What sign requires you to give way to vehicles traveling on an intersecting road?

Explanation

Sign 3 — the inverted "give way" triangle.

Sign 3 is a white inverted triangle with a red border and no symbol inside: "give way". This sign obliges you to give way to vehicles travelling on the crossing road. Unlike the STOP sign, you need not necessarily come to a complete halt; but you must reduce speed enough to be able to stop if required, and must not force any driver on the crossing road to change course or speed.

The key distinction in this set is between a "warning sign" and a "priority sign". Signs 1, 2 and 4 are all upright triangles with red borders and merely announce that something awaits you ahead; none of them creates a legal duty to give way. The only sign with a unique shape of its own — the inverted triangle — creates a duty.

The reason this sign is inverted and symbol-free all over the world is safety: the driver must be able to recognise it from a distance, in fog, at night and even when snow has settled on its face and the symbols have become illegible. No other sign has this shape, so ambiguity is zero. Worth memorising for the exam: take shape as your criterion, not colour. Upright triangle = warning, inverted triangle = give way, octagon = stop.

• Sign 1 is the warning triangle for a "junction of equal roads"; it merely announces that a junction lies ahead, where priority is determined by the "right-hand" rule, not by this sign. • Sign 2 warns of "traffic lights ahead". Your duty is set by the lights, not by this sign; the sign itself only makes you slow down. • Sign 4, a triangle with an exclamation mark, means "other dangers"; it is the most general warning sign and creates no specific duty regarding priority. • Sign 5 relates to a narrow section of road and obliges you to give way to the oncoming flow, not to a crossing road. The similarity is in the verb "give way", but the place of application is quite different.

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