What does the One-Direction Large Arrow sign mean?
The One-Direction Large Arrow sign (MUTCD W1-6) is a warning sign under the federal Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices, the national standard the states build from. Mounted at the point where the alignment breaks, and the arrow gives the only way through: the road does not continue straight.
Source: MUTCD 11th Edition, Chapter 2C, Table 2C-1, checked 2026-09-09.
What shape and color is the One-Direction Large Arrow sign?
| MUTCD code | W1-6 |
|---|---|
| Group | Warning signs |
| Shape | Horizontal rectangle |
| Color | Yellow 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 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 One-Direction Large Arrow sign often mistaken for?
Chevron Alignment (W1-8), which is a vertical rectangle used in a series through the curve. The large arrow is a single sign at the point of the turn.
|  |
|---|---|
| GroupWarning signs | GroupWarning signs |
| ShapeHorizontal rectangle | ShapeVertical rectangle |
| ColorYellow background, black arrow and border | ColorYellow background, black chevron and border |
| What it meansMounted at the point where the alignment breaks, and the arrow gives the only way through: the road does not continue straight. | What it meansMarks the direction of the curve; several are placed through the bend so one is always in view. |
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.