In what direction can you continue driving at this intersection if you are driving a truck with a maximum permissible weight of 3.5 tons?

Explanation

You may continue in any direction.

The round sign with a red border and the image of a lorry, posted in the picture above the straight route, is "no entry for lorries". The key point is that when no figure is written on this sign, it covers only lorries whose permissible mass exceeds 3.5 tonnes. Your lorry is exactly 3.5 tonnes, not more; so this prohibition does not concern you at all and you may continue in any direction — straight, right, left or by making a U-turn.

The blue sign on the right, with a left arrow and the image of a lorry, is "direction of travel for lorries"; that is, the route designated for those same heavy lorries that may not go straight. When the prohibitory sign does not cover you, this guidance sign is not binding on you either.

The legislator's logic is that the division should be made by permissible mass rather than by the vehicle's appearance: residential streets, bridges and road surfaces are not designed for heavy axle loads, and a heavy lorry there has both a longer braking distance and takes more room in turns. The common exam trap is that boundary figure. "3.5 tonnes" means on the boundary, and the boundary is not part of the prohibition; the prohibition begins at "more than 3.5 tonnes". Had the question said 3.6 tonnes, the answer would be quite different.

• "Left only" is inferred from the blue lorry direction sign; but that sign shows the route for lorries over 3.5 tonnes and creates no obligation for a 3.5-tonne lorry. • This answer is right for a lorry whose permissible mass exceeds 3.5 tonnes and which may not go straight; your vehicle is exactly on the boundary and is not covered by the sign.

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