Curve to the left sign
What the Curve to the left sign means: The road ahead curves to the left, so slow down before you reach it.
- Group
- Warning signs
- Does this group carry the law
- Not enforceable on its own. It changes nothing about right of way.
- In the sign deck
- 3 questions ask about this sign
What to do when you see it
- Slow down before the bend, not in it, so you are off the brakes as you turn.
- Move to the left of your lane on the approach to open up your view around the bend.
- Look through the curve to where the road reappears, rather than at the guide posts beside you.
- Accelerate gently once the road straightens.
Where you see it
On rural roads and hill roads where a single bend follows a straight, often with a black on yellow advisory speed plate underneath.
Across the states and territories
The diamond is national. The advisory speed plate under it is a recommendation rather than a limit in every jurisdiction, so the posted limit still applies, but ignoring the advisory number is how single vehicle rural crashes happen.
Tell it apart from these
- Curve to the leftthis pageCurve to the right
Mirror images of each other, and reading the wrong one means turning into the bend from the wrong part of the lane.
Curve to the right: The road ahead curves to the right, so slow down before you reach it.
- Curve to the leftthis pageWinding road
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.
Winding road: The road ahead has a series of bends, so keep your speed down through all of them.
How the knowledge tests use it
Questions test where to brake, and the answer is before the curve rather than during it.
What does this sign mean?
A yellow diamond warns you about the road itself. This one shows the line of the road bending to the left, not an intersection or an order to turn.
State and territory driver handbooks, warning signs
Common questions
- What does the Curve to the left sign mean?
- The road ahead curves to the left, so slow down before you reach it.
- What should you do when you see a Curve to the left sign?
- Slow down before the bend, not in it, so you are off the brakes as you turn. Move to the left of your lane on the approach to open up your view around the bend. Look through the curve to where the road reappears, rather than at the guide posts beside you. Accelerate gently once the road straightens.
- Where is the Curve to the left sign used?
- On rural roads and hill roads where a single bend follows a straight, often with a black on yellow advisory speed plate underneath.
- What is the Curve to the left sign confused with?
- Curve to the right: Mirror images of each other, and reading the wrong one means turning into the bend from the wrong part of the lane. Winding road: 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.
- How do the knowledge tests ask about the Curve to the left sign?
- Questions test where to brake, and the answer is before the curve rather than during it.
Try it in a question
Original practice questions, not the official bank. How we write and check them.
More warning signs
Yellow diamond with a black symbol.