You approach a stretch of road narrowed by roadworks to a single width. A rectangular sign with a blue background shows a broad arrow pointing toward you and a narrower red arrow pointing away from you in the opposite direction. What does this sign tell you about priority through the narrow section, and how does the sign a driver would see from the opposite direction differ?
- It tells you to sound your horn before entering the narrow section, and has nothing to do with priority
- It tells you that priority alternates automatically every few minutes regardless of which arrow is shown
- It tells you that oncoming traffic has priority over you, and you must wait even if the narrow section looks clear
- It tells you that you have priority over oncoming traffic through the narrow section, since the broad arrow in your direction represents your priority, while the corresponding sign facing the opposite direction is the complementary version showing a broad red arrow toward the oncoming driver and a narrower pale arrow away from them, an instruction for oncoming traffic to give way to you instead
Why D? And why not the others?
Correct answer: D. It tells you that you have priority over oncoming traffic through the narrow section, since the broad arrow in your direction represents your priority, while the corresponding sign facing the opposite direction is the complementary version showing a broad red arrow toward the oncoming driver and a narrower pale arrow away from them, an instruction for oncoming traffic to give way to you instead
This sign is used in matched pairs at a genuine pinch point, such as roadworks or a narrow bridge, where only one direction of traffic can pass at a time; a driver seeing a broad arrow pointing toward themselves and a narrower red arrow pointing away from them is being told they have priority and may proceed, while a driver approaching from the opposite direction faces the complementary sign, a broad red arrow pointing toward that second driver and a narrower pale arrow pointing away, instructing that driver to give way instead. The two signs are always deployed together so each direction sees the version that applies to it. Reading the sign as an instruction to sound the horn is wrong, since it conveys priority through the arrows rather than a request to make noise, and the Highway Code specifically discourages using a horn to hurry another road user across. Describing the priority as one that alternates automatically on a timer is also wrong, since these are static signs with a fixed, permanent instruction for each direction, unlike a temporary traffic light that genuinely does cycle on a timer. Claiming the sign gives oncoming traffic priority over the viewer is incorrect too, since it inverts which arrow belongs to which direction: the broad arrow pointing toward the viewer specifically marks the viewer's own priority.
Source: The Highway Code: Traffic signs — signs giving orders (GOV.UK), give priority to vehicles from the opposite direction sign