What does the Double Arrow sign mean?
The Double Arrow sign (MUTCD W12-1) is a warning sign under the federal Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices, the national standard the states build from. Traffic may pass on either side of the obstruction ahead.
Source: MUTCD 11th Edition, Chapter 2C, Table 2C-1, checked 2026-09-09.
What shape and color is the Double Arrow sign?
| MUTCD code | W12-1 |
|---|---|
| Group | Warning signs |
| Shape | Diamond |
| Color | Yellow background, black double arrow 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 Double Arrow sign often mistaken for?
Two-Way Traffic (W6-3) and the Two-Direction Large Arrow (W1-7). W12-1 is about a physical obstruction directly in front of you.
|  |  |
|---|---|---|
| GroupWarning signs | GroupWarning signs | GroupWarning signs |
| ShapeDiamond | ShapeDiamond | ShapeHorizontal rectangle |
| ColorYellow background, black double arrow and border | ColorYellow background, black double arrow symbol and border | ColorYellow background, black double arrow and border |
| What it meansTraffic may pass on either side of the obstruction ahead. | What it meansOncoming vehicles use the next lane over from here, with nothing but paint between the two streams. | What it meansThe road you are approaching runs both left and right from here. |
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.