Give way

In road transport, a yield or give way sign indicates that each driver 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, even if no other traffic is present. Particular regulations regarding appearance, installation, and compliance with the signs vary by jurisdiction.

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 chart compiles which countries and territories use which term. This chart is based on official government usage in the English language and excludes translations from other languages.

A black triangle (within the standard down-arrow-shape of stop signs) was a symbol of "stop for all vehicles" since about 1925 in Germany. The triangular yield sign was used as early as 1938 when it was codified in Czechoslovakia in a blue-white variant without words and in 1939 in the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia which adopted the current red-white variant. In the United States, the first yield sign was installed in 1950 at First Street and Columbia Avenue Tulsa, Oklahoma, having been devised and designed (apparently independently) by Tulsa police officer Clinton Riggs. Riggs invented only the sign, not the rule, which was already in place. The sign as originally conceived by Officer Riggs was shaped like a keystone; later versions bore the shape of an inverted equilateral triangle in common use today.

In Australia, the Give Way sign experienced a similar evolution as its counterpart in the United States. During the 1940s and 1950s, the sign was circular and yellow. In 1964, the sign changed to the triangular shape and red. In the 1980s the sign adopted its modern design and gained a counterpart for use at roundabouts.

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