Road signs, signals and road markings
Domain 1: Road signs, signals and road markings
This domain tests whether you can read the road before you reach it: recognising each sign family, obeying traffic signals correctly - including when they fail - and interpreting painted markings. Exam questions mix sign descriptions with "what must you do" scenarios, so learn the meaning and the required action.
The four sign families
- Warning signs - triangular with a red border and black symbol (bend, steep descent, slippery road, pedestrians, railway crossing). They tell you to adjust speed or position, not to stop.
- Regulatory (control) signs - round, plus the octagonal STOP and the inverted-triangle YIELD. They impose a legal duty: stop, give way, speed limit, no entry, compulsory direction.
- Guide and information signs - rectangular: direction, distance, place names, hospital, parking.
- Markings and signals - painted lines and traffic lights carry the same legal weight as signs.
Signals
Steady red: stop behind the line. Steady green: proceed only if the way is clear - green does not mean the intersection is safe. Flashing amber: the signals are out of order, proceed with caution. Flashing red: come to a full stop first, then go when safe. A green arrow protects only the movement shown.
Markings that matter
A broken centre line may be crossed to overtake when it is safe; a continuous line may not be crossed; double continuous lines bind both directions. A broad white line across your lane at a STOP sign is the stop line - stop before it. Zebra stripes give pedestrians priority. Yellow kerb lines restrict stopping and parking.
Worked example
You approach a robot showing a flashing red, with cars already queued on the cross street. Reasoning: a flashing red is a full stop, not a yield; then treat the junction as a four-way stop - first to stop goes first, simultaneous arrivals yield to the right. So: stop at the line, let the queue clear, then move off when the intersection is clear, checking right again as you go.
Traps
Confusing YIELD (no full stop needed if clear) with a STOP line; assuming green means "go"; crossing a continuous line to pass a slow truck; missing the small supplementary plate under a sign that changes its times or conditions.