign.

Handbook p. 216 ↗
What color and shape is a school sign?
  1. Yellow diamond
  2. Yellow pentagon
  3. Orange square
  4. Green rectangle

Answer: Yellow pentagon

School signs are yellow, five-sided (pentagon) signs.

Handbook p. 216 ↗
What does a blue, rectangular sign typically indicate?
  1. Public recreation and scenic guidance
  2. Direction guidance
  3. Motorist services and information
  4. Regulatory rules such as speed limits

Answer: Motorist services and information

Blue rectangular signs provide information about motorist services.

Handbook p. 216 ↗
What shape is used for a railroad crossing sign (crossbuck) itself, as opposed to its advance warning sign?
  1. An X shape
  2. A round shape
  3. A diamond shape
  4. A pentagon shape

Answer: An X shape

The railroad crossing sign itself (crossbuck) is X-shaped and white, distinct from the round yellow advance warning sign.

Handbook p. 216 ↗
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