Regulatory Signs: Mandatory Instructions and Prohibitions
Regulatory signs: reading the law at a glance
Regulatory signs tell you what you must do or must not do. The FRSC test checks that you can decode shape, colour and symbol quickly, because these signs carry legal force: disobeying one is a traffic offence, not a suggestion.
Shape and colour code
- Red circle with a red diagonal slash: prohibition (no U-turn, no parking, no left turn).
- Blue circle with a white symbol: mandatory instruction (turn left ahead, keep left, roundabout direction).
- Red octagon: STOP. Come to a complete halt at the stop line.
- Inverted triangle with red border: GIVE WAY. Slow down and yield; stop only if necessary.
- Red circle with black numerals: maximum speed limit in km/h.
- Red circle with a white horizontal bar: NO ENTRY.
Where they apply The restriction begins at the sign and continues until a cancelling sign, an intersection, or the end of the zone. A 50 sign is a maximum, not a target: in rain or near a school you may need to go slower.
Worked example You see a red-bordered circle containing black “50”. A passenger says it is a minimum speed. Reasoning: red circles are prohibitory, and numerals inside a red circle set the maximum legal speed. The minimum-speed sign is a blue circle. So 50 km/h is the ceiling; 60 km/h is an offence even on an empty road.
Traps that cost marks Do not confuse NO ENTRY (red circle, white bar) with a dead-end or no-through-road information sign. Do not treat GIVE WAY as STOP: give way requires yielding, stop requires a complete halt. Do not read a yellow-backed temporary speed plate as the permanent limit.