Road Signs & Markings

Road signs are one of the first things you will be tested on, and one of the easiest topics to score well in once you understand the system behind them. British signs follow a consistent set of rules: circles give orders, triangles warn and rectangles inform, while colour tells you where a sign applies — blue for motorways and positive instructions, green for primary routes, and red borders for prohibitions and warnings.

This guide is organised into the same categories used by the Highway Code. You will find traffic signs covering orders, warnings and directions; light signals, including the traffic light sequence and motorway lane signals; road surface markings such as centre lines, box junctions and yellow lines; the signals used by police officers and other authorised persons; the arm signals that drivers, cyclists and horse riders give to other road users; and the markings carried by large or slow-moving vehicles.

Revising for the theory test

Road and traffic signs is one of the largest topics in the official question bank, so it rewards steady, regular revision. Browse a category here, then test yourself in our practice section to see which signs you can recognise at a glance. Little and often works best — a few minutes a day spent recognising sign shapes and colours will carry you a long way in the multiple-choice test, and it makes you a safer driver once you are out on the road.