Detour sign
What the Detour sign means: The road ahead is closed, so follow the arrows on these signs along the marked alternative route.
- Does this group carry the law
- Mostly informational, but the road it announces carries rules.
- In the sign deck
- 3 questions ask about this sign
What to do when you see it
- Follow the arrows from one detour sign to the next rather than trusting a navigation app that has not caught up.
- Slow down, because a detour route usually has tighter corners and lower limits than the road it replaces.
- Expect traffic volumes the detour road was not built for, including heavy vehicles.
- Keep following the signs until they stop, since the route rejoins the original road at a point you may not expect.
Where you see it
At road closures, around crash scenes and floodwater, on major roadwork projects, and around events that close a street.
Across the states and territories
Detour signage is a road authority and contractor function, so the exact artwork and colour can differ between jurisdictions and between permanent and temporary schemes. The instruction does not change: follow the signed route rather than working out your own.
Tell it apart from these
- Detourthis pageRoadwork ahead
Roadwork ahead means the road is open but changed. A detour means it is closed and you are being sent around.
Roadwork ahead: Work is going on in the road ahead, so slow down and watch for changed conditions.
- Detourthis pageExit
Both send you off the road you are on, but only a detour means the road ahead is unavailable.
Exit: This is the way off the freeway, so move into the exit lane early and slow down once you are in it.
How the knowledge tests use it
It appears in questions about following temporary signs, which override the permanent signs and the line marking beneath them.
What does this sign mean?
Orange signs are used for temporary conditions. A detour sign guides all traffic along a marked alternative route while the road is closed.
State and territory driver handbooks, roadworks and temporary signs
Common questions
- What does the Detour sign mean?
- The road ahead is closed, so follow the arrows on these signs along the marked alternative route.
- What should you do when you see a Detour sign?
- Follow the arrows from one detour sign to the next rather than trusting a navigation app that has not caught up. Slow down, because a detour route usually has tighter corners and lower limits than the road it replaces. Expect traffic volumes the detour road was not built for, including heavy vehicles. Keep following the signs until they stop, since the route rejoins the original road at a point you may not expect.
- Where is the Detour sign used?
- At road closures, around crash scenes and floodwater, on major roadwork projects, and around events that close a street.
- What is the Detour sign confused with?
- Roadwork ahead: Roadwork ahead means the road is open but changed. A detour means it is closed and you are being sent around. Exit: Both send you off the road you are on, but only a detour means the road ahead is unavailable.
- How do the knowledge tests ask about the Detour sign?
- It appears in questions about following temporary signs, which override the permanent signs and the line marking beneath them.
Try it in a question
Original practice questions, not the official bank. How we write and check them.
More guide and service signs
Green for routes and directions, blue for services.