Traffic Signs and Signals: the Seven Sign Colors and Seven Shapes, Warning, Construction, Railroad and School Zone Signs, the Slow-Moving Vehicle Emblem, Speed Advisories, Regulatory and Guidance Signs, Supplemental Plaques, Green, Yellow and Red Lights, Green and Flashing Yellow Arrows, Turning on Red, Flashing Yellow and Red Lights, Rapid Flashing Beacons, Bicycle and Transit Signals, the Two-Minute Rule, Stop Lines, Yield Signs, Dead Signals, Alleys and Driveways, Pedestrian Signals and Pedestrian Hybrid Beacons
Written for aiforu2 as the source for a practice-test bank and the on-device tutor for the Indiana driver's knowledge exam. The facts follow the official manual; the wording is ours.
Source: Indiana Driver's Manual (Indiana BMV, July 2026), Chapter 6 "Traffic Signs and Signals" (pages 27–36).
Colors
Signs from INDOT and local governments use color, shape, words and symbols. Red conveys regulations demanding immediate action, such as Wrong Way. Yellow and fluorescent yellow-green warn of conditions and hazards ahead; the fluorescent shade marks schools, pedestrians, bicycles, playgrounds and school bus routes. White carries regulations such as speed limits and No Turn on Red, plus state highway markers. Orange warns of temporary conditions such as construction and Flagger Ahead. Green shows permitted movements, directions and distances. Blue shows services and amenities at exits. Brown marks recreational and cultural sites such as state parks.
Shapes
Circular signs warn of railroad crossings. Equilateral triangles tell you to slow at an intersection and be ready to stop and yield. Pennants on the left side of two-way roads forbid passing on the left. Rectangles carry regulations (speed limits, No Left Turn), information (route markers, destinations) or hazards such as an advisory speed for a curve, often posted with a diamond. Diamonds warn of conditions and hazards such as Slippery When Wet. Five-sided signs mark school areas where children cross. Eight-sided signs require a stop and the proper yielding at an intersection.
Warning, construction, railroad and school signs
Warning signs announce added lanes, bicycles, buggies, cattle, narrow bridges, object markers, intersections, curves, deer, golf carts, a prepare-to-stop message, sharp turns, divided highways beginning, farm machinery, fire stations, lane ends, steep downgrades, stop ahead, lanes shifting, low clearance, low shoulders, merging traffic, two-way traffic, winding roads, pedestrians, playgrounds, side roads, slippery pavement, T intersections, signals ahead, ice on bridges and yield ahead. Orange construction signs include Detour, Detour Ahead, Worksite Added Penalties, Road Work Ahead, Work Crew Ahead, Worksite Speed Limit, Flagger Ahead and Right Lane Closed. Railroad signs include the round advance warning, the crossbuck and a plate giving the number of tracks. School zone signs in yellow or yellow-green include School Crossing Ahead, School Crossing and School Bus Stop Ahead. The slow-moving vehicle emblem, a fluorescent orange center with red reflective borders, marks a vehicle that cannot exceed 25 mph. Speed advisory plates accompany warning signs at exits, ramps and roundabouts, and a Speed Limit Ahead sign announces a change.
Regulatory and guidance signs
Regulatory signs include Do Not Block Intersection, Do Not Enter, Do Not Pass, Emergency Stopping Only, Keep Right, Left on Green Arrow Only, Left Turn Signal, Left Lane Must Turn Left, Left Turn Yield on Green, limited and pay parking, Minimum Speed, Multiple Turns, No Right Turn, No Trucks, No Turn on Red, No Left Turn, No Parking, No Parking Any Time, No U-Turn, One Way, Reserved Parking (and Van Accessible), Right Lane Must Turn Right, Right Lane Only, Restricted Lane, Slower Traffic Keep Right, Speed Zone Ahead, Stop, Tow-Away Zone, Turn Left or Go Through, Turn Right or Go Through, Two-Way Left Turn, Wrong Way and Yield. Plaques under a stop sign say Cross Traffic Does Not Stop, All Way, or Stop Here on Red. Guidance signs show interstate, U.S. and state road markers, posted distances, highway exits, advance guide signs and mile markers, and service and recreation signs point to lodging, amenities, bike trails, boat ramps, camping, food, fuel, handicap parking, historical markers, hospitals, rest areas, road and weather information, state parks and telephones.
Traffic signals
Green means go once the intersection is clear of vehicles and pedestrians. Steady yellow means the green has ended and red is coming; if you are too close to stop safely you may complete your movement. Red means stop; other directions have the right-of-way, and you may not enter until the light turns green and the intersection is clear. A green arrow with a red or green light gives a protected turn when clear; a green light without an arrow allows a turn only after yielding to all oncoming traffic, and only one vehicle at a time moves into the intersection to turn left. A flashing yellow arrow allows the turn only after yielding to pedestrians and oncoming traffic, and a steady yellow light or arrow means your right-of-way is ending. Facing a red light or arrow while already in the middle of the intersection, turn once oncoming traffic stops. A right turn on red, where permitted, requires a full stop, a check for vehicles and pedestrians in or approaching your path, no No Turn on Red sign, and the correct lane; a left turn on red is allowed only from a one-way street onto a one-way street under the same conditions. A flashing yellow light without an arrow means slow and use caution, yielding to oncoming traffic and pedestrians when turning left, while cross traffic yields to you; a rectangular rapid flashing beacon at a crosswalk flashes only when a pedestrian activates it. A flashing red light equals a stop sign: stop completely, then proceed with caution; where cross traffic does not stop, go only when clear, and where all traffic stops, yield to vehicles already in the intersection or stopped before you, and when two arrive together the vehicle on the left yields. Bicycle signals showing bicycle symbols apply only to bicyclists (red stop, yellow ending, green go), and a bicyclist stuck at a red may proceed after stopping at least two minutes with due caution; bus or transit signals show white bars for transit operators only. At a red light or stop sign, stop at the solid white stop line, or without one, perpendicular to the sign or before the crosswalk, or before the intersection; motorcycle and motor driven cycle riders stuck at a red may proceed after a complete stop of two minutes with due caution, a rule that does not apply to autocycles. A yield sign means slow and be ready to stop so that a vehicle or pedestrian with the right-of-way never has to brake for you. At a non-operating signal, stop before entering, then yield to cross traffic already in the intersection, vehicles that stopped before you, a vehicle arriving at the same time on your right, and pedestrians. Entering a street from an alley or driveway, stop and yield.
Pedestrian signals
WALK or a walking figure means pedestrians may cross, sometimes after a push button; DON'T WALK or a raised hand means do not start, and flashing means the crossing time is ending. A pedestrian hybrid beacon at a mid-block crosswalk is dark until activated, then shows flashing yellow so drivers clear the crossing, steady yellow as the right-of-way ends, two steady reds while the pedestrian crosses, then alternating flashing reds during which drivers may proceed if the crossing is clear, and goes dark again.
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