The system behind the signs

743 questions — over a third of the bank. Learning 183 signs one at a time is impossible and unnecessary: they form a system, and the system reads at a glance.

The code letter is the group, and the group is the meaning

The full [sign reference](/en/signs) lists, for every sign, what it gets confused with.

Try it yourself: [priority signs](/en/oefenen?onderwerp=signs-priority) — 34 questions.

Shape and colour are the second clue

Round with a red rim forbids or sets a limit. Triangular with a red rim warns. Blue rectangular informs or permits. Sign [A01](/en/signs/A01) is binding, while the similar-looking [A04](/en/signs/A04) is only advice — you can tell them apart by colour and shape without knowing any codes.

Try it yourself: [prohibition signs](/en/oefenen?onderwerp=signs-prohibition) — 212 questions.

Markings are traffic signs too

Shark’s teeth and the stop line are full traffic signs: they govern priority just as a board does, and art. 63 places them above the right-hand rule. Newcomers look for a board, fail to find one, and apply the right-hand rule where it does not hold.

In detail in the [shark’s teeth](/en/tables/haaientanden) table.

Try it yourself: [road markings](/en/oefenen?onderwerp=road-markings) — 18 questions.

What overrides what

The controller’s instruction outranks the lights, the lights outrank the signs, the signs outrank the general rules. That is art. 84, and it is also the most common motif in questions about roadworks.

Try it yourself: [lights and controllers](/en/oefenen?onderwerp=traffic-lights-regulator) — 20 questions.

What to remember

An unfamiliar sign reads from three things: the code letter, the shape, the colour. If the meaning does not come together, open the sign and read the “confused with” field — that is almost always where the mistake sits.