Traffic Signs
Traffic Signs tests whether you can identify a sign's family from its shape and colour and then apply its exact rule - not merely recognise a picture.
Read shape and colour first
- Warning: red-bordered triangle, white or yellow ground. Hazard ahead; reduce speed.
- Prohibitory: red circle. A restriction - no entry, no overtaking, speed limit, weight limit.
- Mandatory: blue circle. A positive instruction - turn left, keep left, minimum speed.
- Information: blue or green rectangle. Direction, facility or lane guidance.
- Priority: octagonal STOP means stop completely; inverted triangle GIVE WAY means yield and stop only if necessary.
Priority ladder
At a junction obey, in order: a police officer controlling traffic, then traffic signals, then signs, then road markings, then the general right-of-way rules. A sign applies from where it stands until the next junction or a cancellation sign.
Worked example
You approach a T-junction. On the road to your right is a red circle with a white horizontal bar; ahead is a blue rectangle with a left-pointing arrow. The red circle is No Entry, so you may not turn into that road from this direction. The blue rectangle tells you the road you are joining flows to the left. You must turn left and find a legal route to your destination.
Traps
Confusing No Entry with No Motor Vehicles, or a warning triangle with a prohibition. Ignoring a small supplementary plate such as 'Except bicycles' or 'Loading only'. Treating a mandatory sign as advice. Rolling through a STOP sign instead of stopping at the line.