Free practice
Road signs explained
There are hundreds of signs but only a handful of rules. Learn the system and you can read a sign you have never seen before.
Sign Run
A sign appears far down the road and comes towards you. Name it before you reach it — the earlier you answer, the better you score, exactly as hazard perception is marked.
Reading a sign at a comfortable size on a page is not the skill. Reading it small, at distance, with a few seconds to decide, is.
See any sign in three dimensions
Pick one and turn it. Signs are read at an angle far more often than straight on, and a shape you have only ever met flat on a page is a shape you have to work out twice on the road.
Orders
No entry for vehicular traffic
A circle gives an order. Solid red means stop — do not pass.
No vehicles may pass this point. It usually marks the exit of a one-way street. Driving past it puts you head-on into traffic that cannot see you coming.
Orders
Mandatory
Warnings
Information
Shape tells you the type
This is the whole trick. Get this and most sign questions answer themselves.
Circle
Gives an orderCircles tell you what you must or must not do. A red border prohibits — no entry, no waiting, speed limits. A blue circle instructs positively — turn left, minimum speed, cycle route.
- Speed limits
- No entry
- Turn left ahead
- Minimum speed
Triangle
Warns youUpward-pointing triangles with a red border warn of something ahead. They tell you what to expect, not what to do — the response is yours to judge.
- Bend ahead
- Slippery road
- Children crossing
- Level crossing
Rectangle
Gives informationRectangles inform. Blue on motorways, green on primary routes, white on local roads, brown for tourist attractions.
- Directions
- Parking
- Motorway services
- Tourist signs
Octagon
Stop — the only oneThe only octagonal sign in Britain, and deliberately so. Its shape is recognisable even when snow or dirt obscures the face. You must come to a complete stop.
- STOP
Inverted triangle
Give wayThe only downward-pointing triangle. Give way to traffic on the major road. You do not have to stop if the road is clear, but you must be prepared to.
- Give way
The ones people mix up
Red circle vs red triangle
Circle = order, triangle = warning. A red circle with a car in it means no cars allowed. A red triangle with a car in it warns of oncoming traffic.
One red diagonal vs two
One diagonal across a blue circle means no waiting. Two means no stopping at all — a clearway. You cannot even pause to drop someone off.
Single vs double yellow lines
Single yellow means no waiting during the times shown on nearby plates. Double yellow means no waiting at any time. Loading rules are marked separately on the kerb.
National speed limit sign
A white circle with a black diagonal means the national speed limit applies — which depends on the road and your vehicle, not the sign. On a single carriageway that is 60mph for cars, on a dual carriageway 70mph.
Test yourself
Road signs are one of the 14 theory test categories. Practise them specifically, or take a full mock test.