Reference
South African road signs
286 signs and road markings, grouped the way the K53 learner's licence test groups them, with what each one means. Every picture on this page is the sign as it appears in the official manual.
Regulatory signs
Regulatory signs are the ones with the force of law behind them. Ignoring a warning sign is careless; ignoring a regulatory sign is an offence, and the learner's licence test treats the difference as something you are expected to know cold.
75 signs
Warning signs
Warning signs tell you what the road is about to do. They do not order you to do anything, which is exactly why people lose marks on them: the answer is almost never 'stop' or 'you may not', it is 'slow down and be ready for this'.
71 signs
Information and guidance signs
Information and guidance signs are the ones you actually read while driving. They do not restrict you and they do not warn you; they tell you where you are, where the road goes, and how much room you have to decide.
84 signs
Road surface markings
The paint on the road carries as much law as the signs beside it, and the test asks about it just as often. A solid white line down the middle of the road is not decoration: crossing it to overtake is an offence, and the only lawful reason to cross it is to reach a property on the other side.
39 signs
Traffic signals
A traffic signal is a regulatory sign that changes its mind, and it outranks every sign and every marking at the intersection it controls. A green arrow beats the painted lane line; a traffic officer beats the signal.
17 signs
Knowing the signs is a third of the test
The signs paper is 28 questions and you may get 5 wrong. The course walks through every family of sign in short video lessons and then asks you about them, including picture questions on the signs themselves.