What does the Cross Road sign mean?
The Cross Road sign (MUTCD W2-1) is a warning sign under the federal Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices, the national standard the states build from. Another road cuts straight across yours just ahead, so traffic can arrive from the left and the right at once.
Source: MUTCD 11th Edition, Chapter 2C, Table 2C-1, checked 2026-09-09.
What shape and color is the Cross Road sign?
| MUTCD code | W2-1 |
|---|---|
| Group | Warning signs |
| Shape | Diamond |
| Color | Yellow 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 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.
What is the Cross Road sign often mistaken for?
The railroad advance warning sign (W10-1), which is a yellow circle with an X, not a cross-shaped symbol in a diamond. Also Side Road (W2-2), where the road joins from one side only.
|  |  |
|---|---|---|
| GroupWarning signs | GroupRailroad crossing signs | GroupWarning signs |
| ShapeDiamond | ShapeCircle, 36 inches diameter | ShapeDiamond |
| ColorYellow background, black symbol and border | ColorYellow background, black X and RR legend and border | ColorYellow background, black symbol and border |
| What it meansAnother road cuts straight across yours just ahead, so traffic can arrive from the left and the right at once. | What it meansTracks cross the pavement somewhere past this sign. | What it meansA single arm meets your road from one side only, and drivers waiting on it often have a poor view of you. |
What does the permit test ask about the Cross Road sign?
This question is from the practice bank, with the answer marked.
This sign warns of:
- A.A four way intersection ahead(correct answer)
- B.A road joining from one side only
- C.A T intersection where your road ends
- D.A railroad crossing ahead
Source: MUTCD W2-1
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.