Pedestrian crossing sign: what it means

Pedestrian crossing warning sign: a fluorescent yellow-green diamond with a black walking person
Drawing: DriveQuiz, based on MUTCD sign W11-2. Simplified; real signs follow the FHWA Standard Highway Signs specifications.

The pedestrian crossing sign warns that people may be crossing the road ahead. Slow down and be ready to stop for them.

Take the free road signs quiz

Last checked against the sources: · Report a mistake

What it means

MUTCD Section 2C.02: signs about pedestrians, bicyclists and playgrounds may be yellow or fluorescent yellow-green. Section 2C.55: at the crossing point itself, a post-mounted sign has a plaque with an arrow pointing diagonally down at the crossing; before the crossing, a plaque may say AHEAD or give a distance.

Exactly when drivers must yield to pedestrians is set by state law, so check your state’s driver handbook.

Where you see it

Before and at crosswalks, especially ones away from intersections.

A common mistake

Passing a car that has stopped before a crosswalk. It may have stopped for someone you cannot see, so slow down and look.

Quick quiz

A pedestrian sign has a plaque with a diagonal arrow pointing down. What does the arrow show?

  1. The crossing is right here
  2. Turn left ahead
  3. The road goes downhill
Show answer

A. The crossing is right here. Section 2C.55: at the crossing point, the sign is mounted with a diagonal downward-pointing arrow plaque. Source: MUTCD 11th Edition, Chapter 2C, Warning Signs and Object Markers: Sections 2C.02, 2C.55, FHWA; MUTCD 11th Edition, FHWA

Compare with

Next in warning signs: School sign. See all warning signs or the full road signs list.

Want to test someone else? Play a road-sign quiz with friends and family.

Sources

  1. MUTCD 11th Edition, Chapter 2C, Warning Signs and Object Markers: Sections 2C.02, 2C.55, FHWA
  2. MUTCD 11th Edition, FHWA. FHWA lists the current version as the 11th Edition with Revision 1, dated December 2025

Sign pictures are our own simplified drawings of the MUTCD designs, which are in the public domain (MUTCD Section 1D.06). Sources and image credits.