You do not have to memorise every road sign in South Africa, and trying to is why people find this section frightening. Signs follow a system. The shape tells you what kind of sign it is, the colour tells you how serious it is, and once you know that you can read a sign you have genuinely never seen.
Four shapes carry almost everything. A red circle forbids. A blue circle commands. An upward triangle with a red border warns. A blue rectangle informs.
Two shapes are reserved for a single sign each, which is what makes them readable at a distance or when they are filthy: the octagon and the downward triangle.
Why does it matter that the octagon is used only once?
Because you can recognise it when you cannot read it. In fog, at night, or when the face is covered in dust, the shape alone tells you it is a stop sign. The same is true of the downward triangle for yield. No other sign is allowed to use those two shapes.
Before you move on
- Learn the four shapes before you learn any individual sign
- Read the border colour first, then the picture inside
- Remember the octagon and the downward triangle belong to one sign each
Check what you know
3 questions. Have a look at what this lesson asks.
Sign in to take this quiz
Reading is free and always will be. Answering counts towards your progress, your streak and your certificate, so we need to know who you are.
Sign in or create a free accountIt takes a minute and costs nothing.