Bicycle crossing sign
A diamond with a bicycle. It warns of a place where bicyclists may enter or cross the road.
How to read it
The MUTCD files it among its vehicular traffic warning signs, since bicycles are vehicles, alongside signs for trucks, farm vehicles and horse-drawn vehicles. It may be yellow or fluorescent yellow-green. In Florida's handbook it marks a bikeway crossing the road.
Rules vary by state and country. This explains the sign's standard meaning in the U.S. Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices; it isn't legal advice.
Crossing or riding along the road
At the crossing point itself, the 11th edition (2023) requires a plaque with a diagonal arrow pointing down below a post-mounted sign. Ahead of it, plaques such as AHEAD or XX FEET may be added. With an IN ROAD or IN STREET plaque, the same sign warns of bicyclists riding along the road, not crossing it.
The SHARE THE ROAD plaque
The 2009 MUTCD listed SHARE THE ROAD (W16-1P) among the plaques that could go below this sign. The 11th edition's list for it is AHEAD, XX FEET, NEXT XX MILES, IN STREET and IN ROAD, and W16-1P is now the IN ROAD plaque. Pennsylvania's driver manual still shows a BICYCLE/MOTOR VEHICLE SHARE THE ROAD sign, used at pinch points such as narrow lanes with no shoulder.
Look-alikes
The Trail Crossing sign (W11-15) is used where both bicyclists and pedestrians might cross, such as at a shared-use path. A bicycle inside a red circle with a slash is a ban: California's handbook says the picture inside such a circle shows what you cannot do, and Pennsylvania's manual says bicycles may not use roads where the NO BICYCLES sign is posted.
Read next
- Next in Road signsRailroad advance warning signA round yellow sign with a black X and the letters R R. It warns of a railroad crossing ahead.
- The same shape in BPMN symbolsInclusive gatewayA point where the process takes one or more of several paths, depending on which conditions are true. The inclusive gateway is a diamond with a circle inside.
More road signs
The same shape elsewhere
Browse symbols drawn with circles or diamonds.
Sources
- MUTCD 2009 Edition, Chapter 2C: Warning Signs and Object Markers, MUTCD 2009, Part 2, U.S. Federal Highway Administration, Section 2C.49; Sections 2C.49 and 2C.60
- Pennsylvania Driver's Manual, Chapter 2: Signals, Signs and Pavement Markings, Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, p. 16; pp. 11, 16, 17
- Official Florida Driver License Handbook, rev. 08/2023, Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, p. 51
- Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices for Streets and Highways, 11th edition, MUTCD, U.S. Federal Highway Administration, Section 2C.54, paras 05, 07, 09 (printed pp. 191–192); Section 9C.08, para 02 (p. 1067)
- California Driver's Handbook, Section 7: Laws and Rules of the Road, California Department of Motor Vehicles, Signs
Researched, edited and approved by Rory Hansen before publishing. Last reviewed October 3, 2026. How we research
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