Signs, signals and road markings
Reading the system
The exam uses Vienna-Convention-style signing: red triangles warn, red circles prohibit, blue circles command, and rectangles inform. Arabic is primary, with English or Kurdish on many signs. Signals outrank signs, signs outrank markings, and a police officer outranks everything.
Signals and markings
- Steady red: stop behind the stop line.
- Steady amber: stop unless doing so would be unsafe.
- Green: proceed only if the exit is clear.
- Flashing amber: proceed with caution, giving way as at an uncontrolled junction.
- Green arrow: protected movement in the arrow direction.
- Yellow centre lines separate opposing traffic; white lines separate lanes in the same direction.
- A solid line should not be crossed; a broken line may be crossed when safe.
Worked example
You approach a green light, but the queue beyond the junction fills your lane. The light is green, yet entering would block the box and cross traffic. The correct action is to wait behind the stop line until there is space. Green gives permission to proceed, not a guarantee that the exit is clear.
Traps
Treating amber as 'speed up'; reading a red circle as a warning; ignoring arrow filters; crossing a solid white line to reach a turn lane; and missing that a sign with a red border and a number is a prohibition, not advice.