Route, Guide and Service Signs — Permit Practice Test

An airplane outline on a green guide sign directs travelers to a nearby airport. Warnings about hazards on the road ahead use yellow signs, not green ones.

U.S. routes are marked with black numbers on a white shield set against a black square. Interstate shields are red, white and blue, and county routes typically use a blue and yellow pentagon.

Highway guide signs, including those that give the direction and distance to an upcoming exit, use white letters and symbols on a green background. Yellow is reserved for warnings, and blue for motorist services.

The white H on a blue square is the service sign for a hospital, and the arrow plaque below it shows which direction to take to get there. Lodging is identified by a bed symbol, not by the letter H.

Brown guide signs direct travelers to places of recreational or cultural interest, such as state and national parks, historic sites and museums. Services like gas, food and lodging are shown on blue signs, cities and distances on green signs, and detours around road work on orange signs.

The figure of a person reading an open book is the standard guide-sign symbol for a library. Using a picture instead of words lets drivers recognize the facility at a glance.

A white H on a blue square is the standard service sign for a hospital, telling you that emergency medical care is close by. Lodging is shown with a bed symbol, not a letter.

County roads are marked with a five-sided sign, typically blue with yellow lettering, that shows the county name and the route number. State and interstate routes use different shapes and colors.

Tip The five-sided blue shape is the quickest way to recognize a county route marker.

Interstate highways are marked with a red, white and blue shield that shows the route number. The word INTERSTATE across the top shows it is not a state or county route.

A bus seen from the front is the general information symbol for a bus station, where travelers can catch local or intercity buses. Like other guide signs of this kind, it shows a white symbol on a green background.

Rx is the familiar symbol for a medical prescription, so a blue service sign showing it means a pharmacy is available nearby. A hospital is marked with a large letter H instead.

Blue guide signs with white lettering or symbols tell drivers where to find motorist services, such as gas stations, places to eat, lodging and hospitals. Parks, forests and historic sites are marked with brown signs, distances to cities and towns with green signs, and road hazards such as curves with yellow warning signs.

The route number sits inside a white outline of the state, with the state's name below it, which marks a state highway. A U.S. route marker uses a white shield shape instead, and county markers are typically blue and yellow pentagons.

Tip A marker shaped like a state's outline, often with the state's name on it, is a quick clue that you are on a state route.