Guide-device questions test destination, distance, sequence, and scope. First identify what place is being announced. Then decide whether the device points to nearby access, gives advance distance, or belongs to a multi-device sequence. Finally ask whether the message guides or regulates.
Read destination, placement, then authority
D4-1 connects an arrow with nearby public parking. On a major thoroughfare, it is placed at the nearest access point where it can help and should not be farther than four blocks from the parking destination. That short range keeps the direction meaningful. The green P and arrow guide toward access; they do not announce a parking prohibition or command a road user to park.
| Guide family | Function and boundary |
|---|---|
| D4-1 PARKING arrow | Nearby public parking direction; nearest useful access and no farther than four blocks on a major thoroughfare |
| D5-1 REST AREA distance | A freeway or expressway rest area with parking and restrooms; placed one mile, two miles, or both distances ahead |
| D8-1 WEIGH STATION distance | First one-mile advance message in a four-device freeway or expressway sequence |
| R13-1 added to D8 signing | Regulatory expression used when the applicable State rule requires specified trucks to enter |
The REST AREA legend carries a facility test as well as a distance message. The location provides both parking and restrooms. A roadside place that has parking without restrooms uses another service legend. On a freeway or expressway, D5-1 can appear one mile ahead, two miles ahead, or at both advance distances. Do not import D4-1's block-based nearby-access rule into this sequence.
For a weigh station, D8-1 at one mile is advance guidance and begins a four-device sequence. A green guide face and a distance do not by themselves impose the same vehicle-entry duty across every State. The federal device standard allows an R13-1 regulatory message to accompany the sequence where the applicable State rule requires specified trucks to enter. Keep those layers separate: D8 identifies and guides toward the facility; State law and the applicable regulatory signing establish any duty.
The traps
- Reading a parking arrow as a restriction. D4-1 guides road users toward a nearby public parking area or facility; it does not forbid parking.
- Confusing a REST AREA legend with the weigh-station sequence. The rest-area name is reserved for a place that provides both parking and restrooms.
- Reading D8-1 as rest-area guidance because it carries a distance. Its role is the first advance-distance device in the four-sign weigh-station sequence.
- Applying the nearby-parking placement rule to a freeway rest area. D5-1 is placed one mile, two miles, or both distances before that facility.
Try it
Study the sign shown. For this guide device, what is the MUTCD's greatest recommended distance from its destination on a major thoroughfare? Enter the number of blocks.
Study the sign shown. Which MUTCD signing statement matches this guide device?
- It directs traffic toward a nearby public parking facility
- Its legend requires both parking and restroom facilities
- It warns that the number of traffic lanes is being reduced
- An R13-1 regulatory sign may accompany this guide-sign sequence when State law requires specified trucks to enter.