Freeway begins sign
What the Freeway begins sign means: Freeway rules start here, so no pedestrians, bicycles or learner restrictions that bar the freeway, and no stopping except in an emergency.
- 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
- Merge at the speed of the traffic already on the road, using the ramp to build speed rather than to stop.
- Check your mirror and your blind spot, indicate, and move into a gap rather than expecting one to open.
- Once you are on, keep left unless overtaking, and leave a following gap you can stop in.
- Do not stop on a freeway except in an emergency, and use the shoulder or an emergency bay if you must.
Where you see it
At the point where an arterial road becomes a motorway or freeway, and at the top of on ramps.
Across the states and territories
Freeway, motorway and expressway are used differently across the states and territories for the same kind of road, so read the sign rather than the word. Whether a learner may drive on a particular motorway, and any lower speed cap on learner and provisional drivers, is set by each jurisdiction, so check your own agency before your first motorway drive.
Tell it apart from these
- Freeway beginsthis pageFreeway ends
The pair bracket the length where freeway conditions apply. The end sign is where intersections, pedestrians and lower limits come back.
Freeway ends: Freeway conditions end here, so expect a lower limit, intersections and traffic that can stop.
- Freeway beginsthis pageExit
The exit sign is inside the freeway. This one marks the boundary where the rules change.
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
Merging is the tested skill: build speed on the ramp, match the traffic, and give way to vehicles already on the road.
What does this sign mean?
The sign marks the start of a road where traffic enters and leaves only at ramps, and where the extra freeway rules apply. The limit itself is set by the speed signs, not by this one.
State and territory driver handbooks, freeway and motorway driving
Common questions
- What does the Freeway begins sign mean?
- Freeway rules start here, so no pedestrians, bicycles or learner restrictions that bar the freeway, and no stopping except in an emergency.
- What should you do when you see a Freeway begins sign?
- Merge at the speed of the traffic already on the road, using the ramp to build speed rather than to stop. Check your mirror and your blind spot, indicate, and move into a gap rather than expecting one to open. Once you are on, keep left unless overtaking, and leave a following gap you can stop in. Do not stop on a freeway except in an emergency, and use the shoulder or an emergency bay if you must.
- Where is the Freeway begins sign used?
- At the point where an arterial road becomes a motorway or freeway, and at the top of on ramps.
- What is the Freeway begins sign confused with?
- Freeway ends: The pair bracket the length where freeway conditions apply. The end sign is where intersections, pedestrians and lower limits come back. Exit: The exit sign is inside the freeway. This one marks the boundary where the rules change.
- How do the knowledge tests ask about the Freeway begins sign?
- Merging is the tested skill: build speed on the ramp, match the traffic, and give way to vehicles already on the road.
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.