Warning Signs: Reading Hazards Before You Reach Them
Warning signs alert you to a hazard ahead so you can adjust speed and position before you reach it. The Ghana DVLA test checks whether you can identify the hazard from the symbol and, more importantly, choose the correct response. They are not commands: they do not tell you to stop or turn, but ignoring them is a common cause of crashes.
Reading the triangle
- Warning signs are triangular with a red border and, in Ghana, a yellow background with a black symbol. The apex points up.
- They are placed in advance of the hazard. As a working rule, expect them about 30 to 50 m before the hazard in built-up areas and around 100 m outside towns; treat that as a guide, not a guaranteed distance.
- A rectangular plate underneath may show a distance, a length of hazard, or a direction.
- Common symbols: bend, double bend with the first bend shown, crossroads, roundabout ahead, road narrows, narrow bridge, slippery road, steep hill, children or school, pedestrian crossing, traffic signals ahead, cattle or livestock, road works, level crossing.
Matching the response to the hazard
- Bend or double bend: brake before the bend, stay in lane, do not overtake.
- Slippery road: reduce speed smoothly; avoid sudden braking, acceleration or steering; increase the gap.
- Children or school: slow down, scan both sides, be ready to stop for a child who steps out.
- Traffic signals ahead: anticipate a red; do not accelerate to beat the change.
- Narrow bridge: check for oncoming traffic and priority; give way if the bridge is too narrow for both.
- Road works: obey temporary signs and flag persons; watch for workers and changed lanes.
Worked example
A red-bordered triangle shows a black road bending first to the left and then to the right. The correct response is to reduce speed before the first left bend, keep well within your lane, and avoid overtaking. Reasoning: the sign warns of two changes of direction; braking hard in the middle of the first bend can cause loss of control or a skid, and the second bend may be tighter than it looks.
Traps that cost marks
- Treating a warning sign as a prohibition and stopping unnecessarily.
- Confusing the children sign with a school speed-limit sign: the triangle warns, it does not set a limit.
- Misreading which side the road narrows on; the symbol shows the side that closes.
- Ignoring the first-bend direction on a double-bend sign.
- Assuming the hazard ends at the sign; the sign is before the hazard, not at it.