What does the T Intersection sign mean?

The T Intersection sign (MUTCD W2-3) is a warning sign under the federal Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices, the national standard the states build from. The road you are on ends ahead at a T intersection; you must turn left or right.

Source: MUTCD 11th Edition, Chapter 2C, Table 2C-1, checked 2026-09-09.

What shape and color is the T Intersection sign?

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 T Intersection sign often mistaken for?

Dead End (W14-1) and the Two-Direction Large Arrow (W1-7). At a T you can still go somewhere; at a dead end you cannot.

The T Intersection sign compared side by side with the Dead End sign and the Two-Direction Large Arrow sign

T Intersectionthis sign	Dead EndW14-1	Two-Direction Large ArrowW1-7
GroupWarning signs	GroupWarning signs	GroupWarning signs
ShapeDiamond	ShapeDiamond	ShapeHorizontal rectangle
ColorYellow background, black symbol and border	ColorYellow background, black legend and border	ColorYellow background, black double arrow and border
What it meansThe road you are on ends ahead at a T intersection; you must turn left or right.	What it meansThis road stops at a barrier or a wall and nothing continues past it.	What it meansThe road you are approaching runs both left and right from here.

What does the permit test ask about the T Intersection sign?

These 2 questions are from the practice bank, with the answer marked.

Question 1

This sign means:

1. A.A side road joins from the right
2. B.The road you are on ends ahead and you must turn(correct answer)
3. C.A divided highway begins
4. D.Traffic from both directions merges

Source: MUTCD W2-3

Question 2

Your street runs out where it meets a larger road at a T-intersection. You must:

1. A.Yield to whatever is already on the through road(correct answer)
2. B.Proceed, as the through road yields to you
3. C.Stop only if a sign tells you to
4. D.Sound the horn and merge

Why: The street that terminates gives up priority to the one that carries on. That holds whether or not a stop sign is posted.

Source: Uniform Vehicle Code, right of way at T-intersections

What are the other warning signs?

Two-Direction Large ArrowW1-7

Chevron AlignmentW1-8

Combination Horizontal Alignment / IntersectionW1-10

Hairpin CurveW1-11

Cross RoadW2-1

Side RoadW2-2

Circular Intersection (Roundabout Ahead)W2-6

Stop AheadW3-1

Yield AheadW3-2

Signal AheadW3-3

Be Prepared To StopW3-4

Reduced Speed Limit AheadW3-5

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.