To get a driver’s license and ride around the city in your own car, you must first learn the signs and current traffic regulations. Without knowing them, you will not be able to get a driver’s license in the traffic police, which is why in driving schools they pay special attention to the topic of studying traffic signs. Of particular difficulty are often the prescriptive signs, some drivers for some reason do not pay attention to them, considering them additional.
What are traffic signs?
A road sign is a graphic design created in accordance with existing state standards. It is installed next to the road in order to bring to the drivers, pedestrians and other traffic participants the information necessary for safe movement on existing highways.
Signs play a huge role in ensuring safe traffic on roads, with their help drivers can learn about dangerous sections of highways, about where it is necessary to reduce speed due to the high risk of road accidents, about where overtaking is allowed and where it is forbidden. They also perform a number of important functions.
Mandatory traffic signs
These signs are mandatory, with the exception of cases when traffic control is carried out by traffic police inspectors. If you do not know what the prescriptive signs look like, they have a round shape, white patterns are displayed on a blue background, they instruct drivers to perform certain actions.
The most commonly used sign is 4.1.1. "The movement is straight." According to him, the driver can only move in this direction, while the action of the sign is not relevant for fixed-route vehicles (bus, trolley, tram). It acts from the place where it is installed, to the first intersection, in the area of its action it is allowed to turn right into adjacent territories and into the courtyard.
How to behave if you see such a sign?
Prescribing road signs 4.1.2-4.1.6 have a similar meaning, only in this case it is allowed to move in the directions indicated by arrows. Those road signs that indicate a left turn also allow you to make a U-turn; in some cases, signs with different configuration of the directional arrows are used.
It should be remembered that route vehicles may ignore these signs. The latter will operate at the intersections of highways in front of which they are installed. It is worth keeping track of exactly which signs are installed on the roadway, you need to remember that they can also restrict movement in one direction or another.
Varieties of prescriptive signs
Separately, it is necessary to highlight the signs with which drivers can see obstacles on the road and go around them, guided by arrows indicating the direction. In this case, the detour, according to the rules, must be completed in the direction indicated by the arrows.
These prescriptive safety signs are usually installed either next to an obstacle, in some cases they are placed on the extra element of the roadway. If necessary, guide racks or racks with signs indicating the desired direction of movement are installed.
Roundabout Circulation
There are prescriptive signs that are installed on the most complex elements of highways, for example, 4.3. "Roundabout Circulation". According to this sign, movement is permitted in the direction indicated by the arrows. It is installed in front of all the entrances to intersections, where a similar traffic pattern operates.
Novice drivers often make a mistake when faced with this sign. If a motorist sees him in front of a roundabout, he does not have any priority in driving. In this case, we are talking about a crossroads of equivalent roads, on which the well-known right-hand rule applies.
Additional elements of the road
In large cities on the road, there are other elements that must be considered when moving by car. In particular, we are talking about the sign "Bicycle path", according to which the movement on mopeds and bicycles is carried out on a special lane allocated on the highway. In some cases, pedestrians can move along this path, drivers should be aware of this. The sign is set at the very beginning of the path; it acts on all participants in the movement to the nearest intersection.
The “Pedestrian path” sign notifies drivers that only pedestrians are allowed to move on a selected section of the carriageway. It is usually installed at the very beginning of the road, its effect extends to the nearest intersection with the motorway. Drivers are not allowed to call into this section, this is strictly punished.
Speed Limit
There are prescriptive signs limiting the speed of motorways and removing this restriction. These are those at which the minimum speed with which the motorist must move along the highway (or a row in it) at which it is located is indicated.
The driver needs to move at a speed the value of which should be not less than the number indicated on the sign, but not more than the maximum value for the highway on which it is located. Sign 4.6 begins to operate from the very beginning of the restriction zone and ends at the location of another sign - 4.7.
Signs for special vehicles
Especially for vehicles that are intended for the transport of dangerous goods, dedicated traffic signs apply. With their help, drivers of these cars can get directions about exactly where they can go. These signs are installed before the intersections of large and not very highways.
All vehicles transporting such substances must have special signs. This vehicle must be driven with all necessary precautions to prevent the leakage of harmful substances and their spread across megacities.
Drivers Responsibility
The traffic signs are one of the main ones used in Russia. For violation of traffic rules, each driver has a certain responsibility. For a simple violation, the driver will have to pay a fine of 500 rubles. If the driver turns around or turns left in the area of the prohibition sign, the fine can be up to 1,500 rubles.
If the driver violates the rules and finds himself in a lane intended for buses and other route vehicles, the fine in this case can be up to 3 thousand rubles (depending on the city of residence). That is why the driver needs to monitor whether there are prescriptive signs on the highway on which he is traveling.
Some people break the rules and find themselves on one-way roads , while moving in the direction opposite to the movement of the main stream. Then the driver will have to pay a fine of 5 thousand rubles, or the inspectors have the right to deprive him of a driver’s license for 6 months.
If desired, the driver has the right to challenge the decision made by the inspectors of the traffic police in relation to him. In some cases, the appeal process is delayed for a long time, so many people prefer to pay the penalty faster and continue on.