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Hill sign

A steep or long downgrade is ahead.

What to do

Check your speed, shift to a lower gear if needed, and avoid riding your brakes. Trucks especially should slow down.

Shift to a lower gear before the descent and control your speed with the engine, using the brakes firmly but not constantly.

Where it's used

Section 2C.14 says a Hill (W7-1) sign should be used before a downgrade whose length, steepness or curves call for special care, and lists grades from 5% over 3,000 feet to 9% over 500 feet where it should be installed with a grade plaque. It is a black-on-yellow diamond showing a truck on a slope. Plaques include a percent grade (W7-3P), distance (W7-3aP), USE LOW GEAR (W7-2P) and TRUCKS USE LOWER GEAR (W7-2bP), and on long grades it may be repeated about every mile.

Don't confuse it with

  • Bump: BUMP warns of a short sharp rise in the pavement, while Hill warns of a long or steep downgrade.
  • Dip: DIP warns of a short sharp low spot, not a long grade.
Hill sign
Type
Warning signs
Shape
Diamond
Colors
yellow, black
MUTCD code
W7-1
MUTCD section
2C.14

On state permit tests

Our questions for 16 states ask about this sign, including Alaska, Washington DC, Florida, Georgia and Idaho.

Test yourself

What does a 'Steep downgrade' warning sign tell truck drivers? (Alaska practice test)

  • Stop at the top
  • Speed up
  • Slow down and shift to a lower gear
  • Use the left lane
Show answer

Slow down and shift to a lower gear. A steep downgrade ahead requires trucks to slow and shift to a lower gear.

What should you do when you see a Steep Hill Ahead sign? (Washington DC practice test)

  • Turn on high beams
  • Speed up
  • Check your brakes
  • Shift to neutral
Show answer

Check your brakes. A steep grade is ahead; check your brakes.

More warning signs

Road signs testAll road signs

From the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD), 11th edition, section 2C.14. Sign image: public domain, source.