Leaving a 30 mph village, you pass a plain white circular sign showing a single black diagonal stripe running from the upper left to the lower right, with no number printed on it. What speed limit now applies to your car on that road?
- Exactly 30 mph continues to apply until a numbered sign says otherwise
- There is no speed limit at all on this stretch of road
- 70 mph applies immediately, as if you were on a motorway
- The national speed limit for that type of road now applies to your car — for example 60 mph on a single carriageway or 70 mph on a dual carriageway
Why D? And why not the others?
Correct answer: D. The national speed limit for that type of road now applies to your car — for example 60 mph on a single carriageway or 70 mph on a dual carriageway
The plain white circle with a black diagonal stripe is the national speed limit sign, which carries no printed number because the limit it restores depends on the type of road and the class of vehicle rather than being fixed everywhere it appears; for an ordinary car this means 60 mph on a single carriageway or 70 mph on a dual carriageway or motorway. Assuming the previous 30 mph continues is wrong because this sign explicitly ends the lower built-up-area limit as you leave the village. Concluding there is no speed limit at all is wrong because UK roads always carry a default statutory limit for each road type and vehicle class, even where no numbered sign is displayed. Assuming a flat 70 mph applies immediately is wrong because that figure only holds on dual carriageways and motorways; on the more common single-carriageway road leaving a village, the limit for a car reverts to 60 mph instead.
Source: The Highway Code: Traffic signs — signs giving orders (GOV.UK), national speed limit sign; Highway Code speed limits table