Warning signs are the biggest class on the chart: 34 of the 83 signs. They are triangles with a red border, point up, with a black picture on white. A warning sign never orders you to do anything. It tells you what is coming, so you have time to slow down and get ready before you reach it.
That makes them easy to recognise and hard to master. The shape gives the class away from far off, but the pictures are small, many come in mirror-image pairs, and the test expects you to name the exact one.
Read the shape first, then the picture
Every Kenyan road sign gives its job away by shape and colour before you can make out the symbol:
- A red triangle, point up, warns. Something is ahead.
- A blue circle orders. See mandatory signs.
- A red ring forbids or sets a limit. See prohibitory signs.
- A triangle standing on its point is Give way, and the octagon is Stop. Those two are priority signs, not warnings, even though Give way is a triangle too.
So when you see a triangle, you already know two things: nobody is giving you an order, and you should ease off and look for the thing in the picture.
The five groups
Learning 34 signs one by one is slow. Grouping them by what they warn about makes each new sign easier to place.
The shape of the road. Bend left, bend right, successive bends to the left and to the right, steep descent and steep ascent, and the three narrowing signs: both sides, from the right and from the left. These show the road as a thick black line or a pair of strips, so read the line like a map of what's ahead.
The surface. Uneven road, severe bump, severe dip, slippery road and loose surface. Each one is about how the road will feel under your tyres, so each one means slowing before you reach it, not on it.
People and animals. Pedestrian crossing, children crossing, cyclists, cattle and wild animals. These are about something that moves, so the danger can be anywhere near the sign, not at one exact point.
Junctions and traffic. Road junction, the junction signs that show a road joining or a stop ahead, traffic lights, two-way traffic and roundabout. These warn you that someone else will soon share your space.
Crossings and one-offs. Rail crossing with barrier, rail crossing without barrier, river bank or quayside, falling rocks, road works, low-flying aircraft and the general hazard sign, an exclamation mark that names no particular danger.
The pairs people mix up
Most mistakes with warning signs aren't about not knowing a sign. They're about reading the right sign backwards.
- Bend left and bend right. Look at where the top of the black line leans. It points the way the road goes.
- One bend or several. A single kink is one bend. A zigzag is a series, and the first step of the zigzag shows the first bend.
- Steep descent and steep ascent. Follow the slope from left to right and look at the little car's nose: tipped down is a descent, tipped up is a climb.
- Which side narrows. On the one-sided narrowing signs, find the strip that stays straight. The other side is the one closing in.
- Bump, dip and uneven road. One hump rising out of the road is a bump. One hollow cut into it is a dip. Two humps mean a rough stretch that goes on.
- Pedestrians and children. One adult walking over stripes is a crossing. Two children holding hands, with no stripes, means children may cross anywhere nearby.
- Cattle and wild animals. A standing cow usually comes with a herder. A leaping antelope means wildlife with nobody controlling it.
- The two rail crossings. A gate means a barrier should come down. A steam train means there's no barrier, and spotting the train is your job.
How far ahead the warning comes
Warning signs are put up before the hazard, not at it. The Ministry of Roads road signs manual says bigger warning signs are used on faster roads and placed further back from the hazard, so that a driver has time to take in the message and finish slowing down or moving over before reaching it.
That's why the right response is to act on the straight, as soon as you see the sign. On a bend, slow down before you turn in, not halfway round. Before a dip or a bump, brake while the road is still flat.
The same manual describes how junction warning signs show which road matters more: the arms of the road symbol are drawn at different thicknesses, and the thicker arm is the more important road. If the road you're on is drawn thick and the side road thin, you are on the main road, but you should still expect traffic to come out.
How to learn them
Grouped like this, the 34 warning signs become five small sets. Learn one group at a time on the Pelican chart trainer, say each name out loud before you reveal it, and come back on a different day to see which ones stuck. Spin the same signs in 3D to practise naming them from an angle, the way you'll actually see them from the driver's seat. For the method behind this, read how to memorise Kenyan road signs.
All 34 warning signs
- Bend leftEase off and steer gently left. Stay left of the centre of the road, and expect oncoming vehicles to cut the corner.
- Bend rightEase off and steer gently right. Hold your lane, and look out for oncoming vehicles and pedestrians on the bend.
