Warning sign
Road narrows on right sign
What does the Narrows on right sign mean?
Warns that the road ahead gets narrower on the right-hand side. Slow down and check there is room for you and any oncoming traffic.
What it means
The carriageway ahead becomes narrower from the right-hand side. The same sign with the symbol reversed warns that the road narrows on the left.
The straight line is the edge of the road that stays where it is. The line that bends in shows the side that gets narrower.
A narrower road leaves less room to pass oncoming vehicles, cyclists and parked cars. Ease off before the narrowing and be ready to give way if there is not room for both of you.
What the symbol shows
The bending line shows the side that narrows. Two bending lines would mean the road narrows on both sides.
Where you'll see it
Before a road narrows on one side, for example at a bridge, a widened footway or a traffic island.
Rules to know
The sign warns that the road narrows on the right. With the symbol reversed, it warns that the road narrows on the left.
Know Your Traffic Signs, p. 11
Plates used with road narrows signs can say that there is single-file traffic in each direction, or that the road is wide enough for only one line of vehicles.
Know Your Traffic Signs, p. 11
Common mistakes
Mistake: Thinking it only matters to traffic on the right.
Instead: Everyone has less room. Slow down and be ready to give way to oncoming traffic if there is not space for both of you.
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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.
Related signs
Often confused with
Road narrows
Warning sign
Both lines bend in: the road narrows on both sides.
See also
Give way to oncoming vehicles
Regulatory sign
Used where a narrow section can take only one direction at a time.
More warning signs
All warning signs
Sources
- Know Your Traffic Signs (Department for Transport, Sixth edition, 2023), Warning signs, p. 11
- The Highway Code, Traffic signs
Sign image: Department for Transport, Traffic sign images (diagram 517). © 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