Look sign
A white sign reading LOOK. It reminds people at a railroad crossing to look both ways for trains before crossing.
How to read it
The MUTCD lists it as the LOOK sign (R15-8), an optional sign. In the 2009 edition it could be mounted below the crossbuck or on its own post beside the crossing, though not on a crossbuck that also carries a stop or yield sign. The FHWA and FRA's Highway-Rail Crossing Handbook (2019) describes it as a sign that may be used to warn pedestrians to expect a train or light rail vehicle from either direction. This page describes the national standard and isn’t legal advice; state law and local signs govern.
Also searched as: look sign railroad crossing.
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.
A sign for footpaths in the 2023 MUTCD
The 11th edition (2023) dropped the LOOK sign from its road-crossing signs and keeps it only for pathway and sidewalk crossings, where it may tell people on foot or on bikes to look both ways before crossing the tracks, on a post set farther from the path than the crossbuck.
More road signs
Browse symbols drawn with circles or letters and numbers.
Sources
- MUTCD 2009 Edition, Chapter 8B: Signs and Markings (Railroad and Light Rail Transit Grade Crossings), MUTCD 2009, Part 8, U.S. Federal Highway Administration, Section 8B.17
- MUTCD 11th Edition, Part 8: Traffic Control for Railroad and Light Rail Transit Grade Crossings, MUTCD 11th edition (December 2023), Part 8, U.S. Federal Highway Administration, Section 8E.03
- Highway-Rail Crossing Handbook, 3rd Edition, FHWA-SA-18-040/FRA-RRS-18-001, 2019, U.S. Federal Highway Administration and Federal Railroad Administration, Table 4, p. 38
Last reviewed October 2, 2026 by Rory Hansen. How we research