What does the Advance Intersection Lane Control sign mean?
The Advance Intersection Lane Control sign (MUTCD R3-8) is a regulatory sign under the federal Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices, the national standard the states build from. Diagram of which movements are available from each lane at the intersection ahead, so you can pick your lane early.
Source: MUTCD 11th Edition, Chapter 2B, Table 2B-1, checked 2026-09-09.
What shape and color is the Advance Intersection Lane Control sign?
| MUTCD code | R3-8 |
|---|---|
| Group | Regulatory signs |
| Shape | Horizontal rectangle |
| Color | White background, black arrows and border |
What a horizontal rectangle means. Usually guidance: direction, distance and destination. Also used for some regulatory plaques mounted under another sign. Rectangles are the loosely assigned outline in the system, though, so on this sign the shape alone does not tell you its family; the color and the legend do.
What white means. Regulatory. A black legend on a white background is a law, not advice.
Regulatory signs. Every sign in this group has a statute behind it, so disobeying one is a citable offense on its own. Permit tests tend to word them as a duty you owe rather than show you the face.
What is the Advance Intersection Lane Control sign often mistaken for?
Guide signs, because it looks like a lane diagram. It is regulatory: the arrows are requirements, not suggestions.
Which signs get mistaken for the Advance Intersection Lane Control sign?
Right (Left) Lane Must Turn Right (Left)R3-7Advance Intersection Lane Control (R3-8), which is a diagram showing what every lane does rather than an order aimed at one lane.
What are the other regulatory signs?
All 39 regulatory signs on one page, or every US road sign by shape and color.
Test yourself on this sign and the rest of the set with a road signs practice test for Florida, Texas or California.
The artwork is the federal design itself, which the manual dedicates to the public domain in MUTCD 11th Edition, Part 1, Section 1D.06, checked 2026-09-09. The Interstate Shield, the 511 pictograph and the National Scenic Byway graphic are named exceptions and are not reproduced anywhere on this site.
Source: Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices, 11th Edition. Not affiliated with or endorsed by the Federal Highway Administration or any state agency.