In
road transport, a yield or give waysign indicates that merging
drivers must prepare to stop if necessary to let a driver on another approach proceed. A driver who stops or slows down to let another vehicle through has yielded the
right of way to that vehicle. In contrast, a
stop sign requires each driver to stop completely before proceeding, whether or not other traffic is present. Under the
Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals, the international standard for the modern sign is an inverted
equilateral triangle with a red border and either a white or yellow background. Particular regulations regarding appearance, installation, and compliance with the signs vary by some jurisdiction.
Terminology
While give way and yield essentially have the same meaning in this context, many countries have a clear preference of one term over the other. The following table lists which countries and territories use which term. This chart is based on official government usage in the English language and excludes indirect translations from other languages.
Blue give-way sign as used in Czechoslovakia, 1938
A black triangle (within the standard down-arrow-shape of stop signs) was a symbol of "stop for all vehicles" from about 1925 in Germany. The triangular yield sign was used as early as 1937, when it was introduced in
Denmark in red and white (matching the
Danish flag),[1] in 1938 when it was codified in
Czechoslovakia in a blue-white variant without words,[2] and in 1939 in the
Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia which adopted the current red-white variant.[3]
In the United States, the first yield sign was erected in 1950 in
Tulsa, Oklahoma, designed by Tulsa police officer
Clinton Riggs;[4][5] Riggs invented only the sign, not the rule, which was already in place.[6] Riggs' original design was shaped like a
keystone; later versions bore the shape of an inverted
equilateral triangle in common use today. The inverted equilateral triangle was then adopted by the
Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals as the international standard.
Country specifics
Yield sign Leipzig, East Germany 1951
Australia
In Australia, the Give Way sign evolved similarly to its counterpart in the United States. During the 1940s and 1950s, the sign was circular and yellow. In 1964, the sign changed to a red triangle. In the 1980s, the sign adopted its modern design and gained a counterpart for use at roundabouts.
Original design (1940–1964)
Second version (1964–1974)
Modern design since 1974
Ireland
In
road signs in Ireland, the yield sign reads yield in most areas, although in
Gaeltacht (
Irish-speaking) areas the text is géill slí ("yield right of way"[7]) instead.[8][9] Signs erected between 1962 and 1997 read yield right of way,[10] which remains legally permitted.[9] Signs 1956–1962 had a blank white interior.[11]
In New Zealand, the original design also used the keystone shape as in the United States but used a black background with a red border. In the 1980s, the modern design was adopted. On sealed roads, the give way sign is always accompanied by a white line painted on the road to clarify the rule to road users even if the sign is obscured or missing.[12]
Original design (1964–1987)
Modern design since 1987
United Kingdom
A bilingual sign in
Welsh and English, warning of a "give way" junction 50 yards (46 metres) aheadAccompanying road markings for a give way sign as found in the UK
The
United Kingdom's
Road Traffic Act calls for give way signs and
road markings at junctions (
crossroads) where the give-way rule is to apply. The road marking accompanying the sign consists of a large inverted triangle painted just before the place to give way, which is marked by broken white lines across the road.[13]
In
Wales, some signs bear a bilingual legend: the
Welshildiwch appears above give way.
In the United Kingdom, a stop or give-way sign may be preceded by an inverted, blank, triangular sign with an advisory placard such as give way 100 yards.[14]
"if engineering judgment indicates that one or more of the following conditions exist:
When the ability to see all potentially conflicting traffic is sufficient to allow a road user traveling at the posted speed, the 85th-percentile speed, or the statutory speed to pass through the intersection or to stop in a reasonably safe manner.
If controlling a merge-type movement on the entering roadway where acceleration geometry and/or sight distance is not adequate for merging traffic operation.
The second crossroad of a divided highway, where the median width at the intersection is 30 ft or greater. In this case, a STOP sign may be installed at the entrance to the first roadway of a divided highway, and a YIELD sign may be installed at the entrance to the second roadway.
An intersection where a special problem exists and where engineering judgment indicates the problem to be susceptible to correction by the use of the YIELD sign."
The sign went through several changes from its original design to the sign used today. Originally invented in 1952 and added to the MUTCD in 1954, the sign used the "keystone" shape before adopting the more readily recognized triangular shape. In 1971, the sign evolved into its modern version and changed from yellow to red, paralleling the same change that had earlier been made by Stop signs.
Early design (1950–1954)
Second version (1954–1961)
Third version (1961–1971)
Modern design as agreed to in 1971
Other countries
Most countries around the world use a red and white vertical triangle with no text.
Finland, Greece, Iceland, Kuwait, Poland, Sweden and Vietnam uses a red and yellow version of the sign.
United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies, Bhutan and most Commonwealth nations use a version of the sign that says give way
Yield sign in
Mexico.Australia, Papua New Guinea, Tonga and Vanuatu use a different version of the sign which has an advance sign typeface and a different font.
Dominica uses a version of the British sign with "Give Way" text in red.
Fiji, New Zealand, and Samoa use a version of the sign with "Give Way" in the type of road sign font used in the United States and in red.
Ireland uses a version of the sign that uses yield in black text with the UK font.
Liberia uses a version of the sign that says yield in red text and in a different font.
Nigeria uses a red and yellow version of the Give Way sign used in the UK and many other Commonwealth nations.
Singapore uses a UK-Inspired Give Way sign placed inside a white round square.
The United States uses a Yield sign where the white triangle is smaller and says yield in red.
Canada uses a version of the international standard triangle sign without any words.
Argentina, Bolivia, Ecuador, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay use ceda el paso except Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Panama and Venezuela, which use a version of the sign with smaller text and in a different font.
Cuba uses a red and yellow version of the Spanish Give Way sign.
Puerto Rico uses a version of the American Yield sign translated into Spanish which says ceda.
Gallery
International standard with white background (most countries around the world use this version)
^Department of Local Government.
"S.I. No. 171/1962 – Road Traffic (Signs) Regulations, 1962"(PDF). Official Publications. Pr.6772. Dublin: Stationery Office. pp. 7 (Section 5) and 27 (First Schedule, Part III, Section A). Retrieved 7 June 2016.
^Department of Local Government.
"S.I. No. 284/1956 – Traffic Signs Regulations, 1956"(PDF). Official Publications. Pr.3844. Dublin: Stationery Office. pp. 9 (Section 5) and 35 (First Schedule, Part III, Section A). Retrieved 7 June 2016.
^"Vocabulaire du Code de la route". Office public de la Langue Bretonne (in French). 21 September 2016.
Archived from the original on 26 November 2023. Retrieved 26 November 2023.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Yield signs.
Original design (1940–1964)
Second version (1964–1974)
Modern design since 1974
.svg)
1956–1962
1962–1997
English-language version (1997 – present)
Irish-language version (1962 – present).svg)
.svg)
Original design (1964–1987)
Modern design since 1987.svg)
Early design (1950–1954)
Second version (1954–1961)
Third version (1961–1971)
Modern design as agreed to in 1971.svg)
.svg)
.svg)
International standard with white background (most countries around the world use this version)
SACU standard ( Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa) (no longer used, the blue background has since been phased out in favour of white)
Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Bhutan, Gambia, Ghana, Grenada, Guernsey, India, Isle of Man, Jamaica, Jersey, Kenya, Malta, Mauritius, Montserrat, Pakistan, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Seychelles, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Trinidad and Tobago, Uganda, United Kingdom
.svg)
.svg)
![France (Brittany)[16]](/info/en/?search=File:Breton_yiels_sign.png)
.svg)
.svg)
