What does the following road mark indicate?

Explanation

The part of the junction which may not be entered if there is a queue ahead.

What you see in the picture is a yellow square with a lattice of crossing diagonal lines inside it; the marking painted on the surface of busy junctions. Its meaning is not "do not park here" or "pedestrians cross here"; its meaning is: do not enter this area until you are sure you can get out the other side of the junction.

The legislator's logic is the management of traffic knots. If you enter a junction on green and there is a queue ahead, your vehicle is left in the middle of the junction, and when the crossing road's turn comes they cannot move either. The result is complete gridlock; a state that takes many minutes to clear and blocks the route of ambulances and fire engines. This marking places the responsibility on the driver who enters.

The practical rule for the exam and for real driving is the same: a green light is not permission to enter, it is permission to proceed. Before setting foot on the yellow square, look at the empty space on the far side of the junction, not at the light. The trap set in the exam is the colour yellow; the mind associates yellow with "stopping and parking", whereas the distinguishing feature of this marking is the lattice of diagonal lines.

• A parking place is marked with white rectangular markings and a parking sign; the yellow diagonal lattice is exactly the opposite and says this area must always stay clear. • A pedestrian crossing consists of broad parallel white stripes and is never drawn as a diagonal lattice. • A safety island is either built with a raised kerb or marked with hatching along the axis of the road, not with a diagonal square in the heart of the junction.

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