Hump sign

There is a raised hump across the road ahead, so slow right down before you reach it.

Reviewed on

Drawn for this site
Hump 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. Slow to a crawl before the hump, not on it.
  2. Cross it square rather than at an angle, so both wheels lift together.
  3. Watch for pedestrians, because humps are usually installed where people cross.
  4. Accelerate gently afterwards rather than making up the time.

Where you see it

On residential streets used as short cuts, in car parks, at shopping centre entries, near schools, and as raised crossings in shared zones.

Across the states and territories

The device is used by councils rather than by state agencies, so how common a hump is depends on the local council rather than the state. The sign is read the same way everywhere, and a raised pedestrian crossing carries the crossing duty on top of the warning.

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.

  • HumpHumpthis pageDipDIPDip

    Opposite shapes on the same idea: one goes up and one goes down, and both cost you speed and sight distance.

    Dip: There is a dip in the road ahead that can hide oncoming traffic and jolt the car, so slow down.

  • A raised crossing is both a hump and a crossing, and the give way duty is the part that matters more.

    Pedestrian crossing: You must give way to any pedestrian on the crossing and be ready to stop before it.

How the knowledge tests use it

It turns up in questions about residential street speed and about why traffic calming exists where children are about.

A real question from the sign deckWhat does this sign mean?
Hump sign
  1. There is a dip in the road ahead
  2. The road ahead climbs a steep hill
  3. There is loose gravel piled on the road ahead
  4. There is a raised hump across the road aheadThe answer

The raised shape in the diamond warns of a hump built across the road, often to slow traffic in a street or a car park.

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.

Start the road signs testPick another state