Warning Signs
Warning signs alert you to conditions ahead so you can adjust speed and position. They are yellow with black legends and symbols, diamond-shaped in most cases. Curve and turn signs, intersection and lane-merge warnings, pedestrian and animal crossings, slippery-when-wet, hill and grade warnings, and dead-end or divided-highway notices all live in this family. In Alaska, expect moose and other wildlife warnings to appear frequently, and expect winter-condition warnings such as ice and frost heaves.
Read the sign as a message with three parts: the symbol or words say what is coming, an advisory plaque may say how fast to take it, and a distance plaque may say how far ahead. An advisory speed plaque (yellow, black text) is a recommended safe speed for the condition, not a legal maximum; the posted regulatory limit still governs unless the advisory is lower and conditions require it. A curve sign with an advisory speed of 35 means the curve is comfortably negotiated at about 35 in good conditions; you may legally drive faster if the regulatory limit allows, but doing so in poor conditions is unsafe and can be cited as too fast for conditions.
Traps: treating yellow as permission rather than caution; confusing a warning diamond with a regulatory rectangle; ignoring distance plaques that place the hazard ahead rather than at the sign; and misreading symbol-only signs. Worked example: a yellow diamond showing a truck on a downgrade with a "6%" plaque warns of a steep descent ahead, so shift to a lower gear before the grade rather than braking continuously.