This sign means?
- Narrow road ahead
- Paved surface ends ahead ✓
- Bridge Ahead
- Intersection ahead
Answer: B. Paved surface ends ahead
This sign means the paved surface ends ahead, so the pavement you are driving on will soon give way to an unpaved surface.
Why this is the answer
The handbook lists "Paved surface ends ahead" as one of the common warning signs you will meet on Ontario roads. Warning signs, as the handbook describes them, alert you to dangerous or unusual conditions ahead, such as a curve, turn, dip or sideroad. A change from pavement to an unpaved surface is exactly that kind of upcoming change in road conditions, so the sign is telling you to expect the pavement to stop and to adjust before you reach it.
Why the other answers are wrong
- A. Narrow road ahead — A narrowing road is a separate warning in the handbook, "Pavement narrows ahead," which says the road gets tighter rather than that the paving ends.
- C. Bridge Ahead — Bridge warnings in the handbook are listed on their own, such as a narrow bridge ahead or a bridge that lifts or swings for boats, so this is not the bridge sign.
- D. Intersection ahead — An intersection ahead is listed as its own warning sign, sometimes with an arrow showing which traffic has the right-of-way, which is a different message from the pavement ending.
Remember it
Picture the blacktop running out under your wheels: when the paving quits, the sign is about the surface, not the width or a crossing.
Official handbook: Official MTO Driver's Handbook, Signs – Here are some common warning signs: