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UK Road Signs

Motorway sign

Keep apart 2 chevrons sign

Keep apart 2 chevrons sign: a blue square showing a car with white chevrons painted on the road ahead of it
Sign image: Department for Transport, © Crown copyright

What does the Keep 2 chevrons sign mean?

Keep at least two of the white chevrons painted on the road between you and the vehicle in front.

Also known as: Chevron spacing sign

What it means

Use the chevron markings in the lane to check your distance: keep at least two chevrons between you and the vehicle in front.

On some motorways, white V-shaped chevrons are painted in the middle of each lane, 40 metres apart. Keeping two between you and the vehicle in front gives a safe distance at 70 mph.

This works out at about a two-second gap. In the wet, leave at least double the gap.

Where you'll see it

On motorway stretches with chevron markings painted in the lanes.

Rules to know

  • The chevron markings are spaced 40 metres apart, and keeping two marks between your vehicle and the one in front will provide a safe driving distance at 70 mph.

    Know Your Traffic Signs, p. 103

  • Allow at least a two-second gap between you and the vehicle in front on high-speed roads. The gap should be at least doubled on wet roads and up to ten times greater on icy roads.

    The Highway Code, Rule 126

Common mistakes

  • Mistake: Keeping two chevrons apart in the rain.

    Instead: Two chevrons is for good conditions. Leave at least twice the gap on wet roads.

Test yourself

Recalling the answer helps it stick. Pick an answer to see how you did.

Question 1 of 1

What does this sign mean?

Blue square sign with white words at the top and a car above two white V-shaped road markings

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© Crown copyright. Free to reuse under the Open Government Licence v3.0, as long as the sign is reproduced accurately and not in a misleading context.

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Sources

Sign image: Department for Transport, Traffic sign images (diagram 2933). © Crown copyright, reused under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Last reviewed 6 October 2026. This page explains the sign in our own words; for the full rules, see The Highway Code. How we source and check content