Flagger ahead sign
An orange diamond with a worker holding a flag. It warns that a flagger is controlling traffic ahead.
How to read it
The MUTCD places it ahead of any point where a flagger is stationed to control traffic, sometimes with a plaque giving the distance or alongside a BE PREPARED TO STOP sign. A word version reading FLAGGER can take its place.
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.
Paddle or flag
Pennsylvania's manual says flaggers use STOP and SLOW paddles or a red flag. The 11th edition of the MUTCD (2023) calls the STOP/SLOW paddle the primary and preferred device, because it gives drivers more positive guidance than red flags, and says flags should be limited to emergencies. Some work zones use Automated Flagger Assistance Devices, which let the flagger stand out of the traffic lane.
Look-alikes
The orange Workers sign (W21-1) warns of workers in or near the roadway. The Flagger sign means someone is stationed ahead to control traffic.
In other countries
Britain's Department for Transport calls alternating one-lane traffic at road works "shuttle working". On short lengths it is done with manually operated STOP/GO boards at each end.
Read next
- Next in Road signsInterstate route signA red, white and blue shield with a route number. It marks a road in the Interstate Highway System.
- The same shape in Hazard symbolsHealth hazard (GHS08)The GHS pictogram for serious health hazards: carcinogenicity, germ cell mutagenicity, reproductive toxicity, respiratory sensitisation, specific target organ toxicity and aspiration hazard.
More road signs
The same shape elsewhere
Browse symbols drawn with diamonds.
Sources
- MUTCD 2009 Edition, Chapter 6F: Temporary Traffic Control Zone Devices, MUTCD 2009, Part 6, U.S. Federal Highway Administration, Section 6F.31
- Pennsylvania Driver's Manual, Chapter 2: Signals, Signs and Pavement Markings, Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, p. 18
- Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices for Streets and Highways, 11th edition, MUTCD, U.S. Federal Highway Administration, Sections 6D.02 and 6D.03 (printed pp. 782, 784); Sections 6H.15 and 6H.18 (p. 805); Section 6L.02 (p. 824)
- Know Your Traffic Signs, Sixth edition, 2023, UK Department for Transport, p. 158
Researched, edited and approved by Rory Hansen before publishing. Last reviewed October 3, 2026. How we research
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