Understanding Road Traffic Signs

Traffic signs are road languages to guide users of the road. They are important for communicating messages like what lies ahead, speed limits for particular areas, or where to go. As a traveller, you might need to identify all these signs even if no one uses them where you live. There should be no excuse as a road user for not knowing traffic signs.

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There are basically three classes of traffic signs: the warning, the regulatory and the informative signs. People are to learn these traffic signs in driving schools because they could be used on the roads in different states within the federation. But if you missed that class, we are here to help. To make it easier to understand, sometimes the meaning of some traffic signs are written along with the symbols or annotations. Below are some popular traffic signs popularly used in Nigeria that you need to know:

Regulatory Signs

These are usually round and sometimes red throughout or with a white background. They can be either prohibitive or mandatory. Prohibitory regulatory signs which are sometimes red and yellow, red on white or white on red background have circles, inverted triangle and octagon shapes. They include such signs as No Entry/Do not Enter, No U-Turn, No Overtaking, No Left turn, No Right turn, Stop, and No Parking. Mandatory regulatory signs are usually white and blue and circle-shaped. They include signs like Right Only, Left Only, Straight or Right Only, and Keep Left or Keep Right.

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Warning Signs     

Warning signs are safety caution signs. These are triangular and predominantly yellow with red borders. Some others are diamond-shaped and a few are orange in color. Examples include signs like Roundabout, Slippery Road, Narrow Road, Railroad Ahead, Hump ahead, T Junction, Men at Work, Crossroad, School Bus Stop or Crossing Ahead.

Informative Signs

If you are looking for a specific area like the airport or want to know the status of a road, these signs do just that. They are predominantly square in green, blue and white colours. Some are triangular and circular in shape while others have a triangle pointing edge to their rectangle. They usually come with names written on them to give necessary guidance to road users. E.g. Freeway Entrance, Miles, Ped Xing/Pedestrian Crossing, Sharp Deviation of Route, Box Junction, and Traffic Light Ahead. Is there a particular road sign you’ve seen around where you live that has got you stomped? Take a picture and ask us in the comment section, we will be happy to help you out if we can.   Featured Image Source: Connecting Signs

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This article was first published on 12th November 2020

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