Which picture shows the highway?

Explanation

Both of the upper pictures; in both, a sign has made the road a priority road.

A priority road is a road that is either marked with priority signs or has a hard surface relative to the crossing unsurfaced road. To identify one, you must go to the sign, not to the width of the asphalt.

In the upper left picture, the green sign beside the road declares it a motorway, and a motorway is by definition a priority road. In the upper right picture, the red triangular "junction with a minor road" sign is posted; this sign tells you precisely that the road you are travelling on is the priority road relative to the crossing road ahead. So both upper pictures show a priority road.

The lower picture, however, has a blue sign with a white arrow pointing upwards; this is the "one-way road" sign and merely establishes the permitted direction of travel. Being one-way creates no priority whatever; a one-way street can be the minor road at the next junction.

The safety importance of this distinction becomes clear at junctions without lights: the whole decision "do I go or does he" is made on the basis of whether a road is a priority or a minor one. The exam trap is to confuse the colour and size of the blue sign with the priority signs, or to look only at how wide and well-surfaced the road is.

• The upper left picture is right, but it is not the only one; the triangular sign in the upper right picture also makes the road a priority road. • The upper right picture is right, but the motorway sign in the upper left picture also establishes a priority road on its own. • The lower picture has only a one-way road sign; it establishes the direction of travel, not priority.

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