On a quiet country lane you see a triangular sign with a red border and the single word 'FORD' printed in black, with no picture. What hazard does this sign warn of, and what related sign is it commonly used alongside?
- A hidden speed camera monitoring a stretch that floods regularly in winter
- A narrow bridge that floods and must not be crossed by vehicles over a stated width
- A road junction named 'Ford' after a nearby town, with no water hazard implied
- A shallow crossing where a stream or river runs across the road, often paired with a 'try your brakes' sign
Why D? And why not the others?
Correct answer: D. A shallow crossing where a stream or river runs across the road, often paired with a 'try your brakes' sign
This triangle belongs to a small family of 'worded' warning signs that use plain text instead of a picture, the same red-bordered triangle template can also read 'Flood', 'Gate', 'Gates', or 'No smoking' depending on the hazard being flagged. Printed with the word 'Ford', it warns that the road ahead dips through a shallow crossing where a stream or river runs directly over the carriageway rather than under a bridge; the sign gives no guarantee about depth, so a separate depth gauge is often fitted at the water's edge itself. Because water on the road surface, and sometimes water that reaches the brakes, reduces braking effectiveness, a ford is one of the two situations, alongside the top of a steep descent, where the Highway Code specifically recommends trying your brakes as a precaution, trying them immediately after crossing the ford in this case, rather than before a hill. Reading the sign as naming a place or referring to a bridge invents detail the plain word does not carry, and a speed camera has no connection to this sign family at all.
Source: DfT Know Your Traffic Signs — Warning signs (Ford / worded warning signs, GOV.UK)