No stopping sign
What the No stopping sign means: You must not stop here at all, not even for a moment, unless there is an emergency.
- 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
- Do not stop the vehicle here for any reason short of an emergency or a traffic condition that forces it.
- Do not stop to let a passenger out, to check a map, or to wait for a gap in traffic.
- Continue to the first legal place to stop, which may be several streets on.
Where you see it
On clearways and arterials, around intersections and crossings, at bus stops, on bridges, in tunnels and along the edges of roundabouts.
Across the states and territories
The sign is national. So is the fact that no stopping applies in places with no sign at all: the Australian Road Rules bar stopping within 10 m of an intersection without traffic lights, within 20 m of one with lights, and within 20 m before or 10 m after a bus stop. Some jurisdictions also use a continuous yellow edge line to mark no stopping, so learn the marking used where you drive.
Tell it apart from these
- No stoppingthis pageNo parking
No parking permits a brief stop. No stopping permits none, which is why it carries the stronger red circle with a cross.
No parking: You may stop here briefly to drop off or pick up people or goods, but you must not park and leave the vehicle.
- No stoppingthis pageBus lane
Stopping in a bus lane is a lane rule. No stopping applies to every vehicle and to every part of the road it covers.
Bus lane: This lane is for buses during the times shown, so other vehicles must keep out of it.
How the knowledge tests use it
The unsigned distances are the part people miss, because the question describes a street with no sign in it and still expects you to know you cannot stop there.
What does this sign mean?
A red cross inside a red ring is the strictest of the parking signs. It usually marks a place where a stopped vehicle would block sight lines or a traffic lane.
State and territory driver handbooks, no stopping signs
Common questions
- What does the No stopping sign mean?
- You must not stop here at all, not even for a moment, unless there is an emergency.
- What should you do when you see a No stopping sign?
- Do not stop the vehicle here for any reason short of an emergency or a traffic condition that forces it. Do not stop to let a passenger out, to check a map, or to wait for a gap in traffic. Continue to the first legal place to stop, which may be several streets on.
- Where is the No stopping sign used?
- On clearways and arterials, around intersections and crossings, at bus stops, on bridges, in tunnels and along the edges of roundabouts.
- What is the No stopping sign confused with?
- No parking: No parking permits a brief stop. No stopping permits none, which is why it carries the stronger red circle with a cross. Bus lane: Stopping in a bus lane is a lane rule. No stopping applies to every vehicle and to every part of the road it covers.
- How do the knowledge tests ask about the No stopping sign?
- The unsigned distances are the part people miss, because the question describes a street with no sign in it and still expects you to know you cannot stop there.
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.