4.1 Informative, Direction, Route-Number and Expressway Signs
Key Takeaways
National-highway direction signs IS(NH) are green with white lettering; provincial-road signs IS(PR) are white with black lettering; expressway signs IS(EX) are blue with white lettering.
Regulation 42(1) requires words on informative signs to be in Sinhala, Tamil and English.
OSD-02, a blue rectangle with a white upward arrow, is the informative One Way Traffic sign; OSD-01 marks a pedestrian crossing and OSD-06 a bus stop.
OSD-16 marks the entrance to an expressway, where special rules begin; OSD-17 marks the end of the expressway.
RDA expressway rules: move to the outer lane about 500 m before your exit, never reverse after missing an exit, and call 1969 in an emergency.
4.1 Informative, Direction, Route-Number and Expressway Signs
Informative signs do not give orders. They tell you where you are, where a road leads and where facilities are. They are still examined, because the DMT sample paper asks you to tell an informative sign apart from a prohibitory, mandatory or warning sign. A classic question shows a blue rectangle with a white upward arrow and asks whether it is a prohibitory, warning, regulatory or informative sign. It is informative (OSD-02 One Way Traffic).
All of these signs are set out in Schedule III of the Motor Traffic (Signs, Signals, Symbols and Road Markings) Regulations No. 02 of 2015 (Gazette Extraordinary No. 1940/21).
1. The Four Kinds of Informative Sign
Regulation 14 groups informative signs into:
- Advance direction signs: map-type or stack-type boards before a junction or interchange, naming destinations and route numbers.
- Direction signs: at the junction, pointing along each road, often with distances.
- Place identification signs: the beginning and end of an administrative area (IS(NH)-10 and IS(NH)-11).
- Confirmatory signs: after a junction or when leaving a town, naming places ahead with distances in kilometres.
There are also "other signs useful for drivers" (the OSD series) for facilities such as parking, hospitals and bus stops.
Regulation 42(1) requires any words on informative and miscellaneous signs to be in Sinhala, Tamil and English.
2. Colour Tells You the Road Category
The Schedule III colour table fixes the colours. They are not the same as in many other countries, so learn them:
| Road category | Sign series | Background | Lettering and border |
|---|---|---|---|
| National highways ("A" and "B" class roads) | IS(NH)-01 to IS(NH)-11 | Green | White |
| Provincial roads | IS(PR)-01 to IS(PR)-05 | White | Black |
| Expressways | IS(EX)-01 to IS(EX)-07 | Blue | White |
| Facilities and other useful signs | OSD series | Mostly blue squares or rectangles | White, sometimes with a white inset carrying a black symbol |
Important
On Sri Lankan roads, green direction boards belong to the national A and B highway network, and blue direction boards belong to expressways. Do not carry over another country's colour scheme into the exam.
Route-number signs
| Code | Used for | Colours |
|---|---|---|
| RNS-01 | "A" class national highways (for example A1, A2) | White on green |
| RNS-02 | "B" class national highways | White on green |
| RNS-03 | Non-national roads (provincial and Pradeshiya Sabha roads) | White on green |
| RNS-04 | Expressways (for example E01, E02, E03, E04) | White on blue |
The expressway network uses "E" numbers: E01 Southern Expressway, E02 Outer Circular Expressway, E03 Colombo–Katunayake Expressway and E04 Central Expressway.
