Know your traffic signs

12 January 2024

Traffic signs play a vital role in directing, informing and controlling road users’ behaviour in an effort to make the roads as safe as possible for everyone. This makes a knowledge of traffic signs essential. Not just for new drivers or riders needing to pass their theory test, but for all road users, including experienced professional drivers.

The Department of Transport has updated their guidance on road traffic signage in Great Britain , including information on the signing system, regulatory signs, speed limit signs and all other signs, and encourages all road users to know their signs.

The updated guidance aims to illustrate and explain the most common traffic signs that the road user is likely to encounter and is an accompaniment to The Highway Code.

The new edition contains:

• new guidance and images on clean air zones, ultra low emission zone and low emission zones in London, tunnel restriction codes, parking places for electric taxis, bus gates, share space, parallel crossings
• updated guidance and signs for road charging, rising bollards, bus lanes, on-street parking places, pedestrian and cycle zones, motorway signals, variable signs,  motorway service areas, diversion routes, UTC (urgent treatment centre), traffic signals for cyclists, road works and temporary situations, bridge height warning signs
• new guidance specific for Wales and for Scotland