- Successive bends to the leftSlow down before the first bend, stay well inside your lane through each curve, and don't overtake.
- Successive bends to the rightSlow down before the first bend, stay well inside your lane through each curve, and don't overtake.
- Steep descent aheadShift to a lower gear before you start down. Don't keep your foot on the brake the whole way, stay in control, and leave room to the vehicle in front.
- Steep ascent aheadShift to a lower gear to keep your power up, and expect slow vehicles ahead. Only overtake on the climb if you can see clearly.
- Road narrows aheadSlow down and be ready to give way to oncoming traffic. Don't try to overtake where the road gets narrow.
- Road narrows from rightThe right side of the road closes in. Slow down, keep left, and give way to oncoming traffic if you need to.
- Road narrows from leftThe left side of the road closes in. Slow down, keep right, and look out for pedestrians or obstacles on the left.
- River bank or quaysideSlow right down and don't park close to the edge. The road may end suddenly at a bank or the water.
- Uneven road surface aheadSlow down so you stay in control, and grip the steering wheel firmly. Motorcyclists need extra care here.
- Severe bump aheadSlow down well before you reach the bump. Hitting it fast can damage your vehicle and make you lose control.
- Severe dip aheadSlow down. Taken too fast, your vehicle can hit the ground or leave it altogether. Water may also collect in the dip.
- River bend crossing (drift) aheadSlow down and check how deep the water is before you cross. Stay out if it's running fast or too deep to be safe.
- Slippery roadSlow down straight away. No sudden braking, accelerating or sharp steering, and leave a bigger gap to the vehicle ahead.
- Loose surface roadSlow down, because loose gravel can make you skid. Leave a bigger gap so stones thrown up don't cause damage.
- Danger of falling and fallen rocks aheadDrive carefully and look out for rocks on or beside the road. Don't stop or park below rocky slopes.
- Pedestrian crossingSlow down and get ready to stop. Give way to anyone on the crossing or about to step onto it.
- Children crossing aheadSlow right down and stay extra alert. Children can step out without warning, so be ready to stop at any moment.
- CyclistsLook out for cyclists on the road or joining it. Give them plenty of room when you overtake.
- Cattle crossing aheadSlow down and look out for animals on the road. You must stop if the person in charge of them signals you to, and wait until they've cleared.
- Wild animalsSlow down and check the road edges for animals. Aggressive hooting can panic them into your path, so avoid it.
- Road works aheadSlow down and follow the temporary signs or flagmen. Expect changed lanes, rough surfaces and people working close to the road.
- Traffic light signals aheadSlow down, and get ready to stop and obey the lights. Don't speed up to beat them.
- Low-flying aircraft crossing aheadAircraft may fly very low nearby, usually close to an airstrip, and the sudden noise can startle you. Keep a firm grip and stay in control.
- Two-way traffic aheadYou're moving onto a road with traffic both ways. Keep left, look out for oncoming vehicles, and stay on your side of the centre line.
- Hazard aheadThere's a danger ahead that the sign doesn't name. Slow down, stay alert and go carefully.
- Road junction aheadThere's a junction coming up. Check your mirrors, slow down, and look out for vehicles coming in from side roads.
- Junction ahead: stop or give wayGet ready to stop or give way at the junction ahead. Do what the sign there tells you.
- Junction ahead with road entering from rightAnother road joins from the right. Look out for vehicles merging, and be ready to change your speed or position.
- Junction ahead with acceleration lane from rightVehicles may join from an acceleration lane on the right. Hold a steady speed so they can merge safely.
- Roundabout aheadSlow down and give way to traffic already on the roundabout. Signal before you leave it.
- Rail crossing with barrierStop when the barriers are down or the lights are flashing. Wait until the barriers are fully up and it's safe before you cross.
- Rail crossing without barrierSlow down, look both ways and listen for trains before you cross. Never try to beat a train to the crossing.
Sources
- Design Manual for Roads and Bridges, Part 5a: Road Signs, Ministry of Roads, draft of December 2009. Chapter 6 covers warning signs, their sizes and how far ahead of a hazard they go.
- The sign artwork and codes are from the chart used in the DriveRush trainers.