But Don't You Let Them Trivia Quiz

As can be seen by looking at the images, the (almost) universal symbol used on road signs around the world to indicate that something is not allowed is a red circle with a red slash. The centre of the sign then has some graphic representation of what is being forbidden.

In this case, an arrow pointing straight ahead would allow you to go forward; the red slash means you are not allowed to continue.

This one was new to me - I am used to see signs using words for this message, and took a while to figure it out. It shows two vehicles travelling in the same direction, with one swerving out to move around the other. This process is called overtaking, although when I grew up we used to call it passing, which is technically what happens when the vehicles are moving in opposite directions.

In parts of the world with single-lane roads and (especially) bridges, the difference is important.

The black arrow showing the direction in which your vehicle is travelling has a right-angled bend towards the right, indicating the act of turning off the current road into a side or cross road. The sign lets you know that you are not allowed to do that at this intersection.

Often this sign will be seen with times underneath it on a white rectangular sign. This indicates that the turn is only forbidden at certain times - usually peak traffic hours, when the delay caused by someone trying to turn across oncoming traffic will substantially delay the other vehicles on the road. In countries where vehicles travel on the right side of the road, it is more common to see a sign indicating that turning left is not allowed.

That human figure stepping out onto the grey area is about to be walking on a road which is not designed for pedestrian traffic, at least at that point. It may be posted near the entry ramp to a high-speed road, to make it clear that there is no safe way for pedestrians to use the highway.

It could also be posted near an uncontrolled intersection, to keep people from trying to dodge through traffic to get across the road.

Nobody wants an explosion on the road! While it is often necessary to transport dangerous goods by road, many cities have designated routes which can be used by such vehicles, and other parts of the urban network where they are not allowed to go. Generally they are banned from the more densely-populated areas.

I love the stylised horns seen in several of these signs - they recall the early days of automobiles. While modern car horns are discreetly concealed, and controlled by pushing a button or pressing a trigger pad, they still make a loud noise. As they should, since their purpose is to alert others to some impending danger.

Many locales have rules against improper use of the horn (often to vent some sort of frustration, such as a driver who doesn't seem willing to leap into a space that looks fine to the one in the following car), but some cities have bans on using them at all in certain parts of the city. In 2017, they were completely banned in Kathmandu.

Other cities may have night-time bans on honking your horn, in which case a sign like this would also have a nearby sign to indicate the times when it is in effect. This is generally in residential areas during the night hours when many people are sleeping. Drivers are expected to flash their lights as a substitute for using their horns.

This sign would be seen as you approach an area such as an overhead bridge or a tunnel, where vehicles have to fit under the top of the structure. In this case, a load that is more than 4.5 metres (15 feet) above the surface of the road is going to get into trouble, and must not proceed.

Despite signs like this, trucks getting stuck under bridges can be a regular occurrence. In Melbourne, Australia, the Montague Street Bridge is infamous for the drivers who ignore the warning and get stuck, disrupting traffic for hours. It happens so often that a month without an incident is likely to make the evening news (on a slow news day).

The English explanation of this sign from the Netherlands advises that it applies to "All saddle animals, including donkey, elephant, horse and so on". I leave it to you to imagine why the elephants needed a specific mention!

It is interesting that the Netherlands is the only one of the countries from which road signs were sourced that uses just a red circle to indicate banning. The otherwise ubiquitous red slash is apparently felt to be superfluous there.

As is the case for several of the signs in this quiz, this sign is likely to be posted near the entrance to a highway, where traffic will be travelling at high speed, and there has been no provision made for a safe lane that bicycles can use. It may also be seen in outer suburban areas at the start of a stretch of road which has a separate bicycle path running alongside, to make it clear to cyclists that they are to use the path, not the main road.

This Korean sign actually also bans rotary tillers, shown on the left side of the image. The most likely place to see a sign like this is a rural highway, where farmers might be tempted to use the road to move their farm equipment from one field to another. Because they are very slow-moving compared to the automobiles using the same road, they pose a danger of collision.

Some places impose lowered speed limits on the road traffic in areas where farm equipment may want to use the road for a short stretch; others let the car rule, and ban the tractors.

This sign is not as common as those indicating a restriction on height or width for vehicles using a particular road, as those are often posted for the obvious reason that the vehicle simply won't fit. But sometimes length can also be an issue, especially when the road has a lot of sharp curves, so that an overlength vehicle will spend too much time on the wrong side of the road as it negotiates them.

This sign is actually posed in positive terms, indicating that a truck up top 10 metres (40 feet) in length will be allowed.

This Korean sign describes it as handcarts that are banned; signs from other countries such as Hungary and Poland are described as banning wheelbarrows. Whatever you call them, it is not hard to work out that the human figure is pushing some kind of wheeled object. Like the horse riders, cyclists and pedestrians seen in other signs (and the horse-drawn vehicles whose sign missed the cut), these bans are designed to protect vulnerable people being exposed to the dangers of high-speed automobiles.

This U-turn is being banned in a country where traffic drives on the right - the traffic going in the opposite direction starts on your left. In countries where traffic drives on the left, the arrow bends the other way. The red slash still indicates that this is an intersection or a break in a divided road where you are not allowed to take advantage of the opportunity to get to the other side of the divide and travel back towards where you came.

Sometimes you will see signs that indicate U-turns are allowed. They will have no red slash (of course), and usually are accompanied by an admonition to watch for pedestrians, or to give way to oncoming traffic as you make the turn.

You need to blend a couple of messages to sort this one out. Fortunately, while looking for a parking spot you are not likely to be travelling at high speed, and have time available. The top circle indicates that you can only park there if you display an appropriate permit disc, and the symbols underneath show how one qualifies for that permit.

The wheelchair (with or without a figure) is a widely-used symbol to indicate people with mobility issues. The P indicates that the permit may be given for cases with a less obvious disability.

Here is another sign that tries to pose the rule in a positive way. If you keep a distance of 50 metres (150+ feet) between yourself and the car ahead of you, you will have plenty of room to top safely in an emergency situation. According to the sign. A safe distance depends on your reaction time and the road surface, as well as your speed. With a 2.5 second reaction time on a level dry road, 50 metres is about the distance you need to leave if you are travelling at 50 kph (30 mph), so this sign is probably posted on a suburban road that carries a lot of traffic, but not on a highway!

Travelling too close for safety is called tailgating, a term that has its origins in a pickup truck or ute with a tailgate that drops down to facilitate moving loads in and out. If you are too close, you might get hit by a falling tailgate!