Thousands drive past this Australian road sign every day – but very few know what it means
An Australian driver has been left confused after noticing a ‘new’ road sign while driving along the Stuart Highway in the Northern Territory.
On Reddit, the confused motorist posted a photo of the sign, which showed a hand, to get answers.
He said his traveling companion assumed the sign meant there was somewhere nearby where he could wash his hands, while he thought it meant there was a place where he could wash his windows.
They were both wrong.
The sign, which was part of a larger sign at the rest area, indicates the presence of Aboriginal artworks in the area.
It is often seen in national parks and is the same symbol used nationally.
“According to the Department of Infrastructure and Transport (South Australia) published in the ‘Road Sign Guidelines’ dated 28 March 2023, this means ‘Aboriginal Attractions’,” one man commented.
“Yes, usually petroglyphs or some other Aboriginal site,” said another.
An Australian driver is feeling very confused after noticing a ‘new’ road sign while driving along the Stuart Highway in the Northern Territory
On Reddit, the confused motorist posted a photo of the sign, which shows the image of a hand, to get answers
Some people took the time to joke about the image.
“I love that it’s for indigenous art, but my first thought was a warning to tourists not to put their bare skin on the bitumen,” one woman said.
“Beware of the swarms of ants,” laughed another.
“Warning, jazz yields 2km,” another added.
Others admitted they never noticed the signage.
‘Oh, I’ve never seen this before! And love it. Honestly my thoughts went to the kids craft area for some reason, but why would any regional picnic area have a kids craft area,” said another.
“I honestly thought someone had just spray-painted the sign with their hand on it. I’ve never seen this before,” one man added.
‘This is so cool, I’ve never seen one like this before. I have to admit my first thought though was ‘car scene in the Titanic’,” a third added.
Even ChatGPT didn’t know what the sign meant. It was assumed that Redditor had posted his answer.
‘The blue road sign with a white hand surrounded by blue dots in Australia is a hand signal sign for a rest area. It designates a rest area where drivers can take a break to reduce fatigue,” it incorrectly wrote.
‘The white hand symbolizes a ‘stop’ or ‘pause’ action and encourages drivers to rest and refresh before continuing their journey. Fatigue is a major cause of road accidents and these signs are part of campaigns to promote road safety by reminding motorists to stop and rest regularly.”