Several UK road users say they have never seen the black and white road sign.
A large road sign that looks more at home on a Formula One circuit than a British A-road is leaving motorists baffled, as they say they “have no idea what it means”. Featuring a black and white chequered pattern synonymous with motorsport, the sign is far from a common sight on UK roads — yet a number of drivers have spotted it on their travels and turned to social media in search of answers.
One cyclist posted on the Cycling UK Forum: “I thought I was fairly knowledgeable on road signs. However, I was completely foxed by a sign I saw yesterday at a crossroads…. essentially it’s a huge black and white checkerboard about 10ft x 10ft. There is one on each side of the junction, placed so that when waiting to cross the A30 on the minor road, the sign is right in front of you on the other side.
“Are they there to remind road users that it’s a slightly staggered junction? Some sort of experiment? Or maybe something to do with the nearby Army Air Corps flight school at Middle Wallop? If anyone knows what these are for, I’d be very grateful!”
One known location of the sign is on the B3084 as it intersects the A30 between Salisbury and Winchester. A fellow road user on Reddit commented: “I passed this weird road sign. No idea what it means. It could be military. Anyone out there know what it’s for?” The sign also crops up on the B4455 road near Stratford-upon-Avon. There’s a further example at the B4027 just outside Oxford, where one user commented: “A couple of miles from where I live, never known what it is for.”
Fellow users appeared equally baffled. One remarked: “Twenty-two years of driving, two theory tests (car and bike), driven the length and breadth of the UK and can honestly say I’ve never seen this before.”
Another added: “Genuinely I don’t think I ever came across this sign when learning the Highway Code for my test a few months back! Seems quite obscure.”
What’s its purpose?
The sign doesn’t feature anywhere in the 172-page Know Your Traffic Signs guide issued by the UK Government. Nor does it appear in a Highway Code guide to road signs. Nevertheless, social media users have clarified that the sign seems designed to provide additional warning of a hazard and they’re typically spotted in locations where the presence of a junction requires extra emphasis (for instance, where it might be difficult to notice a minor road crossing another at a crossroads). Consequently, they tend to be positioned near Give Way signs.
A recurring pattern in the responses provided is that the signs tend to emerge on sections of road where people report accidents have traditionally been frequent, reports Wales Online. One user commented: “As others have suggested, I’m pretty sure they are long-range hazard warning signs, particularly intended for night time use. These are common on stretches of The Fosse Way, a Roman road which is therefore arrow straight for long stretches. They appear at junctions where drivers must give way, or where junctions are staggered, and are generally mounted for very long range night time visibility.”
Another responded: “It’s placed on the opposite site of a minor arm at crossroads to alert drivers that they need to give way. Sometimes they’re positioned to screen the road ahead so drivers on the minor arm don’t carry straight through the junction.”
A third chimed in: “It’s for night driving. When driving down that road it illuminates to basically say ‘Hey, slow down, the road ends’ so they don’t fly over it and into the house as it is on an unlit road. It’s like those < or > indicating a turn in the road except this time it merely acts as an advisory.”
