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Recognizing what different traffic sign shapes mean can be the difference between life and death. Here are the nine basic shapes lining roads today. Traffic existed long before traffic signs did, as more cars on American roads started heading in different directions at different speeds. In the early 1900s, drivers navigated by looking for colored bands wrapped around poles, and in 1915, Detroit installed the first black-and-white stop sign. But in low visibility conditions, these signs just didn’t do the job. As cars entered the mainstream, the potential for accidents became more alarming. By the 1920s, automobile organizations agreed that traffic control signs needed to be standardized so that drivers from anywhere could understand them. Shapes could instantly communicate in any language. Even if you hadn’t passed a test on what different traffic sign shapes meant, you soon realized that smoother curves were used for friendlier messages, while the...

The MUTCD’s requirements for maintaining traffic sign retroreflectivity have a big impact on the kind of sign you should buy. Here’s what you need to know. Traffic signs are designed so that all drivers, no matter what language they speak, can understand their guidelines and warning symbols. But traffic signs, of course, don’t work unless you can see them. In the early days of horseless carriages, night driving was a gamble because no one could make out the words on the signs. As a result, in 1932, standard shapes were adopted for different types of signs, so words wouldn’t always be necessary. Soon, drivers understood what a sign meant just by glimpsing its outline in the moonlight and were alerted to avoid danger. Traffic sign regulations have come a long way since then, as they had to adjust to increased traffic, higher speeds, and dangerous weather conditions. The Federal Highway...