Drivers don’t realise what red circle on road | Tech News

It’s a common road signal you’ll see in numerous cities throughout the UK, particularly in city metropolis centres with heaps of site visitors control measures like London, Leeds and Manchester.

But regardless of being a mainstay of British roads for many years, many drivers don’t appear to know what a red circle on a signal with a car and bike on it actually means, or they agree that it’s too complicated for different drivers. Some have even prompt that native councils are making money off the back of the confusion, sending out fines to those that unwittingly break its direction.

Posting in Reddit subforum r/LearnerDriverUK, person u/6-foot-under stated: “This road sign should be changed. I know that everyone has a duty to learn road signs, but this one looks to mean the opposite of what it means. There’s places all over London where the council are collecting thousands a day (£60 a pop) from people clearly not knowing what it means. If it just had a diagonal line through it, no-one would be confused.”

u/recycledbabies stated: “I passed my test a year ago and still don’t know what this one means.”

u/commandblock stated: “For real. They should put a line through it. Just makes more sense.”

Another person, u/gravitea, stated: “I mean I understand what this sign means but I have no idea why it means what it means. Red circle means order, and pretty much every function forbidding something has a line through it. Except for ones like this, no idea why…”

According to u/donttakeawaymycake, the explanation there’s no line placing by way of the signal to show one thing is prohibited is because of visibility.

They stated: “The red cross across the sign is omitted in traffic signage (compared to normal signage) so that it doesn’t obscure the shape of the symbols when viewing it at speed.”

According to the Highway Code, indicators with red circles are ‘mostly prohibitive’.

It says: “Signs with red circles are mostly prohibitive. Plates below signs qualify their message.”

Below the photograph of a car and bike in a red circle, it explains that the signal means ‘No Motor Vehicles’.

On the opposite hand, blue indicators give instructions about what you must do, slightly than what you shouldn’t.

It provides: “Signs with blue circles but no red border mostly give positive instruction.”