What does the Wrong Way sign mean?
The Wrong Way sign (MUTCD R5-1a) is a regulatory sign under the federal Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices, the national standard the states build from. Every lane around you faces the other way. Stop, then back out or turn around before you meet a vehicle head on.
Source: MUTCD 11th Edition, Chapter 2B, Table 2B-1, checked 2026-09-09.
What shape and color is the Wrong Way sign?
| MUTCD code | R5-1a |
|---|---|
| Group | Regulatory signs |
| Shape | Horizontal rectangle |
| Color | Red background, white legend 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 red means. Stop, yield, or a prohibition. Red never advises, it always forbids or commands.
Regulatory signs. Every sign in this group has a statute behind it, so disobeying one is a citable offense on its own. Permit tests tend to word them as a duty you owe rather than show you the face.
What is the Wrong Way sign often mistaken for?
Do Not Enter (R5-1). Also mistaken for a warning; it is the last regulatory sign before a head-on situation.
|  |
|---|---|
| GroupRegulatory signs | GroupRegulatory signs |
| ShapeHorizontal rectangle | ShapeSquare |
| ColorRed background, white legend and border | ColorWhite background, red circle containing a white horizontal bar, black legend |
| What it meansEvery lane around you faces the other way. | What it meansEntry in this direction is banned outright, because the lanes past the sign run at you rather than with you. |
What does the permit test ask about the Wrong Way sign?
This question is from the practice bank, with the answer marked.
This sign appearing in front of you means:
- A.You have missed your exit
- B.You have entered a one way road facing the wrong direction and must turn around(correct answer)
- C.The road ahead is one way in your direction
- D.A detour begins here
Source: MUTCD R5-1a
What are the other regulatory signs?
All 39 regulatory 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.