Dual carriageway ends sign: what it means

Dual carriageway ends sign: a red-bordered warning triangle with two black lines that join into one
Image: Crown copyright, OGL

The dual carriageway ends sign warns that the road will soon change from a dual carriageway to a road with traffic in both directions. Oncoming traffic is no longer separated from you.

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What does the dual carriageway ends sign mean?

It is a warning triangle; Know your traffic signs calls it the end of dual carriageway. A dual carriageway has a central reservation between the two directions (rule 136). After this sign there will be no central reservation.

Quick quiz

What does the sign at the top of this page mean?

  1. Traffic ahead goes in both directions.
  2. The road gets narrower ahead.
  3. The dual carriageway ends ahead.

Show answer

C. The dual carriageway ends ahead. The dual carriageway ends ahead (Know your traffic signs). Source: Know your traffic signs: warning signs, GOV.UK; The Highway Code, rule 124, GOV.UK; The Highway Code, rule 136, GOV.UK; Traffic sign images, Department for Transport, GOV.UK

Where will you see it?

At the end of dual carriageways on A roads and bypasses, often before a two-way traffic sign.

What should you do?

Finish any overtaking in good time and get into the left-hand lane before the lanes merge. Check the speed limit: the national limit for cars on a single carriageway is 60 mph, lower than the 70 mph on a dual carriageway (The Highway Code, rule 124).

What do people get wrong?

Overtaking right up to the point where the lanes merge. Move back to the left early.

Common questions

What is the speed limit after a dual carriageway ends?

If the national speed limit applies, it drops from 70 mph to 60 mph for cars (The Highway Code, rule 124).

What usually comes after this sign?

Often a two-way traffic sign, reminding you that traffic now comes towards you.

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Sources

Checked on 3 November 2026 against Know your traffic signs (warning signs) and The Highway Code rules 124 and 136.

  1. Know your traffic signs: warning signs, GOV.UK
  2. The Highway Code, rule 124, GOV.UK
  3. The Highway Code, rule 136, GOV.UK
  4. Traffic sign images, Department for Transport, GOV.UK

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Traffic sign images are Crown copyright, from the Department for Transport. Sources and image credits.

This text was written with AI help, checked against GOV.UK and approved by Fri Vei AS. Last updated .

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