Traffic Signs, Signals, and Road Markings (Nepal DOTM Category B)
Signs, signals and markings are the language the road uses to tell you what to do. In the Category B written paper this domain is tested through word-based scenario questions: you are given a situation and asked what a shape, colour, light or line requires of you, in a country that drives on the left.
Read the shape before the words
- Triangle with red border: warning - hazard ahead, slow down.
- Circle with red border: prohibition - no entry, no overtaking, speed limit.
- Blue circle: mandatory instruction - turn left, keep left, minimum speed.
- Rectangle, blue or green: information - directions, hospital, fuel.
- Octagon: STOP. Inverted triangle: GIVE WAY. Both mean you must be able to stop.
Signals
Steady red: stop behind the stop line. Amber: stop unless you are so close that stopping would itself cause a collision. Green: proceed only if your exit is clear. Flashing amber: proceed with caution. Flashing red: stop first, then proceed when safe. A police officer's hand signals override every light and sign on the road.
Markings
A continuous white or yellow line must not be crossed. A broken line may be crossed to overtake or turn when safe. A double yellow line along the kerb forbids parking. Zebra stripes give pedestrians priority; the stop line behind them is where you halt at a red light.
Worked example
The signal turns green but the traffic beyond the junction is stationary. Correct action: stay behind the stop line. Reasoning: green permits you to enter only if you can clear the junction; halting inside it blocks cross-traffic and is an offence.
Traps that cost marks
Treating amber as "accelerate". Reading a green arrow as "all clear". Confusing no entry (red circle, white bar) with no thoroughfare. Ignoring a faded marking when a sign or officer says otherwise.