Regulatory sign
Maximum length sign
What does the Maximum length sign mean?
Vehicles, or vehicles with trailers, longer than the length shown must not go past this sign.
Also known as: Length restriction
What it means
No vehicle or combination of vehicles longer than the length shown may go beyond the sign.
The lorry and the arrows along the bottom show a limit on length.
The limit includes anything you are towing. Long vehicles may not be able to get round tight bends or junctions on the road ahead.
Where you'll see it
Before roads with tight bends, narrow junctions or turning spaces that long vehicles cannot use.
Rules to know
The sign means no vehicles or combinations of vehicles over the maximum length shown.
Know Your Traffic Signs, p. 18
You must obey traffic signs giving orders.
The Highway Code, Rule 109
Common mistakes
Mistake: Forgetting the trailer.
Instead: The limit applies to the whole combination, including a trailer or caravan.
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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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Maximum width
Regulatory sign
A limit on width.
See also
No towed caravans
Regulatory sign
Bans towed caravans.
More regulatory signs
All regulatory signs
Sources
- Know Your Traffic Signs (Department for Transport, Sixth edition, 2023), Regulatory signs, p. 18
- The Highway Code, Rule 109
Sign image: Department for Transport, Traffic sign images (diagram 629.1). © 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