A no entry sign is a solid red circle with one white horizontal bar across it, and it means no vehicle may pass the sign in the direction you are facing. It carries no words and no symbol, because it applies to every vehicle without exception. It marks the exit end of a one-way roadway, a service road that runs the other way, or a lane closed to entry.
The official face of the no entry sign
Sign faces on this page are the official diagrams from the South African Road Traffic Signs Manual (SARTSM), which implements the SADC Road Traffic Signs Manual. Codes are the manual’s own. K53 Academia is an independent study resource and is not endorsed by the Road Traffic Management Corporation.
What a no entry sign means
- No vehicle may drive past the sign in the direction it faces. There is no class of vehicle exempted and no time limit on the face of the sign.
- The instruction applies from the sign itself, not from the intersection beyond it. If you have seen the sign you have already reached the point it governs.
- If you meet a no entry sign you have approached a road from the wrong end. Do not reverse into the intersection behind you; continue past the opening and turn where the road allows.
How to recognise it
A red circle with a single white horizontal bar and nothing else on the face.
Learners confuse it with the prohibition signs, which are also red circles. The difference is the bar: a prohibition sign carries a black symbol of the thing being forbidden, usually with a red diagonal band across it. The no entry sign carries no symbol at all.
The white bar runs horizontally, not diagonally. A diagonal band on a circular sign forbids what the symbol underneath it shows; it is not a no entry sign.
No entry and one-way roadways
- The no entry sign is usually one half of a pair. The R4.2 one-way roadway sign marks the end you may enter, and the R3 no entry sign marks the end you may not.
- Seeing a no entry sign on your right as you pass a side road usually means that road is one-way towards you. Do not turn into it.
- Where a road is one-way, the lane markings and the direction of parked vehicles will agree with the signs. If they disagree with what you are about to do, stop and re-read the signs.
The test question about it
The learner's licence test asks this sign by its face: a red circle with a white horizontal line. The answer is no entry.
It is asked inside the 28-question Road Signs section, where you need 23 correct to pass.
What is the difference between a no entry sign and a one-way sign?
A no entry sign forbids you from entering at the end where it stands. A one-way sign tells you the direction traffic runs on that road. They are often used on the same road at opposite ends.
Where this fits in the test
The road signs section of the learner’s licence test is 28 questions and you must get 23 of them right. Signs are asked by face, not by code — you are shown the sign and asked what it means, so learn the shape and colour rule first and the individual faces second.
All control signs · All road signs · Practice questions with answers