What does the Circular Intersection (Roundabout Ahead) sign mean?
The Circular Intersection (Roundabout Ahead) sign (MUTCD W2-6) is a warning sign under the federal Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices, the national standard the states build from. A circulating intersection is coming up. Entry runs on gaps: everything already going around the island holds priority, so slow enough to take a gap rather than make one.
Source: MUTCD 11th Edition, Chapter 2C, Table 2C-1, checked 2026-09-09.
What shape and color is the Circular Intersection (Roundabout Ahead) sign?
| MUTCD code | W2-6 |
|---|---|
| Group | Warning signs |
| Shape | Diamond |
| Color | Yellow background, black circular arrow 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 yellow means. General warning of a permanent condition ahead.
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.
When is the roundabout warning supposed to be there?
MUTCD 11th Edition, Section 2C.41 allows the Circular Intersection (W2-6) sign ahead of a circular intersection. If the statutory or posted speed limit on that approach is 40 mph or higher, the sign should be installed. Below 40 mph it is optional. An educational plaque reading TRAFFIC CIRCLE (W16-12P) or ROUNDABOUT (W16-12aP) may go under the symbol.
The Live Oak photo shows a 20 mph plaque under that symbol. Section 2C.59 says an Advisory Speed (W13-1P) plaque may supplement an advance warning sign, the speed on it shall be a multiple of 5 mph, and except in an emergency or for a temporary condition it shall not be installed until an engineering study has set the speed. It shall not be installed as a separate sign. Section 2B.21 says to use this plaque, not a Speed Limit sign, to warn of an advisory speed for a roadway condition.
The warning is not the yield. Section 2B.10 Standard: a YIELD sign shall be used at the entrance to a roundabout, and YIELD signs there control the approach roadways, not the circulatory roadway. The same section says YIELD signs shall not be placed on all approaches to an intersection, except at roundabouts.
What do you do from the warning to the exit?
- 1Lose speed before the yield point
Slow toward the advisory number if a W13-1P is under the diamond. In the Live Oak photo it is 20 mph. It is an advisory speed for the condition, not a speed limit.
- 2Yield to traffic already on the circle
At the YIELD sign, Florida Statutes s. 316.123(3): slow to a speed reasonable for the conditions and, if a stop is needed for safety, stop before the near-side crosswalk or, if there is none, at the point nearest the roadway you are entering where you can see its traffic. Then yield to any vehicle in the intersection or approaching so closely as to be an immediate hazard.
- 3Pass the island on its right
Florida Statutes s. 316.088(3) says a vehicle passing around a rotary traffic island shall be driven only to the right of the island. New York Vehicle and Traffic Law s. 1127(b) says the same for a circular intersection unless traffic control devices indicate otherwise.
- 4Leave at your exit without stopping in the circle
Once you are circulating, the entering driver is the one who yields. Stopping inside the circle to wave someone in turns around the priority Section 2B.10 sets up.
Entry to a roundabout after the W2-6
A driver who is still on the approach yields.
Section 2B.10 puts the YIELD signs on the approaches and forbids using them to control the circulatory roadway. New York Vehicle and Traffic Law s. 1145 states the same priority: a driver about to enter yields to any vehicle already traveling on the circle.
How does Keisha use the 20 mph plaque in Live Oak?
Keisha, Live Oak approach, truck already circulating
- 1Keisha sees the W2-6 and the 20 mph plaque from the Live Oak photo. The plaque is advisory, so she treats 20 mph as the target for the approach and starts slowing toward it.
- 2Section 2C.59 requires that figure to be a multiple of 5 and, unless the condition is an emergency or temporary, to come from an engineering study. The plaque cannot stand alone.
- 3A truck is already on the circulatory roadway, close to her entry. Florida Statutes s. 316.123(3) requires her to yield to it.
- 4She stops at the entry because the truck is an immediate hazard, takes the next gap, and drives only to the right of the island under s. 316.088(3). Once she is circulating, she does not stop beside another vehicle to wave a waiting car in.
Outcome. She enters behind the truck and exits. The 20 mph figure shaped her approach speed. The YIELD sign, not the yellow diamond, assigned the right of way.
What do people miss on the permit question?
| Device | What it does | What it does not do |
|---|---|---|
| W2-6 yellow symbol | Warns that a circular intersection is ahead | Does not assign right of way |
| W13-1P, 20 mph in the photo | Advises a speed for the condition | Is not a Speed Limit sign |
| YIELD at the entry | Makes entering traffic yield | Does not control drivers already on the circle |
New York Vehicle and Traffic Law s. 140-d defines a roundabout as a circular intersection with counterclockwise movement, channelized approaches, low speeds, and yield control of entering traffic.
