“When driving on a local journey, you will probably know where you are going and know the location of the junctions that you will be turning into. However, when following instructions in lesssons and during your driving test, you’ll need to look for clues to the junction location.
In strange areas, after you have passed your driving your test, your ability to spot junctions becomes even more important. Here are some of the clues that you can look for to help you identify junctions.
In town, the gaps in rows of houses or other buildings will give a clue to the location of junctions. Here, we can see a gap in the houses on the left and a car waiting to emerge, followed by more gaps in the houses on the left.
Warning signs are an obvious clue, both in town and on the open road. As soon as you see a warning sign, check your mirrors and start to look for the junction. Here, the white local direction sign indicates a junction ahead.
Also, look out for national direction signs. These are green direction signs placed well ahead beforejunctions.
Finger post signs can often be useful to identify the exact location of a junction. Can you spot the sign on the right pointing into this concealed junction on a bend? Here, you can see a large modern version of a finger post type sign in the centre of a dual carriageway pointing to a junction on the left.
Hazard lines, long lines with short gaps, can offer a clue to the location of junctions. The key points are:
– You need to be able to recognise junctions in advance.
– Look ahead for gaps, houses or vehicles emerging.
– Start to look for junctions as soon as you see warning signs.
– Local and national direction signs show junctions ahead.
– Finger post signs will show the exact location of junctions.
– Hazard warning lines will often be used at junctions.”
