You are driving along a one-way street and, at a side turning off it, you see a sign that is a solid red circle with a plain white horizontal bar through the middle and no other markings. What does this sign mean for a driver approaching that turning from the side road?
- The side turning is closed to all traffic, including pedestrians and cyclists
- The side turning has a weight restriction shown by the thickness of the bar
- Vehicles must not enter that turning, because it is the entry point of a one-way street running in the opposite direction
- The turning is one-way only for buses and taxis; other vehicles must find another route
Why C? And why not the others?
Correct answer: C. Vehicles must not enter that turning, because it is the entry point of a one-way street running in the opposite direction
A solid red circle with a plain white horizontal bar is the No Entry sign, a blanket prohibition placed at the wrong end of a one-way street to stop vehicles driving in against the flow of traffic; a driver in the side road seeing it must not turn into that street at all. Describing the turning as closed to all traffic including pedestrians and cyclists overstates the sign's scope, since it prohibits vehicular entry rather than affecting people on foot or, where a contraflow cycle lane exists, cyclists using a separately marked lane. The bar's thickness carries no coded meaning about weight limits; weight restrictions are shown by a completely different circular sign displaying a numeric tonnage figure, not by varying the width of the No Entry bar. Reading the sign as applying only to buses and taxis is also wrong, since contraflow bus and taxi lanes are indicated by their own distinct signs and road markings, not by an unqualified No Entry circle, which prohibits every motor vehicle equally.
Source: The Highway Code: Traffic signs — signs giving orders (GOV.UK), No Entry sign