Pedestrian warningUnited Kingdom
Traffic rules
United Kingdom
5. Pedestrian warning
A pedestrian warning is a traffic warning indicating that pedestrians may be crossing or entering the roadway ahead. It is commonly used near pedestrian crossings or other locations where drivers need advance notice of frequent pedestrian activity.
Drivers approaching a pedestrian warning should reduce speed when necessary, watch carefully for pedestrians and be prepared to stop. The design of the warning sign and the priority rules at the crossing vary between countries.
Wikimedia.org • Ethan Prater • CC BY
How should I react to a pedestrian warning in the United Kingdom?
Reduce speed, look along both sides of the road and be ready to stop. The warning identifies a pedestrian hazard ahead; children, people with limited mobility or others may enter the road unexpectedly.
🔗 gov.uk • Great Britain Highway Code: Rules 170,191–199; pedestrians and crossings
🔗 gov.uk • DfT Know Your Traffic Signs: warning signs (Great Britain)
Does a pedestrian warning in the United Kingdom identify the crossing itself?
Not necessarily. An advance warning alerts you to danger ahead. The actual crossing is identified by its own signs, markings or signals. Apply the crossing rules when you reach it, and follow any supplementary distance information.
🔗 gov.uk • Great Britain Highway Code: Rules 170,191–199; pedestrians and crossings
🔗 gov.uk • DfT Know Your Traffic Signs: warning signs (Great Britain)
Warning for pedestrians.
English • GB diagram 544.1 • Pedestrians in road. Pedestrians may be walking in the road ahead, particularly where there is no footway.
Sources
🔗 Commons.wikimedia.org (Government of the United Kingdom – Department for Transport • Crown copyright • OGL v1.0)
🔗 Legislation.gov.uk • Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions • Great Britain
🔗 Gov.uk • Department for Transport • Know your traffic signs
SVG source: Government of the United Kingdom – Department for Transport • OGL v1.0 • Original revision 2022-02-13. Wikimedia original unmodified. © Crown copyright. Traffic signs are Crown copyright. You may reproduce traffic signs free of charge and without having to seek permission, but you must reproduce them accurately and not in a misleading context (e.g. not on roadside billboards where they could mislead drivers). (ref [1])
Artwork verified against Gov.uk • official published diagram 544.1.
Current design and permitted variants verified against Legislation.gov.uk • TSRGD, current text.
What should drivers know about pedestrian crossings in the United Kingdom?
In Great Britain, you should give way to pedestrians waiting at a zebra crossing and must give way once they have moved onto it. At junctions, you should give way to people crossing or waiting to cross the road you turn into or out of.
🔗 gov.uk • Great Britain Highway Code: Rules 170,191–199; pedestrians and crossings
🔗 gov.uk • DfT Know Your Traffic Signs: warning signs (Great Britain)
