At the start of a narrow footbridge, you see a sign showing a black bicycle symbol inside a plain red circle. A short distance further along a different shared path, you see a sign with white lettering reading 'Cyclists dismount' on a blue rectangular background. What is the legal difference between these two signs for a cyclist?
- The red circular sign is a mandatory prohibition, so cycling is legally not permitted past that point and a cyclist must dismount and wheel their cycle; the blue rectangular sign is only advisory guidance recommending dismounting for safety, and does not carry the same legal force
- Both signs carry identical legal force, and ignoring either one is a specific traffic offence carrying an identical penalty
- The red circular sign only applies to electric bicycles, while the blue rectangular sign applies to all pedal cycles
- The red circular sign is only advisory guidance, while the blue rectangular sign is the one that is legally enforceable
Why A? And why not the others?
Correct answer: A. The red circular sign is a mandatory prohibition, so cycling is legally not permitted past that point and a cyclist must dismount and wheel their cycle; the blue rectangular sign is only advisory guidance recommending dismounting for safety, and does not carry the same legal force
A plain bicycle symbol inside a red circle is one of the Highway Code's mandatory prohibition signs, meaning cycling is legally forbidden beyond that point and a cyclist is required to get off and wheel the cycle instead. A blue rectangular sign reading 'Cyclists dismount' is only advisory; it recommends dismounting for the cyclist's own safety at that particular spot, such as a level crossing or an awkward shared-use pinch point, but it is not a legally enforceable instruction in the way the red circular sign is. The option claiming both signs carry identical legal force and identical penalties wrongly equates a binding prohibition with a recommendation. The option restricting the red circular sign to electric bicycles only invents a vehicle-type limitation that the plain bicycle symbol does not carry, since it applies to cycling in general. The option reversing which sign is advisory and which is enforceable gets the legal status of the two signs backwards, since it is the red circular sign, not the blue rectangular one, that is legally binding.
Source: The Highway Code — Traffic signs (No cycling) and Rules for cyclists 59-82 (Cyclists dismount) (GOV.UK)