Keep Right sign
Traffic must pass only on the right side of a median, island or other obstruction.
What to do
Keep to the right of the island or object the sign is on.
Steer to the right of the island or pier the sign is mounted on, and never cut to its left even if the way looks clear.
A Keep Left sign (R4-8) is the mirror image.
Where it's used
Section 2B.39 allows the Keep Right sign where traffic must pass only to the right of a roadway feature or obstruction, and it should be used where that is not obvious; it is mounted on the face of or just in front of a median nose, pier or island. It is a vertical black-on-white symbol sign showing an arrow passing to the right of an obstacle. Word versions (R4-7a, R4-7b) are used where the island curves traffic away, R4-7b is used in neighbourhood traffic circles, and the Keep Left (R4-8) series is the mirror version.
Don't confuse it with
- Keep Right Except to Pass: KEEP RIGHT EXCEPT TO PASS is about which travel lane to use on a multi-lane road, not which side of an object to pass.
- Double Arrow: The yellow Double Arrow warning sign says you may pass on either side of an obstruction, while Keep Right requires the right side only.
- Divided Highway: The yellow Divided Highway warning sign announces a median ahead, while Keep Right is the regulatory sign on the median nose itself.
- Type
- Regulatory signs
- Shape
- Vertical rectangle
- Colors
- white, black
- MUTCD code
- R4-7
- MUTCD section
- 2B.39
On state permit tests
Our questions for 16 states ask about this sign, including Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Idaho and Illinois.
Test yourself
What does a KEEP RIGHT sign tell you? (Connecticut practice test)
- Drive to the right of a traffic island, median or obstruction
- Slower traffic keep right
- Right lane ends
- Right turn only
Show answer
Drive to the right of a traffic island, median or obstruction. Keep Right signs tell you which side to drive on around islands, medians or obstructions; drive on the side the arrow shows.
What does a KEEP RIGHT sign mean? (Florida practice test)
- Stay to the right of the divider or obstruction
- Keep to the right lane for the next mile
- Right turns only ahead
- Slower traffic keep right
Show answer
Stay to the right of the divider or obstruction. Keep Right means stay to the right of the divider.
More regulatory signs
Stop
All-Way plaque
Yield
Yield Here to Pedestrians
In-Street Pedestrian Crossing
Speed Limit
Night Speed Limit
Combined Maximum and Minimum Speed LimitsFrom the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD), 11th edition, section 2B.39. Sign image: public domain, source.