🛑Road and traffic signs theory test questions

Road and traffic signs questions test whether you can read the road at a glance: signs that give orders, warn or inform, the markings painted on the road, traffic lights and motorway signals, and the hand and arm signals used by police officers and other road users. Rule 109 of the Highway Code says you MUST obey traffic light signals and signs giving orders, including temporary ones, and should understand and act on all the others. The sign pages of the Highway Code are the core reference, with the rules behind them spread across Rules 103 to 132, 171 to 178 and 255 to 261.

Shape tells you the type of sign before you can read it. Circles give orders, triangles warn and rectangles inform. Within the circles, a red border mostly means something is prohibited, such as a speed limit or no right turn, while a blue circle with no red border tells you what you must do, such as ahead only or keep left. Two signs break the pattern on purpose: STOP is a red octagon and GIVE WAY is a triangle pointing downwards, so both can be recognised even when the face is dirty or seen from behind. Direction signs are colour coded too: blue for motorways, green for primary routes, white with a black border for local roads and brown for tourist destinations.

The signs learners mix up most are the blue circles with a red border. A single red diagonal line means no waiting, a red cross means no stopping (a clearway). A white circle with a black diagonal stripe is not a ban at all: it means the national speed limit applies, which for a car is 60 mph on a single carriageway and 70 mph on a dual carriageway or motorway. A blue circle with a white number is a minimum speed, not a maximum.

Road markings follow a simple idea: the more paint, the stronger the message. A broken centre line that gets longer with shorter gaps is a hazard warning line (Rule 127). With double white lines you MUST NOT cross or straddle a solid line on your side, except to turn into a side road or premises, to pass a stationary vehicle, or to overtake a cyclist, horse or road maintenance vehicle doing 10 mph or less (Rule 129). Hatched areas with a solid border MUST NOT be entered except in an emergency (Rule 130). Reflective studs are white for lanes, red for the left edge, amber for the central reservation and green at slip roads and lay-bys (Rule 132). Double yellow lines mean no waiting at any time (Rule 238).

Light signals carry the trickiest questions. The traffic light sequence is red, red and amber, green, amber, then red again, and red and amber still means stop. A pelican crossing has a flashing amber phase when you must give way to anyone on the crossing, while puffin and toucan crossings do not. At a level crossing, twin flashing red lights mean stop, and if they keep flashing after a train has passed, another train is coming (Rule 293). On motorways a red X means the lane is closed and you MUST NOT drive in it (Rule 258), and a speed limit inside a red circle on a gantry is mandatory (Rule 261). Remember too that flashing your headlights only means "I am here" (Rule 110), and that a signal never gives you priority (Rule 103).