Guide and Information Signs: Route Markers, Destinations, Services, and Exits
What guide signs do
Guide signs help you navigate rather than obey a command. Green signs give destinations, distances, route continuations, and interchange information. Blue signs show motorist services such as fuel, food, lodging, and hospitals. Brown signs identify recreation, cultural, and scenic areas. Route markers identify the road class and number, while exit tabs identify exit numbers.
Core rules
- Read a guide sign for the destination, direction, and distance; do not treat it as a speed or warning sign.
- Green destination signs may list several places with distances in miles. The distance is to the place named, not necessarily the distance to the next exit.
- An exit tab, such as EXIT 65, belongs to that interchange. Exit-only lanes may be marked separately; if you are in one, you must exit.
- Blue service signs are informational and do not guarantee that a service is open, but they identify what is available at or near an exit.
- Route markers use distinct shapes and colors for interstate, U.S., and state routes. Read the number and direction; the marker style tells you the route system.
- Mile markers help you report your location in an emergency.
Worked example
A green sign reads Fargo 18 and West Fargo 5, and an exit tab reads EXIT 65. Reasoning: the sign gives destinations ahead and distances to them; it does not mean the speed is 65 or that Fargo is 65 miles away. The exit tab tells you this is Exit 65. If the sign also marks an exit-only lane, you should move out of that lane unless you intend to exit.
Traps
Confusing an exit number with a speed limit or mile marker. Reading the first distance as the distance to the exit. Ignoring an exit-only lane marking and being forced off the road. Treating a blue service sign as a command to stop. Missing that a route marker shows direction as well as number.