This road sign shows:

Explanation

It indicates a section of road where there is a pedestrian crossing.

The sign is a triangle with a red border and belongs to the family of warning signs; that is, it announces a hazard ahead, not something located right here. The image inside is precise: the figure of a pedestrian stepping across the black stripes of a pedestrian crossing. Those stripes lock in the meaning of the sign: there is a pedestrian crossing ahead.

The crossing itself is marked by a blue square sign and transverse road markings; this triangular sign only gives advance warning so that before you arrive you reduce speed, keep your foot ready over the brake, and look at the verge and the pavements. Within the crossing area, overtaking and stopping are restricted, and if a vehicle has stopped before the markings to let a pedestrian across, you are obliged to stop too — passing it is the most dangerous thing possible, because you cannot see the pedestrian behind that vehicle.

The exam trap is the neighbouring warning sign: the figure of a pedestrian without the crossing stripes. That one means "there is no pavement or footpath on this section and pedestrians walk on the carriageway". So before choosing an option, look under the feet of the pedestrian in the sign; the presence or absence of the stripes is decisive.

• A "pavement or footpath" is indicated by a blue circular sign (the mandatory family), not by a red warning triangle; the shape of the sign alone rules this option out. • This meaning belongs to the similar warning sign showing a pedestrian without crossing stripes; in our image the stripes under the pedestrian's feet are clearly drawn.

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