Service sign · MUTCD D5-1
Rest Area Sign
This sign shows a rest area ahead, a safe place off the highway to stop. Rest areas usually have restrooms, parking and sometimes picnic tables.
- Shape
- Square
- Color
- Blue background, white letters and border
What to do
If you are tired, drowsy or need a break, take the exit and rest instead of driving on. Signal early, slow down on the ramp, and park only in marked spaces. Napping at a rest area is much safer than stopping on the shoulder.
Where you see it
On highways and freeways before the rest area exit, usually with the distance to it.
Test trap
A rest area is not a place to stay overnight in every state, and it is not a service plaza with gas and food, which have their own signs. Blue always means a service, not a rule.
Memory tip: Tired? Blue Rest Area: pull off, don't push on.
Practice question
This sign means:
- Parking is not allowed ahead
- A weigh station is ahead
- A truck stop for trucks only
- A rest area is ahead
Answer: D. A blue REST AREA sign shows a safe place to stop off the highway.
Alaska Driver Manual (rev. 10/2025), p. 44