This road sign

Explanation

This sign prohibits travelling at a speed higher than 40 km/h.

A round sign with a white field and a red border belongs to the prohibitory group, and the figure inside it is a speed ceiling, not a suggested speed and not a floor. From the point of installation to the end of the zone — the next junction or a cancelling sign — travelling faster than 40 km/h is an offence; going more slowly is permitted, so long as you do not needlessly obstruct the flow of traffic.

Keep the identification criterion in colour and shape: a red circle means prohibition, a blue circle means an obligation (such as a minimum speed) and a blue rectangle means information or a recommendation. If that same figure 40 were inside a blue circle, its meaning would be inverted: travelling below 40 would be prohibited. So always memorise the figure 40 together with the shape and colour of the sign, because in the exam it is precisely that pairing that gets swapped. In Armenia you often see this sign at the entrances to villages beside intercity roads, in repair zones and on mountain descents, and fixed cameras take that same ceiling as the basis for penalties.

• "Suggestion" is the work of blue recommended-speed signs; a red circle is binding, and exceeding its figure is an offence and carries a penalty. • This is the meaning of the minimum speed sign (a blue circle with a white figure) and is exactly the inverse of the present sign; here 40 is the ceiling, not the floor.

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