Regulation signs: stopping, entry and parking

Explanation

Traffic regulation signs display rules which drivers must obey.

Stop and yield

• Stop is eight-sided. Eight-sided signs warn drivers that they must stop and yield the appropriate right of way at an intersection.
• Yield has three sides of equal length. These signs warn drivers to slow down when approaching an intersection and to be prepared to come to a complete stop in order to yield to other drivers or pedestrians.
• Supplemental plaques — All Way and Cross Traffic Does Not Stop — are sometimes added to the bottom of stop signs to indicate the directions in which the intersection must stop.
• Wrong Way has a red background. Red signs convey traffic regulations that require drivers to take immediate action to avoid threats to traffic safety.

Other regulation signs in the manual: Stop Here on Red, Do Not Enter, Do Not Block Intersection, Do Not Pass, Emergency Stopping Only, No Trucks, No Parking, No Parking Any Time, Tow-Away Zone, Limited Parking, Pay Parking, Reserved Parking, Reserved Parking Van Accessible.

Example

You stop at a stop sign with an All Way plaque underneath. The plaque indicates the directions in which the intersection must stop — here, all of them.

Common mistake

Assuming every stop sign is an all-way stop. Supplemental plaques under stop signs indicate the directions that must stop, so read the plaque when there is one.

What the manual says

Eight-sided traffic signs warn drivers that they must stop and yield the appropriate right of way at an intersection.

Traffic signs with three sides of equal length warn drivers to slow down when approaching an intersection, and to be prepared to come to a complete stop in order to yield to other drivers or pedestrians.

Red traffic signs convey traffic regulations that require drivers to take immediate action to avoid threats to traffic safety.