Road signs, signals and markings (umferðarmerki, ljós og merkingar)
What this domain tests
Reading Icelandic signs, signals and road markings quickly enough to act on them, and telling apart the pairs that look alike.
Shape carries the meaning
- Triangle, red border - warning (hættumerki): bends, single-lane bridge, sheep, gravel surface, uneven road.
- Circle, red border - prohibition (bannmerki): speed limit, no overtaking, no entry for motor vehicles.
- Circle, blue - mandatory (skipunarmerki): keep right, roundabout, minimum speed.
- Inverted triangle - yield (víkjaskylda). Octagon - stop (stoppskylda).
- Yellow diamond with white border - priority road (forgangsvegur). A black diagonal bar means the priority ends at the next junction.
- Rectangles - information, services and direction signs; rural direction signs are yellow with black text.
Lights and markings
Red–yellow–green; a green arrow gives priority only in the direction of the arrow. A flashing yellow means the signals are out of order and the ordinary right-hand rule applies again. Iceland marks the centre line in yellow and lane and edge lines in white. A solid line must not be crossed; a broken line may be crossed when it is safe and you have checked your mirror and blind spot.
Worked example
You meet a yellow diamond with a white border where a side road joins. It does not mean "stop"; it tells you that you are on the priority road and traffic joining must yield to you. If the same diamond carries a black diagonal bar, your priority ends at the next junction and the right-hand rule returns.
Traps
The inverted triangle is a yield, not a stop - but you must still approach slowly enough to be able to stop. "No entry" (white bar on red) is not "closed to all vehicles". A small supplementary plate beneath a sign changes its meaning (times, vehicle types, distance), and candidates routinely ignore it.