Which sign indicates the length of the dangerous section of road marked with warning signs?

Explanation

Sign number 4, the figure 100 m between two arrows.

Sign number 4 is a white rectangle bearing the figure 100 m placed between two arrows. That very placement of the figure between arrows means the length of a zone; when this plate is posted beneath a warning sign, it says the hazardous section begins at the sign and continues for that distance.

Keep the identification rule simple: on supplementary plates, a figure alone means the distance to the start of the hazard or restriction, but a figure between arrows means the length of the zone itself. The exam places the two side by side to see whether you notice the arrows or merely read the number; in this very picture, sign number 2 is exactly that lone figure, which is why it looks like an attractive option.

Announcing the length of a hazardous section is essential for safety, because it tells the driver how far he must maintain caution. An uninformed driver typically restores his speed immediately after passing the first point of danger and is caught out further along that same hazardous section; whether in successive bends, on a slippery stretch or where the road surface is broken. When you know the hazard continues for a hundred metres, you keep your speed down for the whole hundred metres, not just the first few.

• The blue square with the figure 50 shows a recommended speed and has nothing to do with the length of a hazardous section. • Sign 2 carries a lone figure with no arrows, meaning the distance to the start of the hazard or restriction, not its length. • The small blue sign with a figure and a diagonal arrow belongs to the family of route information signs, and its figure must not be read as the length of a hazard zone. • Sign 5 announces that in 250 metres you must come to a full stop; this too is a distance to a point, not the length of a section.

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