End of built-up area
Built-up area
Written by Chris Prosman Reviewed by Dirk van Zuijlen
Updated
- Sign code
- H2
- Category
- Built-up area
- Traffic signs
- End of the built-up area.
H2 marks the end of a built-up area. You leave the area governed by built-up-area rules. It does not specify a new speed number: determine the maximum from your vehicle, the road type and other traffic signs.
What to do at this sign
Assess the road layout after the sign. An ordinary rural road, a motor road and a motorway have different rules. A zone or local maximum may still be relevant. Accelerate only once you know the applicable limit and conditions permit.
Example on the road
After H2, an ordinary road outside a built-up area may have the general 80 km/h maximum for an ordinary car. If a 60 limit is displayed at that transition, the end-of-built-up-area sign does not permit accelerating to 80.
Other conditions to check
Rules for particular vehicles and manoeuvres can differ outside a built-up area. That does not remove the need to assess the road and visibility. The end of the buildings visible ahead is not automatically the legal built-up-area boundary.
How to recognise the sign
Read the image, arrows and any text on sign H2; they distinguish this version within the built-up area category.
Difference from H1 — Built-up area
H1 begins a built-up area; H2 ends it. A2 instead ends an indicated local maximum speed and serves a different function.
H1 — Built-up areaLegal basis
Frequently asked questions
- Does H2 automatically mean 80 km/h?
- No. Check the road type, vehicle and other speed signs.
- Should I accelerate immediately at H2?
- First establish the limit and conditions; the sign is not an instruction to accelerate.
Explained in the course
Practise this sign for your theory exam
End of built-up area belongs to the Built-up area category. In the CBR theory exam a traffic sign is almost never asked on its own: you are shown a situation and have to know what you may or must do in it. In the free sign trainer you practise the signs by category, with the explanation shown right after every answer.
Practise traffic signs for free Practise car theory: free mock exam