The answer options
- Stop and waitCorrect
- Slow down and wait to see if the signals change
- Pull onto the hard shoulder immediately
- Leave at the next exit
Why that is the answer
A red cross above a lane means that lane is closed and you must not drive in it. If a red cross is shown above every lane, the entire motorway ahead is blocked or closed. You must stop and wait safely before the signal until instructed otherwise. Continuing forward or pulling onto the hard shoulder is dangerous, as the road ahead could be blocked by a serious incident or emergency services.
How this comes up in the real test
Questions from motorway rules appear throughout the 50-question multiple-choice section, and the wording changes between versions. Learn the rule rather than the sentence: the DVSA can ask the same point from the opposite direction, and a memorised answer falls over the moment the phrasing moves.
The pass mark is 43 out of 50, so seven wrong answers is your entire margin. If a whole category is shaky, run the topic practice below until you are getting every question right for the right reason, then go back to full mocks under the clock.
More motorway rules questions
- Before making a journey on the motorway it is important to check your vehicle fully. Why is this?
- Following a breakdown on the hard shoulder, how should you rejoin the motorway?
- How do smart motorways avoid traffic clustering?
- How should you deal with traffic already on the motorway when joining from a slip road?
- In England and Wales, traffic officers work on motorways as well as some secondary routes. What powers do they have?
- On a motorway, how are the lanes to be used?