Give way sign
What the Give way sign means: Slow down and be ready to stop so you can give way to any traffic or pedestrians already there.
- Group
- Regulatory signs
- Does this group carry the law
- Enforceable. Disobeying one is an offence in itself.
- In the sign deck
- 3 questions ask about this sign
What to do when you see it
- Slow down on the approach so you could stop if you had to.
- Look along the road you are entering, in both directions, and check for pedestrians crossing it.
- Give way to any vehicle or pedestrian that would have to slow, stop or swerve if you went.
- Carry on without stopping only if the road is genuinely clear.
Where you see it
At side roads joining a main road, at slip lanes, at roundabout entries, on the minor arm of a T intersection and at many level crossings.
Across the states and territories
The upside down triangle is used the same way nationally. What varies is how often it appears: some jurisdictions sign more intersections than others, and an unsigned intersection falls back on the give way rules rather than on a sign.
Tell it apart from these
- Give waythis pageStop
Give way asks you to be able to stop. Stop asks you to actually stop, every time.
Stop: Come to a complete stop at the line, then give way to all traffic and pedestrians before moving off.
- Give waythis pageRoundabout
At a roundabout you give way to vehicles already circulating, which is a narrower rule than the general give way sign.
Roundabout: Drive around the roundabout to the left of the central island and give way to any vehicle already in it.
How the knowledge tests use it
The common trap is a question that describes an empty road and asks whether you must stop. At a give way sign you do not have to, as long as you have slowed enough to be able to.
What does this sign mean?
A give way sign asks you to slow enough to judge the traffic and to stop if that is what giving way needs. It does not demand a full stop every time the way is clear.
Australian Road Rules rule 69, giving way at a give way sign
Common questions
- What does the Give way sign mean?
- Slow down and be ready to stop so you can give way to any traffic or pedestrians already there.
- What should you do when you see a Give way sign?
- Slow down on the approach so you could stop if you had to. Look along the road you are entering, in both directions, and check for pedestrians crossing it. Give way to any vehicle or pedestrian that would have to slow, stop or swerve if you went. Carry on without stopping only if the road is genuinely clear.
- Where is the Give way sign used?
- At side roads joining a main road, at slip lanes, at roundabout entries, on the minor arm of a T intersection and at many level crossings.
- What is the Give way sign confused with?
- Stop: Give way asks you to be able to stop. Stop asks you to actually stop, every time. Roundabout: At a roundabout you give way to vehicles already circulating, which is a narrower rule than the general give way sign.
- How do the knowledge tests ask about the Give way sign?
- The common trap is a question that describes an empty road and asks whether you must stop. At a give way sign you do not have to, as long as you have slowed enough to be able to.
Try it in a question
Original practice questions, not the official bank. How we write and check them.
More regulatory signs
Mostly white with red or black, and usually round or rectangular.