Road services and end of zone

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Road service indication signs and end-of-zone signals: how to recognise them and what they change for the driver.

Coverage, Road services and end of zone

Lesson objectives

Identify road service signs and understand their meaning Recognize end of zone signs and their effects on traffic rules Correctly apply the rules when passing from one zone to another

Service signs: a practical guide

The information signals form series F. Some of them merely provide information about nearby facilities, parking, fuel, assistance, accommodation, and impose nothing. But the series also contains signals that create a traffic regime : F4a and F4b for zone 30, F12a and F12b for residential zone, F103 and F105 for pedestrian zone, F111 and F113 for cycle zone, F117 and F118 for low emission zone. Do not therefore deduce from an "F" that there is nothing to comply with: it is the content of the signal that says so, not its letter.

F59

F59: parking announcement. This sign indicates accessible parking nearby. It may be supplemented by an additional sign that specifies the use, such as a park-and-ride, carpooling parking, and so on. The large white P on blue background remains the main symbol.

F60

Sign F60 announces covered parking. It indicates parking in a structure, either underground or in a silo, accessible nearby. It is convenient to shelter your vehicle from bad weather and sun.

F62

F62, Emergency call telephone. This sign indicates an emergency call point, that is, a free telephone directly connected to emergency services and the road manager. You will find it especially on motorways and in tunnels. To be used in case of breakdown or accident.

F63

F63, Service station. This sign indicates that a service station is nearby. It is convenient to spot before a long journey, or when your fuel gauge is starting to drop.

F65

F65, Hotel or motel. This sign indicates accommodation nearby where you can spend the night. You will find it especially along motorways and major roads.

F67

Sign F67 indicates a restaurant with table service nearby. It is the ideal place to take a proper meal break during your journey.

F71

F71, Camping site. This sign indicates that a campsite is nearby. You can pitch your tent, set up your caravan or motorhome there.

F75

F75, Youth hostel. This sign indicates a youth hostel nearby. It is an economical alternative for spending the night, open to all types of travelers.

F77

F77, Tourist information office, tourist information relay. This sign indicates a tourist reception office, such as a Tourism Office or Info Service Relay. You will find maps, brochures and advice there.

End of zone signs: understanding the changes

The end of zone signals mark the limit of an area where particular regulations applied. Two distinct mechanisms: pairs of F signals , F4a/F4b, F12a/F12b, F103/F105, F111/F113, F117/F118, where the second ends the regime that the first established; signaling with zonal validity from article 65.5 : zonal validity may be conferred on prohibition signals and signals relating to parking, without their meaning changing; these signals are then inscribed in a panel with white background , and the end signal repeats the same drawing crossed out.

ZE1 - End

End of limited-duration parking zone. The signal reproduces the E9a and parking disc in a panel with white background, crossed out. Beyond, the disc is no longer required and the maximum duration no longer applies, but any prohibition of stopping or parking signalled elsewhere remains in force.

ZE1 T - End

The zone signal may bear a mention that specifies its conditions: different days or hours from the nine to eighteen hours rule on working days, or a maximum duration other than two hours. When such a mention appears on the signalling, it takes precedence over the general rule of article 27.1.2.

F4b

F4b, End of the zone where speed is limited to thirty kilometres per hour. Beyond, the speed becomes that of the road: thirty kilometres per hour in built-up areas in the Brussels-Capital Region, fifty in built-up areas in Flanders and Wallonia; outside built-up areas, seventy in Brussels, seventy in Flanders and ninety in Wallonia on ordinary roads.

F12b

F12b, End of a residential zone or a meeting zone. Beyond, the twenty kilometre per hour limit falls, games are no longer permitted on the roadway, and parking becomes permitted where nothing forbids it, whereas inside the zone it was forbidden outside marked spaces. The pedestrian loses no priority by crossing this signal: he had none. What he loses is the right to use the full width of the public road.

F113

F113, End of a cycle zone. Inside the zone, article 22novies laid down three rules: the cyclist may use the full width of the one-way roadway, or the right half if it is two-way; motor vehicles are admitted but may not overtake cyclists; speed never exceeds thirty kilometres per hour. Beyond the F113, these three rules cease. Note that none of them is a priority: the cyclist is not prioritary in a cycle zone, he is simply not to be overtaken.

ZC35 T

A prohibition signal may receive zonal validity: a C35 inscribed in a panel with white background then prohibits overtaking throughout the zone, and no longer until the next junction. Its meaning does not change, it is still the prohibition of overtaking on the left a towed vehicle or a vehicle with more than two wheels. There is no code "ZC35" in the highway code: it is the C35, with zonal scope.

