What does the Winding Road sign mean?
The Winding Road sign (MUTCD W1-5) is a warning sign under the federal Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices, the national standard the states build from. Bends keep coming, at least three of them, swapping direction with no usable straight in between.
Source: MUTCD 11th Edition, Chapter 2C, Table 2C-1, checked 2026-09-09.
What shape and color is the Winding Road sign?
| MUTCD code | W1-5 |
|---|---|
| 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 Winding Road sign often mistaken for?
Reverse Curve (W1-4).
|  |
|---|---|
| GroupWarning signs | GroupWarning signs |
| ShapeDiamond | ShapeDiamond |
| ColorYellow background, black symbol and border | ColorYellow background, black symbol and border |
| What it meansBends keep coming, at least three of them, swapping direction with no usable straight in between. | What it meansTwo curves in opposite directions ahead. |
Which signs get mistaken for the Winding Road sign?
Reverse TurnW1-3Reverse Curve (W1-4), the gentler version, and Winding Road (W1-5), which means three or more successive bends.
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.