3. Useful-Information Signs (OSD Series)
| Code | Sign | What it tells you |
|---|---|---|
| OSD-01 | Pedestrian Crossing | A blue square with a white triangle containing a black walking figure, placed at the crossing (the yellow DWS-32 diamond warns of it in advance) |
| OSD-02 | One Way Traffic | You are on a one-way road |
| OSD-03 | Hospital | A hospital is near: take extra care and keep noise down |
| OSD-04 | Parking | A white "P" on blue: a parking place |
| OSD-05 | Parking for (reserved) | Parking reserved for a particular class of user |
| OSD-06 | Bus Stop | A halting place for buses. No vehicle may halt or park within the distance fixed by regulation 13(8) (see section 2.3) |
| OSD-07 / OSD-08 | Bus only Lane Begins / Ends | The start and end of a bus lane |
| OSD-09 to OSD-12 | Cycle lane, and cycle-and-pedestrian lane, begins / ends | Lanes reserved for cyclists, or for cyclists and pedestrians |
| OSD-13 | Streets for Pedestrians | A pedestrian street |
| OSD-14 / OSD-15 | Pedestrian Underpass / Overpass | Where to cross safely |
| OSD-16 | Entrance to an Expressway | Special expressway rules begin |
| OSD-17 | End of Expressway | Expressway rules cease to apply |
| OSD-18 to OSD-25 | Public telephone, information centre, industrial area, restaurant, refreshments, hotel, filling station, breakdown service | Roadside facilities |
Additional panels API-01 and API-02 give the distance to a facility or the length of the area it covers.
4. Expressway Signs and Expressway Driving
Expressway signs follow the blue IS(EX) series:
- IS(EX)-01 / IS(EX)-02: map-type advance direction signs giving the distance to the next interchange, the destinations reached from it and their route numbers.
- IS(EX)-03: the exit-ramp advance sign, showing where the interchange is, the distance and the exit number.
- IS(EX)-04: overhead lane-assignment signs showing which lane leads to which destination.
- IS(EX)-05: overhead advance direction signs.
- IS(EX)-06: the exit-ramp direction sign at the point of exit.
- IS(EX)-07: overhead confirmatory signs naming the major towns ahead and their distances.
The Road Development Authority's Expressway Operation, Maintenance and Management Division publishes the expressway user rules. The key points for a light-vehicle driver are:
- Use the outer (left) lane for normal driving and the inner lane only for overtaking. After overtaking, return to the outer lane.
- Move into the outer lane about 500 m before your exit, signal left and slow down in the deceleration lane, not on the main carriageway.
- Never reverse or turn back if you miss an exit. Continue to the next interchange and return from there.
- If you break down, switch on the hazard lights, move into the emergency lane as far left as possible and call the expressway emergency number 1969. At night, place a reflective triangle about 200 m behind the vehicle. Marker posts every 100 m help you report your position.
- Keep the entry ticket, because the toll is calculated at the exit. The Colombo–Katunayake Expressway also offers electronic toll collection.
Tip
In the exam, map the colours to an action: green or white board, normal road destination; blue board with an "E" number, expressway; blue square with a symbol, a facility; yellow diamond, a warning; red ring, an order.
5. Practice Reasoning
- A blue rectangle with a white arrow pointing straight up and no red arrow is OSD-02 One Way Traffic (informative). If a smaller red arrow points down beside it, it is PRS-06 Priority over Oncoming Traffic (a priority sign, section 3.3).
- A green board naming Kandy with "A1" in a panel is a national-highway direction sign.
- A blue board showing "E01" and an exit number is an expressway sign. Begin moving into the outer lane, because the exit is coming.
Under Schedule III of the 2015 signs regulations, what colours are used for direction signs on Sri Lanka's expressways?
Green background with white lettering
Brown background with white lettering
Yellow background with black lettering
Blue background with white lettering
You see a blue rectangular sign with a single white arrow pointing straight up and no other arrow. What kind of sign is it?
An informative sign: One Way Traffic (OSD-02)
A prohibitory sign forbidding straight-ahead travel
A danger warning sign for a steep hill
A priority sign giving you priority over oncoming traffic
You are on the Southern Expressway and realise you have just passed your exit. What do the RDA's expressway rules require?
Stop on the hard shoulder and reverse carefully to the exit
Make a U-turn through a gap in the central median
Continue to the next interchange and return from there
Stop in the outer lane and ask the police for an escort
Sections you finish are checked off in the contents.