Dip sign
There is a dip in the road ahead that can hide oncoming traffic and jolt the car, so slow down.
- 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.
- Slow down before the dip so the suspension is not loaded when you reach it.
- Expect your view of the road beyond to disappear for a moment.
- Do not overtake, because oncoming traffic can be hidden in the low point.
- In wet weather, expect water to sit at the bottom.
Where you see it
On country roads crossing gullies and dry creek beds, on older roads that follow the land rather than cutting through it, and at floodway approaches.
Across the states and territories
The warning is national. In northern Australia and inland Queensland, Western Australia and the Northern Territory a dip is often a floodway, signed separately with depth markers, and driving into moving water is the risk rather than the jolt.
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.
- Dipthis pageHump
A dip hides what is beyond it. A hump lifts you over something. Both interrupt your view, in opposite directions.
Hump: There is a raised hump across the road ahead, so slow right down before you reach it.
- Dipthis pageSlippery road
The bottom of a dip is where water and gravel collect, which is why the two signs often appear on the same stretch.
Slippery road: The road ahead can be slippery, so slow down, brake gently and leave a bigger gap.
How the knowledge tests use it
It supports questions about overtaking and sight distance, since anywhere your view drops is a place you cannot overtake.
A real question from the sign deckWhat does this sign mean?
A dip is a short drop and rise in the road surface. It can hide oncoming vehicles, jolt the suspension and hold water after rain.
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.
More warning signs
Yellow diamond with a black symbol.