Warning signs in Australia
Yellow diamond with a black symbol. 19 signs, each with what it means and what to do when you see it.
Warning signs tell you what the road is about to do, or what may be on it. They set no speed and create no right of way, so nothing about a warning sign changes who gives way at the hazard it points to. What they buy you is time, and the whole point of one is to use that time before you arrive rather than after.
Recognising one at a distance
Four facts that sort this group from the other four before the legend on the sign is readable.
- Shape
- Diamond, standing on one point, with no exceptions in this group
- Colours
- Yellow ground, black symbol
- Does it carry the law
- Not enforceable on its own. It changes nothing about right of way.
- What to ask yourself
- What is about to happen, and how much speed should I lose before it does?
All 19 warning signs
Select a sign for the full page: what to do, where you see it, what changes between the states and territories, and the signs it gets mixed up with.
- Curve to the leftThe road ahead curves to the left, so slow down before you reach it.
- Curve to the rightThe road ahead curves to the right, so slow down before you reach it.
- Crossroads aheadA road crosses yours just ahead, so watch for traffic entering from both the left and the right.
- T intersection aheadThe road you are on ends at a road across it, so you will have to turn left or right and give way.
- Roundabout aheadThere is a roundabout just ahead, so slow down and get ready to give way to vehicles already on it.
- Traffic signals aheadTraffic lights are ahead, often where you cannot see them from far away, so be ready to stop.
- Pedestrians aheadPeople often cross the road here on foot, so slow down and look out for them.
- Children aheadChildren may be near or on the road here, so slow down and be ready for them to step out.
- Kangaroos aheadKangaroos cross the road along this stretch, most often around dawn and dusk, so slow down and scan the verges.
- Cattle aheadCattle may be on or beside the road here, so slow down and be ready to stop.
- Slippery roadThe road ahead can be slippery, so slow down, brake gently and leave a bigger gap.
- Narrow bridgeThe bridge ahead is narrower than the road, so slow down and be ready to give way to oncoming traffic.
- Road narrowsThe road ahead gets narrower, so slow down and hold your position in the lane.
- Railway crossing aheadA railway crossing is ahead, so slow down, look both ways and be ready to stop for a train.
- Give way aheadThere is a give way sign just ahead, so slow down and get ready to give way.
- Stop aheadThere is a stop sign just ahead, so slow down and prepare to stop completely.
- DipThere is a dip in the road ahead that can hide oncoming traffic and jolt the car, so slow down.
- HumpThere is a raised hump across the road ahead, so slow right down before you reach it.
- Winding roadThe road ahead has a series of bends, so keep your speed down through all of them.
Pairs inside this group that get mixed up
Drawn at the same size, next to each other, which is the way the difference is actually learned. 18 pairs in this group.
Mirror images of each other, and reading the wrong one means turning into the bend from the wrong part of the lane.
One curve or a series of them. The winding road sign tells you the bends keep coming, so the speed you choose has to last.
A bend with a narrowing is signed as both, and the narrowing is the more dangerous of the two.
At a crossroads the road continues on the other side. At a T intersection yours ends, and you must turn.
The signals version tells you the intersection is controlled. The plain crossroads version usually means it is not.
A T intersection is often controlled by a give way sign, so the two appear together, one describing the shape and the other the duty.
Both prepare you to give way, but the roundabout version tells you the geometry as well as the duty.
The children version tells you the pedestrians are small, less predictable and easily hidden by parked cars.
Livestock are slow and stay put. Kangaroos are fast, arrive without warning and change direction, so the sign asks for more caution at dusk.
Both are yellow diamonds, and on an unlit country road at night the shape reads before the symbol does. Slow down first and identify second.
The two together are the highest risk combination on a country road, because slippery and turning are what put a car off the outside of a bend.
Bridge decks are often signed for both, since they freeze first and are narrower than the road either side.
Road narrows means the sealed width shrinks. A narrow bridge means a fixed structure with no room to move sideways at all.
Many level crossings are controlled by a stop sign, so the two warnings can appear on the same approach and mean different things.
Some crossings are raised enough to jolt a low car, and both signs may appear together, but the train is the reason for the crossing sign.
Read the symbol inside the diamond rather than the diamond itself, because the two carry very different requirements at the intersection.
A dip hides what is beyond it. A hump lifts you over something. Both interrupt your view, in opposite directions.
The bottom of a dip is where water and gravel collect, which is why the two signs often appear on the same stretch.
The group as a study list
The same signs without the artwork, so the whole group can be read straight through or printed and taken away from the screen.
| Sign | What it means | Questions in the deck |
|---|---|---|
| Curve to the left | The road ahead curves to the left, so slow down before you reach it. | 3 |
| Curve to the right | The road ahead curves to the right, so slow down before you reach it. | 3 |
| Crossroads ahead | A road crosses yours just ahead, so watch for traffic entering from both the left and the right. | 3 |
| T intersection ahead | The road you are on ends at a road across it, so you will have to turn left or right and give way. | 3 |
| Roundabout ahead | There is a roundabout just ahead, so slow down and get ready to give way to vehicles already on it. | 3 |
| Traffic signals ahead | Traffic lights are ahead, often where you cannot see them from far away, so be ready to stop. | 3 |
| Pedestrians ahead | People often cross the road here on foot, so slow down and look out for them. | 3 |
| Children ahead | Children may be near or on the road here, so slow down and be ready for them to step out. | 3 |
| Kangaroos ahead | Kangaroos cross the road along this stretch, most often around dawn and dusk, so slow down and scan the verges. | 3 |
| Cattle ahead | Cattle may be on or beside the road here, so slow down and be ready to stop. | 3 |
| Slippery road | The road ahead can be slippery, so slow down, brake gently and leave a bigger gap. | 3 |
| Narrow bridge | The bridge ahead is narrower than the road, so slow down and be ready to give way to oncoming traffic. | 3 |
| Road narrows | The road ahead gets narrower, so slow down and hold your position in the lane. | 3 |
| Railway crossing ahead | A railway crossing is ahead, so slow down, look both ways and be ready to stop for a train. | 3 |
| Give way ahead | There is a give way sign just ahead, so slow down and get ready to give way. | 3 |
| Stop ahead | There is a stop sign just ahead, so slow down and prepare to stop completely. | 3 |
| Dip | There is a dip in the road ahead that can hide oncoming traffic and jolt the car, so slow down. | 3 |
| Hump | There is a raised hump across the road ahead, so slow right down before you reach it. | 3 |
| Winding road | The road ahead has a series of bends, so keep your speed down through all of them. | 3 |
57 of the questions in the sign deck ask about a sign in this group. They are original questions written for this site, not an agency's published bank. The whole library is also on one page as a study sheet built to print.
Put it in front of yourself
Reading a sign page and recognising the sign at speed are different skills. The sign test draws the artwork above the question, which is closer to the second one.
The other sign groups
Sorting a sign by its shape and colour before you read it is the skill worth building.
Check the sign in front of you
Signs on the road carry plates, times and exceptions that a library page cannot show, and some of the rules behind them are set by each state and territory rather than nationally. Your agency's handbook is the authority on the rules you are tested on.