- Entering beside a circulating truck because "the circle has to share." Section 2B.10 puts the yield on you.
- Turning left onto the circle in a clockwise loop. Florida s. 316.088(3) and New York s. 1127(b) both keep you to the right of the island.
- Reading 20 mph as the ticket speed. The plaque is advisory. A regulatory limit is posted on a Speed Limit sign, which Section 2B.21 says should not be used for this purpose.
- Stopping at W2-6. The yield point is the entrance. Section 2C.35 requires a Yield Ahead sign where the YIELD sign cannot be seen in time, and allows one for emphasis even where it can.
Warning first, then the YIELD sign at the entry. Yield Ahead is required where that YIELD sign is not visible in time.
New York s. 140-d uses the word roundabout. Florida s. 316.088 never does. It says rotary traffic island, and to the right of it. In Florida, a violation of s. 316.088 or s. 316.123 is a noncriminal traffic infraction, punishable as a moving violation under chapter 318.
What is the Circular Intersection (Roundabout Ahead) sign often mistaken for?
The black-and-white roundabout directional sign (R6-4) at the island itself, and the ROUNDABOUT plaque (W16-12aP) which is text, not a symbol.
|  |
|---|---|
| GroupWarning signs | GroupRegulatory signs |
| ShapeDiamond | ShapeHorizontal rectangle |
| ColorYellow background, black circular arrow symbol and border | ColorBlack background, white chevrons and border |
| What it meansA circulating intersection is coming up. | What it meansCirculate around the central island in the direction the chevrons point. |
What does the permit test ask about the Circular Intersection (Roundabout Ahead) sign?
These 2 questions are from the practice bank, with the answer marked.
This sign warns of:
- A.A traffic circle or roundabout ahead(correct answer)
- B.A curve to the right
- C.A cul-de-sac
- D.A U-turn lane ahead
Source: MUTCD W2-6
When entering a roundabout in the United States you yield to:
- A.Traffic waiting to enter
- B.Traffic already circulating, approaching from your left(correct answer)
- C.Traffic approaching from your right
- D.Nobody, roundabouts are uncontrolled
Why: US roundabouts run counterclockwise, so circulating traffic reaches you from the left. Yield to it, enter in a gap, and signal right as you leave.
Source: Federal MUTCD, 11th Edition (FHWA)
Questions drivers ask about the Circular Intersection (Roundabout Ahead) sign
Is the 20 mph plaque in Live Oak a speed limit?
No. Section 2C.59 makes the Advisory Speed plaque a supplement to an advance warning sign. The displayed speed shall be a multiple of 5 mph, and it shall not be installed until an engineering study determines it, except in an emergency or when the condition is temporary. Section 2B.21 says to use that plaque, not a Speed Limit sign, to warn of an advisory speed for a roadway condition. The photo shows 20 mph. It does not show the regulatory limit.
Do I yield to cars that are waiting on the next approach?
No. At a YIELD sign, Florida Statutes s. 316.123(3) has you yield to any vehicle in the intersection or approaching so closely as to be an immediate hazard. New York Vehicle and Traffic Law s. 1145 puts it as yielding to any vehicle already traveling on the circle. A driver who has not entered yet is the one who waits.
Does every approach need this yellow sign?
Section 2C.41 says the Circular Intersection sign should be installed when the statutory or posted speed limit on that approach is 40 mph or higher. Below 40 mph the sign is allowed, not required. The YIELD signs are what Section 2B.10 requires at the roundabout entrances. The yellow symbol and the YIELD sign are not substitutes for each other.
May I turn left in front of the island to take a shortcut?
No. Florida Statutes s. 316.088(3) requires a vehicle passing around a rotary traffic island to be driven only to the right of the island. New York Vehicle and Traffic Law s. 1127(b) requires the same at a circular intersection unless traffic control devices indicate otherwise, and New York s. 140-d describes a roundabout as counterclockwise movement.
Sources
- MUTCD 11th Edition, Chapter 2C, Table 2C-1
- MUTCD 11th Edition (December 2023), Chapter 2C, Sections 2C.35, 2C.41 and 2C.59
- MUTCD 11th Edition (December 2023), Chapter 2B, Section 2B.10 Yield Control and Section 2B.21 Speed Limit Sign
- Florida Statutes s. 316.088, one-way roadways and rotary traffic islands (2026)
- Florida Statutes s. 316.123, vehicle entering stop or yield intersection (2026)
- New York Vehicle and Traffic Law s. 1145, vehicle approaching rotary traffic circle or island
- New York Vehicle and Traffic Law s. 1127, one-way roadways and circular intersections
- New York Vehicle and Traffic Law s. 140-d, roundabout
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, California or New York.
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.