Road signs
Zimbabwe Road Signs and Their Meanings
Why shape matters more than colour memory
The VID screen can show you a sign you have never stared at. If you know the family, you can still answer. Zimbabwe's signs follow the traffic signs regulations, in the same broad families used across the region. Warning signs are triangular. Prohibitory signs are circular with a red border. Mandatory signs are blue circles. Information and direction signs are rectangular.
The stop sign is the famous exception of shape: an octagon, and it means a complete stop. The yield, or give-way, sign is an inverted triangle and means give way to traffic on the road you are joining. It is not a full stop if that road is empty.
A first set to know cold
- Speed limit: number in a red circle. That number is the maximum in kilometres per hour.
- No entry, no overtaking, no parking, no U-turn: red circle with the action crossed or barred.
- Keep left, turn left, ahead only, roundabout: blue circle. You must do what it shows.
- Junction ahead, curve, children, animals: red triangle. Slow and look. The triangle itself is not a stop.
- Hospital, filling station, parking, directions: rectangle.
Each family has its own page. Then do the practice questions. The rest of the sign bank is in PassDrive, after 4 free lessons, at US$4.99 for unlimited access.
Free practice question
These are PassDrive practice examples, written so you learn the rule. The VID screen randomises its questions, so the wording on the day will be different.
Practice
A red-bordered triangle shows a side-road junction. What must you do?
- Stop completely, even if the road is empty
- Treat it as a warning, slow down, and be ready for traffic at the junction
- Overtake before the junction
- It sets a minimum speed
Show the answer
B. Treat it as a warning, slow down, and be ready for traffic at the junction. Warning signs inform you of a hazard ahead. They do not, by themselves, order a stop. A stop sign or a red light does that.
Questions people ask
Are old yellow signs still in the test?
Learn the meaning, not only the newest artwork. The test cares what the sign orders you to do.
Where are the official drawings?
In the traffic signs regulations and on the road. Our pictures are simplified study diagrams so the shape is obvious.