Road Signs: Groups, Shapes and Interaction
What this domain covers
Road signs in Kazakhstan follow the Vienna Convention structure and are grouped by number and shape. The exam tests recognition, group membership and the way one sign modifies another.
Groups
- 1.x warning: red-bordered triangles, e.g. 1.1 railway crossing with barrier, 1.2 without barrier, 1.23 children, 1.25 road works.
- 2.x priority: 2.1 main road, 2.4 give way, 2.5 stop.
- 3.x prohibitory: red circles such as 3.1 no entry, 3.20 no overtaking, 3.24 maximum speed, 3.27 no stopping, 3.28 no parking.
- 4.x mandatory: blue circles such as 4.1.1 straight ahead and 4.3 roundabout.
- 5.x special regulation, including 5.1 motorway and pedestrian-crossing signs.
- 6.x information, 7.x service, 8.x additional plates.
How signs interact
A yellow background marks a temporary sign, and it overrides the permanent one. An additional plate (8.x) limits the sign to a distance, vehicle type or time. A prohibitory sign ends at the next intersection unless a plate or end sign says otherwise.
Worked example
A driver sees a triangular sign with a red border and a steam locomotive. It is sign 1.1, warning of a railway crossing with a barrier. The correct response is to reduce speed and prepare to stop if the barrier or signals require it, not to stop automatically.
Traps
- Treating a warning sign as a prohibition.
- Missing a yellow temporary sign in a work zone.
- Applying a no-overtaking sign beyond the intersection where it ends.