End of motorway sign: what it means

End of motorway sign: a blue square with the white motorway symbol crossed by a red diagonal line
Image: Crown copyright, OGL

The end of motorway sign means motorway regulations end here. Check the speed limit for the road you are joining, as it may well be lower.

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What it means

Know your traffic signs: this sign stands where the motorway ends, on the main carriageway or on an exit slip road. A version with a distance tells you how far it is to the end of the motorway.

Rule 274 warns that after leaving a motorway your speed may be higher than you realise: 50 mph may feel like 30 mph, so check your speedometer.

Where you see it

Where a motorway ends and on exit slip roads.

A common mistake

Keeping motorway speed after the sign. The road you join may have a lower limit, junctions, pedestrians and cyclists.

Quick quiz

What does the Highway Code warn about when you leave a motorway?

  1. Your speed may be higher than you think
  2. You must stop at the end of the slip road
  3. You must switch on your headlights
Show answer

A. Your speed may be higher than you think. Rule 274: 50 mph may feel like 30 mph, so check your speedometer. Source: The Highway Code, rule 274, GOV.UK; Know your traffic signs: motorway signs, signals and road markings, GOV.UK; The Highway Code: traffic signs, GOV.UK; Traffic sign images, Department for Transport, GOV.UK

Compare with

Next in information signs: Countdown markers. See all information signs or the full road signs list.

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Sources

  1. The Highway Code, rule 274, GOV.UK
  2. Know your traffic signs: motorway signs, signals and road markings, GOV.UK
  3. The Highway Code: traffic signs, GOV.UK
  4. Traffic sign images, Department for Transport, GOV.UK

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Traffic sign images are Crown copyright, from the Department for Transport. Sources and image credits.