Practical effects of zone ends

At the end signal, the zone regulation ceases, and nothing else. the rule that an end of regulation does not lift prohibitions of stopping and parking concerns the C46 , which ends all local prohibitions imposed on moving vehicles and therefore affects neither an E1 nor an E3. A zone end signal, on the other hand, ends exactly what its start signal had established: the F4b lifts the 30 km/h limitation, the F12b the residential zone regime, the end of blue zone the obligation of the disc.

End of blue zone

You park in a limited-duration parking zone. The disc is mandatory on working days from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. , for a maximum of two hours , unless otherwise stated on the signalling. From the zone end signal, the same drawing crossed out, in its white background panel, the disc is no longer required. Beware of the opposite case, provided for by article 27.2 : outside any blue zone, a simple E5, E7 or E9a to E9g completed with the drawing of a disc is sufficient to make the disc mandatory at that location.

End of residential zone

In a residential zone (F12a), speed is limited to 20 km/h , pedestrians may occupy the full width of the public road, games are permitted, and parking is prohibited outside spaces marked with a P. At F12b , speed becomes that of the road (50 km/h in built-up areas in Flanders and Wallonia, 30 km/h in Brussels) and parking returns to the ordinary regime.

Start and end zones: the inseparable pair

Zone Start End Effect Basis Limited-duration parking (blue zone) E9a + disc, with zonal validity the same, crossed out Disc mandatory 9 a.m.–6 p.m. on working days, 2 hours maximum, unless otherwise stated art. 27.1 Zone 30 F4a F4b Speed limited to 30 km/h art. 22quater Residential or meeting zone F12a F12b 20 km/h; pedestrians on full width; games permitted; parking prohibited outside marked spaces art. 22bis Cycle zone F111 F113 Cyclists on full width (or right half if two-way); prohibition of overtaking them ; 30 km/h maximum art. 22novies Pedestrian zone F103 F105 Reserved for pedestrians, motorised access strictly regulated art. 22sexies Low emission zone F117 F118 Selective access according to regional rules art. 2.63 Zonal prohibition signal C in a white panel the same, crossed out The prohibition applies throughout the zone, its meaning remains unchanged art. 65.5

Real situations: recognising and reacting

Entry and exit of a residential zone

Transition between blue zone and free traffic

At the exam

When you see a zone end panel crossed out in red, immediately ask yourself: "What were the rules in this zone?" and "What are the rules now?" This double question helps you identify the changes to apply. For example, end of zone 30 = return to 50 km/h in built-up areas.

Frequent trap: parking prohibitions

Do not confuse two mechanisms: an end-of-zone signal ends the regulation that the start signal had established, that one, and nothing more; the C46 ends all local prohibitions imposed on moving vehicles , speed, overtaking, U-turn. It does not lift either an E1 or an E3 , because a parking prohibition does not target a moving vehicle.

End-of-zone panel

End-of-zone signal: it reproduces the design of the start signal, crossed out. Depending on the case, it is an F signal from the pair (F4b, F12b, F105, F113, F118) or a signal with zonal validity inscribed in a panel with white background (art. 65.5). It ends the regulation of the zone, and that alone.

Service panel

Information signal that informs users of the presence of equipment or facilities nearby (parking, fuel, hotel, emergency services, etc.). It creates no direct obligation, but guides the driver.

Blue zone

Limited-duration parking zone (blue zone): the parking disc is placed on the inside of the windscreen, arrow on the line following the arrival time. Unless special provisions indicated by signage, it is mandatory from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on working days, for a maximum of two hours. Outside these hours, and on Sundays and public holidays, parking is free.

Residential zone

Residential zone or meeting zone (F12a / F12b): speed limited to 20 km/h, pedestrians authorized across the full width of the public road, games authorized, drivers required to stop if necessary, and parking prohibited outside marked spaces with the letter P or authorized by a signal.

Service signals provide information about equipment: F55 first aid post, F56 fire extinguisher, F59 parking, F60 covered parking, F61 telephone, F62 emergency call telephone, F63 service station, F65 hotel or motel, F67 restaurant, F69 bar, F71 camping, F73 caravan site, F75 youth hostel, F77 tourist information centre. The F63 can specify available fuels: petrol and diesel, LPG, CNG, LNG, H2, electricity. Zones come in pairs: F4a/F4b (30 km/h), F12a/F12b (residential or meeting), F103/F105 (pedestrian), F111/F113 (cycle), F117/F118 (low emission). Zonal validity (art. 65.5) can be conferred on prohibition signals and parking signals: they are then inscribed in a panel with white background and their meaning remains unchanged. An end-of-zone signal ends the regulation of its zone. The C46 , on the other hand, ends all local prohibitions imposed on moving vehicles, never on an E1 or an E3. In a cycle zone , the cyclist is not priority: he is not to be overtaken , and the speed never exceeds 30 km/h there.

Congratulations!

First do the quiz for this lesson to validate your learning, then practice on the exam simulator and the MCQs . You have completed this entire course. Congratulations, on to practice!

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