Inroad transport, ayield orgive waysign indicates that mergingdrivers 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 theright of way to that vehicle. In contrast, astop sign requires each driver to stop completely before proceeding, whether or not other traffic is present. Under theVienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals, the international standard for the modern sign is an invertedequilateral 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.

Whilegive way andyield 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.

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 inDenmark in red and white (matching theDanish flag),^[1] in 1938 when it was codified inCzechoslovakia in a blue-white variant without words,^[2] and in 1939 in theProtectorate of Bohemia and Moravia which adopted the current red-white variant.^[3] In the United States, the first yield sign was erected in 1950 inTulsa, Oklahoma, designed by Tulsa police officerClinton Riggs;^[4][5] Riggs invented only the sign, not the rule, which was already in place.^[6] Riggs' original design was shaped like akeystone; later versions bore the shape of an invertedequilateral triangle in common use today. The inverted equilateral triangle was then adopted by theVienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals as the international standard.

InAustralia, the give way sign evolved similarly to its counterpart in theUnited States. During the 1940s and 1950s, the sign was a yellow circle. In 1960, the sign changed to a red triangle. In the 1980s, the sign adopted its modern design and gained a counterpart for use at roundabouts. On theCocos (Keeling) Islands, give way signs arebilingual inEnglish andCocos Malay.

• 
  Original design (1940's–1960)
• 
  Second version (1960–1974)
• 
  Modern design since 1974
• 
  Cocos (Keeling) Islands design

InIreland, the yield sign readsyield in most areas, although inGaeltacht (Irish-speaking) areas the text isgéill slí ("yield right of way"^[7]) instead.^[8][9] Signs erected from 1962 until 1997 readyield right of way,^[10] which remains legally permitted.^[9] Signs 1956–1962 had a blank white interior.^[11]

• 
  1956–1962
• 
  1962–1997
• 
  English-language version (1997 – present)
• 
  Irish-language version (1962 – present)

In New Zealand, the original design also used the keystone shape as in the US but used a black background with a red border. In 1987, the modern design was taken. 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 (1966–1987)
• 
  Modern design since 1987

In South Africa, the original version of the sign in red-bordered triangle pointed down in a red circular border. In 1974, the second version using a blue triangle pointed down with a red border. In 1993, the current version using a white triangle pointed down with a red border.

• 
  Original design (1951–1974)
• 
  Second version (1974–1993)
• 
  Modern design since 1993

TheUnited Kingdom'sRoad Traffic Act calls forgive way signs androad 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]

InWales, some signs bear a bilingual legend: theWelshildiwch appears abovegive 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 asgive way 100 yards.^[14]

In the Federal Highway Administration'sManual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices, a yield sign may be warranted^[15]

"if engineering judgment indicates that one or more of the following conditions exist:

1. 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.
2. If controlling move type movement on the entering roadway where acceleration geometry and/or sight distance is not adequate for merging traffic operation.
3. 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.
4. 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 1950 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 bySTOP signs.

• 
  Early design (1950–1954)
• 
  Second version (1954–1961)
• 
  Third version (1961–1971)
• 
  Modern design as agreed to in 1971

In 2016, a white triangle pointed down with a red border of this sign replacing a circular version in red with the word "GIVE WAY" in a yellow triangle.

• 
  Original design (1965–2016)
• 
  Modern design since 2016

• Most countries around the world use a red and white inverted triangle with no text.
• Cuba, Finland, Greece, Iceland, Kuwait, Nigeria, Poland, Sweden and Vietnam use 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 readsgive way.
• Dominica, Fiji, Liberia, New Zealand, and Samoa display text in red.
• Singapore places the sign inside a white round square.
• Belize, Brazil, Canada and Romania use a much thicker red border.
• Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela useceda el paso.
• Puerto Rico uses a version of the American sign translated into Spanish which readsceda.

• 
  International standard with white background^[a]
• 
  International standard with yellow background^[b]
• 
  Belize, Brazil, Canada, Romania
• 
  SACU standard^[c]

• 
  Anglophone Africa, Anglophone Caribbean (Lesser Antilles), India, Mauritius, Pakistan, Seychelles, Sri Lanka, United Kingdom
• 
  Australia, Guyana, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu
• 
  Dominica
• 
  Fiji, New Zealand, Samoa
• 
  Ireland
• 
  Jamaica
• 
  Liberia
• 
  Nigeria
• 
  Singapore
• 
  Tonga
• 
  United States

• 
  Argentina
• 
  Central America
• 
  Colombia
• 
  Cuba
• 
  Ecuador
• 
  Mexico
• 
  Mexico (Jalisco)
• 
  Mexico (no longer used)
• 
  Panama
• 
  Peru
• 
  United States (Puerto Rico)
• 
  Spain^[d]

• 
  Brunei (Malay)
• 
  China (Mandarin)
• 
  France, Francophone Africa, Monaco (French)
• 
  Haiti (French)
• 
  Ireland (Gaeltacht;Irish)
• 
  Malaysia (Malay)
• 
  Maldives (Maldivian)
• 
  Taiwan (Mandarin)
• 
  Thailand (Thai)

• 
  Australia (Cocos (Keeling) Islands; English andCocos Malay)
• 
  Bahrain (Arabic and English)
• 
  Canada (Ontario; English and French)
• 
  Egypt, Qatar, Yemen (Arabic and English)
• 
  France (Brittany; French andBreton)^[16]
• 
  Hong Kong (English andCantonese)
• 
  Kuwait (Arabic and English)
• 
  Mauritania and Morocco (Arabic and French)
• 
  Philippines (English andFilipino)
• 
  South Korea (Korean and English)
• 
  Tunisia (Tunisian Arabic and French)
• 
  United Arab Emirates (Arabic and English)
• 
  Wales (Welsh and English)

• Stop sign
• Traffic sign

Wikimedia Commons has media related toYield signs.

• A Collection of Stop and Yield Signs
• History of the Yield sign

• Traffic signs

• CS1 French-language sources (fr)
• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Use dmy dates from November 2023
• Articles containing Irish-language text
• Commons category link is on Wikidata