Which sign indicates the zone of road signs prohibiting stopping and parking of vehicles?

Explanation

Sign number 4, the supplementary plate with an upward arrow and a length figure.

The only supplementary plate in this picture is sign number 4: a white rectangle with a black border, an upward arrow and the figure 10 m. The other four are independent signs and have meaning on their own, whereas a supplementary plate is always posted beneath a main sign and limits its meaning. When this plate appears beneath a no-stopping or no-parking sign, it means the prohibition applies from this point forward for that stated length.

This rule of shape is the fastest way to solve the question: instead of reading figures, look for the only white rectangle. The three round signs in the picture, with the figures 2.7, 10 and 70, are deliberately placed together so that the mind fixes on a number, whereas none of them says anything about a no-stopping zone.

Announcing the zone of effect is necessary for safety. If a driver does not know where the prohibition ends, he either drives on needlessly for hundreds of metres out of caution, or parks in exactly the few metres that had to stay clear; before a junction, say, in front of an emergency entrance, or on a section where the road has narrowed. The figure on the plate creates a clear boundary that the driver and the enforcement officer read the same way.

• Sign 1 prohibits the passage of vehicles wider than 2.7 metres and has nothing to do with stopping and parking. • Sign 2 prohibits the passage of vehicles longer than 10 metres; its figure 10 is not of the same kind as the figure on the supplementary plate. • Sign 3 sets the minimum distance between two moving vehicles, so its subject is movement, not stopping. • The blue square with the figure 50 shows a recommended speed and is not a supplementary plate at all.

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