While driving on a motorway, you pass a marker with three white diagonal stripes at the left-hand verge, and shortly afterwards markers with two stripes and then one stripe. What is each stripe on these countdown markers telling you?
- Each stripe represents a separate lane you must move into before the exit
- Each stripe represents 100 yards remaining to the upcoming exit, so three stripes mean 300 yards to go
- Each stripe represents a 10 mph reduction in the speed limit you must now observe
- Each stripe indicates one minute of driving time remaining before the exit, regardless of your speed
Why B? And why not the others?
Correct answer: B. Each stripe represents 100 yards remaining to the upcoming exit, so three stripes mean 300 yards to go
Motorway exit countdown markers appear at fixed points before the start of the deceleration lane, with three stripes at 300 yards, two stripes at 200 yards, and one stripe at 100 yards, giving a driver a clear, evenly spaced distance reference for moving into the left-hand lane in good time before leaving the motorway. Treating each stripe as a separate lane is wrong, since the markers convey distance, not a lane count, and have no connection to how many lanes the motorway or slip road actually has. Reading the stripes as a speed-limit countdown is also wrong, because these markers carry no speed instruction at all; any change in speed limit near an exit would be shown by a completely separate numbered speed limit sign. Interpreting each stripe as a fixed amount of driving time is incorrect too, since the markers are spaced by physical distance in yards, and the time it takes to cover that distance depends entirely on the driver's speed rather than being a constant.
Source: The Highway Code: Traffic signs — motorway signals and information signs (GOV.UK), countdown markers