Safety Tips: Standard Sign Shapes

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Standard Sign Shapes and Their Meanings

Traffic signs convey information to travelers through their shape, color, message and placement.

	Octagon — Exclusively for STOP signs
	Equilateral Triangle, Point Down — Exclusively for YIELD signs
	Circle — Exclusively for Railroad Advance Warning and Civil Defense Evacuation Route marker
	Pennant — Exclusively for NO PASSING ZONE signs
	Diamond — Used for warning signs
	Rectangle, Longer Dimension Vertical — Used for regulatory signs
	Rectangle, Longer Dimension Horizontal — Used for guide signs
	Trapezoid — Used for recreational area guide signs
	Pentagon — Used for school advance warning signs
	Crossbuck — Used for railroad crossing signs
	Other shapes — Used for route marker signs



	West Virginia Department of Transportation Division of Highways Building 5, Room A-110 • 1900 Kanawha Boulevard, East • Charleston, WV 25305-0430 Phone: (304) 558-3505 • Fax: (304) 558-1004 General information and/or questions, please email dot.info@wv.gov