What does the Downward Diagonal Arrow plaque mean?
The Downward Diagonal Arrow plaque (MUTCD W16-7P) is a warning sign under the federal Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices, the national standard the states build from. The hazard the sign above warns about is at this exact spot, not ahead.
Source: MUTCD 11th Edition, Chapter 2C, Table 2C-1, checked 2026-09-09.
What shape and color is the Downward Diagonal Arrow plaque?
| MUTCD code | W16-7P |
|---|---|
| Group | Warning signs |
| Shape | Rectangular plaque with a diagonal arrow pointing down and to the side |
| Color | Yellow or fluorescent yellow-green background, black arrow 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 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 Downward Diagonal Arrow plaque often mistaken for?
The AHEAD plaque (W16-9P) and the XX FEET plaques (W16-2P, W16-2aP), which mean the hazard is further on. With S1-1 above it, this plaque is what turns the sign into a School Crossing assembly rather than a School Advance Crossing assembly.
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.