Motorway sign 5.1–5.2 and emergency stops in Armenia

Sign 5.1 "Motorway" marks a road on which the Rules' requirements for motorway traffic apply, and sign 5.2 "End of motorway" marks where those requirements stop (Rules of the Road, point 115). On a motorway the Rules ban, among other things, pedestrians, reversing, learner driving and stopping outside special areas (point 116).

See how these signs appear in exam questions in the Group 4 practice. Detailed sign pages: 5.1 and 5.2.

What 5.1 and 5.2 mean

The Rules define a motorway as a road within the zone of sign 5.1 which:

• has no intersections or junctions at the same level with other roads, railway crossings, tram lines, pedestrian crossings or cycle paths;
• does not serve roadside areas;
• has the opposing carriageways separated by a central reservation or a road barrier (point 115).

Sign 5.1 marks the start of the motorway and 5.2 the end. After 5.2 the list of bans below no longer applies and you drive under the general rules.

Sign 5.1 belongs to the group of blue signs: they set a traffic regime and are often mixed up with prohibitory signs (more on the sign groups in a separate article). The question bank also uses 5.1 in another role: a road with sign 5.1 is the main road relative to a crossing road (Rules, point 3, subpoint 1).

What is banned on a motorway

Point 116 lists seven bans:

1. Pedestrians, and driving pack, saddle or other animals. The ban has no exceptions: neither being outside a built-up area nor the direction of walking changes it.
2. Bicycles, mopeds, animal-drawn carts, tractors and self-propelled machines, and any vehicle whose speed, because of its technical characteristics or condition, does not exceed 40 km/h.
3. Trucks with a permitted maximum mass over 3.5 t in any lane to the left of the second lane.
4. Stopping outside special areas marked with sign 6.4 "Parking place" or 7.11 "Rest area".
5. Entering the technological gaps in the central reservation, except vehicles doing road maintenance or cleaning.
6. Reversing.
7. Learner driving.

The same requirements apply to roads with sign 5.3 "Road for automobiles" (point 117), which is why a moped is banned there whatever its speed. The ban on entering the gaps (subpoint 5) also extends to public roads.

Do not mix up 5.1, 5.2, 5.3 and 5.4

These four signs sit side by side in the question bank and are easy to confuse:

A simple rule: the first sign of a pair is the start, the second is the end. 5.2 is the pair of 5.1, and 5.4 is the pair of 5.3. The question "which sign ends a motorway" is 5.2.

Lane and speed

Outside built-up areas, and on roads with signs 5.1 or 5.3, drivers must keep as close to the right edge of the carriageway as possible. If the right lanes are free, using the left lanes is banned (point 55).

Permitted speed outside built-up areas:

(point 69; if a speed-limit sign is posted, the sign wins — see the article on speed limits).

The "emergency lane": what the Rules do not contain

Many people search for an "emergency stopping lane" or "hard shoulder". We did not find such a concept in Armenia's Rules of the Road (Government Decision No. 955-N, Annex 1). What the Rules do contain:

• On a motorway stopping is banned outside special areas with signs 6.4 and 7.11 (point 116, subpoint 4).
• In a forced stop in a place where stopping is prohibited, you switch on the hazard lights and immediately set out the "Emergency stop" sign (points 22 and 23). Outside built-up areas the sign is placed at least 30 m from the vehicle (point 23).
• After that the driver must take all necessary measures to get the vehicle out of that place (point 83).
• Hazard lights must not be used to stop where stopping is prohibited, except for a forced stop (point 25).
• Driving along shoulders is banned (point 61).

The Rules do not say where exactly to stand on a motorway in a forced stop. This article gives no advice on that: in such a situation you act under points 22, 23 and 83. If there has been an accident, that is a separate topic: first aid after a road accident and minor accident with no injuries.

What the exam asks

Sign 5.1 and the motorway appear in several groups of the official question bank:

• Pedestrians. On a road with sign 5.1 pedestrians are banned, with no exceptions (Group 9).
• The 40 km/h threshold. On roads with signs 5.1 and 5.3, vehicles that do not exceed 40 km/h are banned, while sign 6.2 "Recommended speed" bans nothing (Group 4).
• Bus and trailer. 110 km/h is for passenger cars and trucks up to 3.5 t; for any bus and for a car with a trailer the limit is 90 km/h (Group 8).
• Sign 5.3. Automobiles and motorcycles are allowed there, but not mopeds (Group 4).
• Main road. Sign 5.1 marks a main road (Group 5).

How to prepare

Start with the Group 4 practice to repeat the sign questions, then take the full exam simulation. The simulation is a learning trainer: it is not a Ministry of Internal Affairs service and does not guarantee a result on the real exam.