Curve to the right sign

The road ahead curves to the right, so slow down before you reach it.

Reviewed on

Drawn for this site
Curve to the right sign
Group
Warning signs
The group at a distance
Diamond, standing on one point, with no exceptions in this group. Yellow ground, black symbol.
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

In the order you do it, from the moment the sign comes into view.

  1. Reduce speed on the straight before the bend begins.
  2. Position towards the centre of your lane, not against the centre line, since oncoming traffic will be cutting in towards you.
  3. Keep steady throttle through the bend and avoid braking mid corner.

Where you see it

On rural and hill roads, at the end of long straights, and on the approach to bridges and creek crossings where the road bends to meet the structure.

Across the states and territories

Identical in use across the country. On roads with heavy vehicle traffic, particularly in Western Australia, Queensland and the Northern Territory, a right hand bend is where long vehicles use more than their own lane, so the sign matters more than the geometry suggests.

Tell it apart from these

Both signs at the same size, next to each other, with the one line that separates them. These are the pairs people mix up under time pressure.

  • Curve to the rightCurve to the rightthis pageCurve to the leftCurve to the left

    The mirrored pair. The direction of the arrow decides which side of your lane gives you the better view.

    Curve to the left: The road ahead curves to the left, so slow down before you reach it.

  • Curve to the rightCurve to the rightthis pageRoad narrowsRoad narrows

    A bend with a narrowing is signed as both, and the narrowing is the more dangerous of the two.

    Road narrows: The road ahead gets narrower, so slow down and hold your position in the lane.

How the knowledge tests use it

Expect it in questions about lane position and about overtaking, which is unsafe anywhere your sight distance is cut by a bend.

A real question from the sign deckWhat does this sign mean?
Curve to the right sign
  1. There is a road joining from the right ahead
  2. You must give way to traffic on your right ahead
  3. Overtaking is allowed on the right ahead
  4. The road ahead curves to the rightThe answer

The arrow follows the shape of the road ahead. A yellow diamond always warns, it never orders you to do something.

State and territory driver handbooks, warning signs

Try it in a question

The sign tests draw the artwork above the question and ask what it means, which is closer to the way you meet a sign on the road than reading a page about it. They are original questions written for this site rather than an agency's published bank.

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