PassYellow means temporary
Where: Anywhere the normal condition of the road has changed — roadworks, maintenance, construction, a collision scene, temporary traffic control, school grounds and scholar patrols.
Purpose: To say that normal standards no longer apply here. The official manual puts it plainly: a sign with a yellow background is a temporary sign, used to indicate a change in normal circumstances, whether for a few minutes, a few hours or several months.
Action Required by Driver: Give a temporary sign more attention than you would give the permanent sign it replaces, not less. The hazard it warns of was not there last week, so nothing about the road is familiar — and the people working beside it have nothing between them and your vehicle.
The Letter T
Every sign has a number, and some begin with T
Each road traffic sign in the official manual carries a code — W101, R201, GA3 and so on. A code beginning with T is the temporary version of that same sign. So W336 and TW336 carry the same message; the TW version is the one on a yellow face at a roadworks site.
You will not be asked to recite code numbers in the test. What matters is the idea behind them: for most permanent signs there is a matching temporary one, and the only visible difference is the yellow face.
A temporary sign outranks the permanent one
Where a temporary sign contradicts a permanent sign, the temporary sign wins. A permanent 120 km/h limit means nothing where a temporary 60 km/h sign is standing. The same goes for a temporary lane closure over permanent lane markings, and for a traffic officer directing you against a signal — the most immediate instruction is the one you follow.
Where temporary signs appear most
- Road works and maintenance — the commonest, often with a stop/go control.
- Construction and building sites — watch for vehicles turning across your path.
- Collision scenes — expect emergency vehicles, debris and people on foot.
- Temporary traffic control — including school grounds and scholar patrols.
In the test
If you are shown two versions of one sign and asked what the difference is, the answer is almost always that the yellow one is temporary. Watch for options claiming the yellow version is a warning and the white one a command — the colour of the face does not change the type of sign, only whether it is permanent.