Warning signs · W4-1
Merge sign
Archive file: W04-01 Merge/W04-01R Merge 30x30.svg
FHWA public-use information
What it means
Traffic from another roadway joins your lane ahead.
Source: FHWA MUTCD — MUTCD 11th Edition with Revision 1 (December 2025), Section 2C.45, paragraph 01, PDF page 223.
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Meaning
Merge warns that traffic from another road or ramp will join the roadway you are using. Pennsylvania’s right-side example identifies traffic entering from the right. The important issue is the joining stream of vehicles, rather than a new lane available throughout the junction.
What to do
Look toward the joining roadway and prepare for the merging traffic. Under Pennsylvania’s guidance, drivers entering the major road must give way to vehicles already using it.
Where it is used
Federal guidance places the sign on the major road’s side where the entering traffic will be encountered. Its position should preserve the driver’s view of the joining stream.
A sign to tell apart
Added Lane describes a junction where entering traffic receives a new lane and no merge is necessary at that point. Merge warns of traffic joining an existing stream. Pennsylvania explicitly distinguishes the two arrangements.
Practice with explanations
These are original learning questions based on the cited handbooks. Read each answer and its explanation below.
1. In Pennsylvania, you are entering the major road at a merge. Who must yield?
- You must give way to traffic using the major road.
- Vehicles on the major road must always stop for you.
- Only vehicles approaching from behind must yield.
Answer: A. You must give way to traffic using the major road.
The handbook assigns yielding responsibility to entering traffic.
2. What does Pennsylvania’s Merge warning tell a driver already on the major road?
- The major road becomes a dead end.
- Traffic may join from another road or ramp.
- The entering road always receives its own new lane.
Answer: B. Traffic may join from another road or ramp.
The warning identifies the approaching stream of merging vehicles.
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
PennDOT explains the Merge sign and the entering driver’s yielding duty. This documents handbook coverage, without promising selection on an individual exam.
- PA-en · Chapter 2 — Warning signs — Merging traffic · PDF page 18 · Checked
- PA-en · Chapter 2 — Warning signs — Merging traffic · PDF page 18 · Checked
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.
