Motorway signs are usually rectangular with a blue background and white lettering. They provide essential directions, exit numbers, and lane information specifically for high-speed travel on the motorway network.
Start of motorway regulations
Blue direction signs, with the motorway symbol and large route numbers, indicate that a motorway or motorway slip road leads directly from a junction with an all-purpose road
On the approach to a junction with a motorway, a direction sign on an all-purpose road has blue panels that include the motorway symbol. The panels may include the junction number on a black background. The name in capital letters is a regional destination
This sign, with the motorway number in brackets on a blue background, but without the motorway symbol, indicates the route to take from a junction ahead in order to reach the motorway. The motorway is not accessed directly from this junction
This sign is located at the start of the deceleration lane and includes destinations reached by staying on the motorway
Countdown markers indicate the distance to the start of the deceleration lane. Each bar represents about 100 yards
This sign is normally located 1 mile and ½ mile before the junction and shows the appropriate lanes to use for various destinations. In this example, the left-hand lane leads directly to the exit slip road; the centre and right-hand lanes continue through the junction
This sign is used both in advance and at the junction
The central reservation is on the right-hand side
A sign mounted at the side of the motorway shows the arrangement of traffic lanes