Warning signs · W1-1
Turn sign
Archive file: W01-01 Horizontal Alignment - Turn/W01-01R Horizontal Alignment - Turn 30x30 2024.svg
FHWA public-use information
What it means
A sharp turn is ahead in the arrow's direction.
Source: FHWA MUTCD — MUTCD 11th Edition with Revision 1 (December 2025), Section 2C.07, paragraph 02, PDF page 196.
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Meaning
Turn warns of a sharp bend in the road ahead. PennDOT’s sharp-turn guidance calls for a substantial speed reduction. This is a road-alignment warning: it describes how the road changes direction, rather than ordering a turn into a different street.
What to do
Prepare for the sharp change before you reach it. In PennDOT’s right-bending example, position slightly right of your lane’s center while negotiating the turn. An advisory number may be on the warning or on a panel below it; check that additional information instead of treating every bend as the same.
Where it is used
Federal guidance recommends Turn instead of Curve for a bend with a recommended advisory speed no higher than 30 mph. The warning is before the bend, giving you time to prepare. This federal sign-selection guidance does not create a new statewide speed limit for every turn.
A sign to tell apart
Curve also warns of a direction change, but the federal manual chooses Turn for the lower-advisory-speed case described here. Read the road’s sharpness and any advisory panel together. Neither warning is the regulatory arrow-and-ONLY instruction that assigns a turn to a traffic lane.
Practice with explanations
These are original learning questions based on the cited handbooks. Read each answer and its explanation below.
1. What response does PennDOT describe for a sharp turn ahead?
- A substantial reduction in speed.
- Holding speed until the bend is over.
- Using the opposite lane to straighten the turn.
Answer: A. A substantial reduction in speed.
A sharp turn calls for slowing substantially and preparing to follow the road within your lane.
2. Where does PennDOT say an advisory speed may appear for a sharp turn?
- Only on a speed-limit sign several miles away.
- On the warning sign or a panel beneath it.
- Only painted on the centerline.
Answer: B. On the warning sign or a panel beneath it.
Check the whole warning assembly. PennDOT notes that some sharp-turn signs carry an advisory speed on or below the main panel.
State source coverage
Handbook coverage and sample questions do not prove that a sign will appear on your exam. Even a published test scope cannot guarantee an individual exam question.
Pennsylvania
Handbook coverage
Pennsylvania’s driver manual explicitly discusses this sign. This establishes handbook coverage, without a promise about any individual exam.
Pennsylvania permit sources · Practice with Pennsylvania questions
State variations
State-specific variations have not been independently established for this study.
Verified question coverage
These free state-bank questions were independently verified. This does not establish complete state-bank readiness, app availability or what will appear on your permit exam.
No currently verified state-bank question is available for this sign.
The linked 20-question permit quizzes do not currently include this sign.
This meaning is a federal MUTCD reference. Check your state's handbook for its rules and sign coverage; this page does not establish what appears on a state permit exam.
Try the free road sign quiz or find your state's handbook.
