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Merge sign

Two roadways come together ahead and traffic from the side will be merging into your lane.

What to do

Watch for merging vehicles and adjust your speed or position so they can merge safely; merging drivers must yield.

Watch the side the stem comes from, adjust your speed to leave space, and if you are the one entering, match traffic speed and find a gap.

Where it's used

Section 2C.45 allows the Merge (W4-1) sign on a major road before a point where lanes from two separate roadways come together as one lane, and on the entering road too; where two roads of about equal importance meet, one should be placed on each. It is a black-on-yellow diamond with a straight arrow for the main road and a curved stem on the side the merge comes from. It must not be used instead of a Lane Ends sign where lanes on one roadway narrow down, and should not be used where no merging is needed (that calls for Added Lane); a curving-ramp version (W4-5) and a NO MERGE AREA plaque exist.

Don't confuse it with

  • Added Lane: Added Lane shows two parallel arrows because the entering road gets its own lane and no merge is needed.
  • Lane Ends: Lane Ends means a lane on your own roadway is disappearing, while Merge means another roadway is joining.
  • Yield Ahead: Yield Ahead warns of a YIELD sign, while Merge warns that traffic will flow together without a sign controlling it.
Merge sign
Type
Warning signs
Shape
Diamond
Colors
yellow, black
MUTCD code
W4-1
MUTCD section
2C.45

On state permit tests

Our questions for 13 states ask about this sign, including Alabama, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois and Iowa.

Test yourself

What does a MERGE sign showing a lane joining from the right tell you, according to the Alabama manual? (Alabama practice test)

  • You must stop
  • Passing lane begins
  • Right lane closed
  • Traffic will merge with yours; drivers entering from the right must yield and use speed-change lanes
Show answer

Traffic will merge with yours; drivers entering from the right must yield and use speed-change lanes. The sign warns that another lane joins yours. Drivers coming in from the right must give way to the main road and use the speed-change lane to merge smoothly.

A merging traffic warning sign tells you: (Colorado practice test)

  • Vehicles may be entering from a side road
  • The road is closed
  • You must stop
  • Two lanes become three
Show answer

Vehicles may be entering from a side road. The merge sign warns that traffic from a side road or ramp may be joining your road ahead.

More warning signs

Road signs testAll road signs

From the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD), 11th edition, section 2C.45. Sign image: public domain, source.