Understanding Road Work Warning Signs

Work zones interfere with regular traffic flow, create bottle necks, and can potentially create unexpected and dangerous situations if drivers and workers don’t pay attention to each other. Over the next several years, highway construction is estimated to increase by 33 to 65 percent, and the number of roadway work sites will increase proportionally. In light of this, it is extremely important to understand and heed work zone warning signs on the road.

So what can you do to stay safe and avoid dangerous situations? Familiarize yourself with the different types of warning signs and drive safely, no matter what type of work zone you encounter. Road work warning signs are placed strategically near a work site to keep motorists and workers safe and aware. These diamond shaped, black-on-orange reflective signs provide optimum visibility to oncoming traffic, and are placed in various places on the side of the road ahead of and in the work zone area to give motorists enough time to see them, react to them, and slow down as they enter the work zone.

To help you better understand the different types of work zone warning signs, we’ve created this helpful guide listing different signs and their meanings. Feel free to print it out, share it with your friends, and keep it handy in your glove box or driver’s manual. You can even make a game out of it with your kids and quiz them on the different road signs that they see on road trips or on the way to school!

Think you know all about road work warning signs? Test your knowledge with this quiz from workzonesafety.org.