What does the Bicycle sign mean?
The Bicycle sign (MUTCD W11-1) is a warning sign under the federal Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices, the national standard the states build from. Watch for bicycles entering or crossing the roadway ahead.
Source: MUTCD 11th Edition, Chapter 2C, Table 2C-1, checked 2026-09-09.
What shape and color is the Bicycle sign?
| MUTCD code | W11-1 |
|---|---|
| Group | Warning signs |
| Shape | Diamond |
| Color | Yellow or fluorescent yellow-green background, black symbol and border |
What a diamond means. A warning. It tells you what the road does next and obliges you to do nothing in particular, which is the distinction test writers probe most often.
What fluorescent yellow-green means. Pedestrian, bicycle and school warnings. Reserved so those warnings cannot be mistaken for an ordinary hazard.
Warning signs. A diamond reports a condition and orders nothing. What you do about it is left to you, and that gap between a report and an order is what test writers keep probing.
What is the Bicycle sign often mistaken for?
No Bicycles (R5-6), which bans them. Note the 11th Edition dropped the SHARE THE ROAD legend from W16-1P, which now reads IN ROAD.
|  |
|---|---|
| GroupWarning signs | GroupRegulatory signs |
| ShapeDiamond | ShapeSquare |
| ColorYellow or fluorescent yellow-green background, black symbol and border | ColorWhite background, red circle and slash over a black bicycle symbol |
| What it meansWatch for bicycles entering or crossing the roadway ahead. | What it meansRiding a bicycle past this point is prohibited, typically because the road carries speeds or a shoulder profile that leaves no room for one. |
What does the permit test ask about the Bicycle sign?
These 2 questions are from the practice bank, with the answer marked.
This sign means:
- A.A bike lane begins
- B.Cyclists may be in or crossing the roadway ahead(correct answer)
- C.Bicycles are prohibited ahead
- D.A bike path crosses under the road
Source: MUTCD W11-1
You want to pass a bicycle on a two-lane road but cannot give safe clearance. You should:
- A.Pass anyway, keeping as far left as possible
- B.Wait behind until it is safe to pass with proper clearance(correct answer)
- C.Sound the horn until they move over
- D.Pass on the right
Why: A bicycle is entitled to the lane. If you cannot give the clearance your state requires, commonly three feet, you wait. Squeezing past is what causes most car and bicycle collisions.
Source: State minimum passing distance laws; NHTSA bicycle safety guidance
What are the other warning signs?
All 55 warning 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.