SESKStuff Everyone Should Know
SESK: Stuff Everyone Should Know · sesk.info/drive-pentagon-school

A fluorescent yellow-green five-sided sign shaped like a house warns you of what?

A school or school crossing is near.

  1. A school nearby ✔
  2. A hospital ahead
  3. A rest area ahead

Why: The pentagon, pointed on top like a little house, is the school sign. Slow down and stop for children in the crosswalk.

Huh, didn't know that: School pentagons have squared bottom corners; county-route pentagons have tapered lower sides.

The dad joke
Why did the school sign get good grades? It had five strong points.
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References

Answer: A school nearby. The pentagon, pointed on top like a little house, is the school sign. Slow down and stop for children in the crosswalk.

  1. California Driver's Handbook, Section 7 www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/handbook/california-driver-handbook/laws-and-rules-of-the-road
    You are near a school. Drive slowly and stop for children in the crosswalk.
    Checked 2026-10-09.
  2. MUTCD 11th Edition with Revision 1, Table 2A-1 mutcd.fhwa.dot.gov/pdfs/11th_Editionr1/mutcd11theditionr1hl.pdf
    School (S1-1) (squared bottom corners)
    Checked 2026-10-09.
  3. MUTCD 11th Edition with Revision 1, Table 2A-1 mutcd.fhwa.dot.gov/pdfs/11th_Editionr1/mutcd11theditionr1hl.pdf
    County Route (M1-6) (tapered lower sides)
    Checked 2026-10-09.

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Cars & DrivingWhich sign is the only one shaped like an eight-sided octagon?Cars & DrivingA red and white triangle points down at you. What should you do?Cars & DrivingA sideways yellow triangle sign on the LEFT side of the road says what?

That's stuff everyone should know.