Study guide
2.3 Regulatory Signs: Prohibitions and Mandatory Orders
Barbados Regulation Examination Exam
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1 Chapter 1: The Regulation Examination and the Licensing Path
1.1 The Regulation Examination: Facts, Booking and Study Plan 1.2 Learner's Permit Conditions and Supervision 1.3 Driving Test, Licence Classes, Renewal and Demerit Points
2 Chapter 2: Traffic Signs
2.1 Sign Shapes, Colours and Legal Force 2.2 Warning Signs in the Ninth Schedule 2.3 Regulatory Signs: Prohibitions and Mandatory Orders 2.4 Information Signs, Temporary Signs and Construction Zones
3 Chapter 3: Light Signals, Driver Signals and Police Directions
3.1 Traffic Light Signals 3.2 Driver Signals, the Horn and Police Directions
4 Chapter 4: Road Markings and Pedestrian Crossings
4.1 Road Markings and Lane Use 4.2 Pedestrian Crossings
5 Chapter 5: Road Position, Overtaking, Junctions and Roundabouts
5.1 Keeping Left, Being Overtaken and Overtaking 5.2 Junctions, Turning and Emerging 5.3 Roundabouts
6 Chapter 6: Speed Limits and Stopping Distances
6.1 Barbados Speed Limits 6.2 Following Distance and Stopping Distance
7 Chapter 7: Stopping, Parking and Lights
7.1 Stopping, Waiting and Parking Rules 7.2 Lighting-Up Times and Use of Lights
8 Chapter 8: Vehicle Condition, Loads and Occupant Safety
8.1 Vehicle Condition, Equipment, Loads and Towing 8.2 Seat Belts and Child Safety Seats
9 Chapter 9: Alcohol, Drugs, Distraction and Fitness to Drive
9.1 Alcohol, Drugs and the Breath-Test Law 9.2 Phones, Distractions, Fatigue and Fitness to Drive
10 Chapter 10: Sharing the Road
10.1 Pedestrians, Children and Processions 10.2 Cyclists and Motorcyclists 10.3 Animals, Animal-Drawn Vehicles and Slow Traffic 10.4 Emergency Vehicles, Buses and Public Service Vehicles
11 Chapter 11: Accidents, Insurance and Traffic Offences
11.1 Duties After an Accident 11.2 Insurance, Documents and Traffic Offences
12 Chapter 12: Defensive Driving and Emergencies
12.1 Defensive Driving and Hazard Perception 12.2 Rain, Night, Breakdowns and Emergencies
2.3 Regulatory Signs: Prohibitions and Mandatory Orders
Key Takeaways Explain This Topic AI
No entry is a red disc with a white horizontal bar; a plain red ring means all vehicles are prohibited in both directions.
The no-overtaking sign shows two cars side by side inside a red ring.
No waiting has a single diagonal across a red-bordered disc; no stopping on the carriageway has two diagonals forming a cross.
Blue circles order an action: keep left, pass either side, ahead only, turn right, turn left ahead.
A speed-limit sign is a red ring with a number in km/h, and the end of a limit is a white disc with a black diagonal band.
Last updated: October 2026
Regulatory signs give orders . Breaking them is an offence under regulation 103, and some breaches carry demerit points: failing to obey a stop sign is in the 4-point group of the Sixth Schedule to the Road Traffic Act. This section goes through every order sign drawn in the Ninth Schedule to the Road Traffic Regulations, 1984.
Priority signs
- Sign Description Your duty
- STOP Red octagon with the word STOP Stop completely at the stop line, then go only when you can do so safely
GIVE WAY Inverted triangle with the words GIVE WAY Give way to traffic on the major road, stopping if necessary
Advance warning of STOP sign Inverted triangle with a "STOP" plate showing a distance, for example 75 m A STOP sign is ahead; slow down and be ready to stop
At a STOP sign you must stop even if you can see that the road is empty. At a GIVE WAY sign you may continue without stopping if the way is clear, but you must not make a vehicle on the major road slow down or swerve.
Prohibitions: what you must not do
These are circles with a red ring or a red disc.
No entry : a red disc with a white horizontal bar. Vehicles must not enter, for example at the "wrong" end of a one-way street. Barbados test papers describe it as "a red circular road sign with a rectangular white line in the middle."
All vehicles prohibited in both directions : a plain white disc inside a red ring. No vehicle may use the road from either end.
All motor vehicles prohibited : a red ring showing a car and a motorcycle. Motor vehicles may not enter, though pedal cycles and pedestrians may.
Cycles and mopeds prohibited : a red ring showing a bicycle.
No left turn , no right turn and no U turns : a black arrow struck through by a red diagonal.
No overtaking : two cars side by side inside a red ring. You must not overtake moving motor vehicles until the restriction ends.
Laden weight limit : a red ring with a weight such as "10 TONNES." Vehicles heavier than that when loaded must not pass.
Speed limit : a red ring with a number, which is the maximum in kilometres per hour . The end of speed limit sign is a white disc crossed by a black diagonal band. After it, the general limit for your class of vehicle applies (see 6.1).
No waiting : a disc with a red border and one red diagonal. You may stop briefly to pick up or set down passengers, but you must not wait.
No stopping on carriageway : a disc with a red border and two red diagonals forming a cross. You must not stop on the carriageway at all, not even to set down a passenger.
Tip
One stroke = no waiting. Two strokes (a cross) = no stopping.
Mandatory signs: what you must do
These are blue circles with white symbols.
Sign Meaning
Keep left (arrow pointing down to the left) Pass to the left of the sign, usually at a traffic island or the start of a central reservation
- Pass either side (two arrows) You may pass on either side of the island
- Ahead only (upward arrow) Go straight on; you may not turn
- Turn right (arrow bent to the right) Turn right here
- Turn left ahead (arrow turning left beyond the junction mouth) Turn left at the junction ahead
Do not confuse the blue circular "ahead only" sign with the rectangular one-way street sign . The circle is an order at that point. The rectangle tells you that all traffic on that road flows one way (see 2.4).
Applying regulatory signs correctly
Orders apply whatever the traffic. A no-entry or no-right-turn sign applies at 3 am on an empty road.
Combine sign and markings. A STOP sign usually has a solid stop line. Stop with the front of the vehicle behind it, then edge forward to look if your view is blocked.
Watch for plates. Times, vehicle types and distances on plates limit or extend the order.
Police directions come first. If a uniformed officer directs traffic, follow the officer (see 3.2).
Exam traps with order signs
STOP versus GIVE WAY. Only STOP requires a stop every time. Rolling slowly past a STOP line without stopping is failing to obey the sign, even when the road is empty.
"Red circle" does not always mean the same thing. A red disc with a white bar is no entry. A red ring around a white centre is all vehicles prohibited. A red ring with a symbol prohibits only what the symbol shows.
Blue circle versus blue rectangle. Circles are orders. A rectangle is information, even when it contains an arrow.
End of a limit. The black diagonal band does not mean "no limit". It means the general limit for your vehicle now applies, which is 60 km/h for most cars.