The red circle with the white horizontal bar means the road ahead is closed to you from this direction. It faces drivers who would otherwise enter a one-way street against the flow, a freeway exit ramp from the bottom, or a closed roadway.
It is the first line of wrong-way crash prevention. Where it faces you, every vehicle on that road is coming toward you, which is why it is usually reinforced by Wrong Way signs a short distance in. Seeing the pair means stop and turn around immediately.
Do not enter, whatever your GPS or the geometry suggests. If you have already begun to enter and realize it, stop, use your hazard lights, and back out or turn around before proceeding. If you see it while on a ramp, you are entering the ramp from the wrong end.
Questions pair it with the stop sign, also red but an octagon commanding a stop rather than banning entry, and with Wrong Way, the worded rectangle posted beyond it as the second warning. If you can see the face of Do Not Enter, the one-way traffic is flowing toward you.
This sign appears in 19 questions across 19 of our state banks, on Driver License practice tests. Start with your state:
What does the displayed Do Not Enter sign mean for your direction of travel?
Why: A Do Not Enter sign faces traffic attempting to enter a roadway or ramp in the prohibited direction. Therefore, the proposed response is "Do not proceed into that roadway or ramp".
Every practice test explains its answers this way. Pick your state and take one free; no sign-up.
Choose your stateThe road ahead is one-way toward you or closed, and entering from your direction is prohibited. It is posted at exit ramps and one-way streets to stop wrong-way driving before it starts.
A red circle with a white horizontal bar across the middle and DO NOT ENTER in white. The bar reads as a barrier, which is exactly what it represents.
Do Not Enter faces you at the mouth of the roadway before you enter. Wrong Way is posted farther in and means you have already entered against traffic and must stop and turn around now.
Stop as far right as you safely can, turn on your hazard lights, and turn around or back out before continuing. Never continue forward hoping to find a place to turn later; every oncoming vehicle is closing on you.
Because wrong-way freeway crashes are among the deadliest crash types, and the sign is pure recognition: there is no judgment involved, only knowing the symbol instantly. It appears in more of our state banks than any sign except stop and yield.