Regulatory Signs

Regulatory signs compel or forbid a specific action and are legally enforceable. They split into sub-classes: control signs that assign right of way (the octagonal Stop Sign and the inverted-triangle Yield Sign); command signs (blue background, white symbol) telling you what you must do (e.g. Minimum Speed Sign, Keep Left Sign, Compulsory Direction Sign); and prohibition signs (white background, red border) telling you what you must not do (e.g. No Entry Sign, No Overtaking Sign, No U-Turn Sign, Speed Limit Sign, No Parking Sign, No Stopping Sign).

The most-tested confusion is colour-as-meaning: blue = you must; red border = you must not. A blue minimum-speed circle is frequently misread as a maximum.

Ontology Regulatory Signs [part-of] Road Signs Signals and Markings Stop Sign [part-of] Regulatory Signs Yield Sign [part-of] Regulatory Signs

Learning objective

Recognise control, command and prohibition signs and know that they are legally enforceable.

Question patterns

  • Is this sign a command (blue) or a prohibition (red border)?
  • What must / must not you do?

Common mistakes

  • Reading a blue command circle as a prohibition
  • Confusing No Entry with One-Way

Connections

Sources