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A triangle pointed-down means I must yield to other traffic. Sometimes it says "yield" or "give way".

A circular sign with a red edge means whatever is reported is prohibited.

What then does it mean to have a circular sign with a red edge and the text "give way"? Literally, it would seem to be "prohibited to give way", which would be a very odd way to say "you have the right of way". See, for example, this Google Streetview image.

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    I think you are reading too much into this. Since this is on private property, the owner probably just didn't have a triangle sign or couldn't find a company nearby to do it. I would read that as "You have to give way". I wouldn't risk the alternative.
    – Rodney Hawkins
    Commented Aug 25, 2017 at 19:29
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    It's not an official sign.
    – Calchas
    Commented Aug 26, 2017 at 0:20
  • In Germany it is not allowed to use signs that are even similar to official street signs on private properties (§ 33 StVO, only in german, sorry). I can imagine that there are similar law in the UK.
    – Gerald Schneider
    Commented Aug 26, 2017 at 9:43
  • @GeraldSchneider I'm pretty sure there's no such law in the UK. The whole point of standard signage is that it's... standard. It seems self-defeating to forbid the use of the signs that people are familiar with.
    – David Richerby
    Commented Aug 27, 2017 at 23:09
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    @DavidRicherby In The Netherlands (and I believe Germany), private land like a university campus usually has a sign at the entrance saying "on this terrain, [rules of the road] apply". Then they just use the standard signs for give way, no entry, etc. Indeed, using signs that are similar but different is confusing and therefore reasonably prohibited; one must either use the proper (thus identical) signs, or something totally different.
    – gerrit
    Commented Aug 27, 2017 at 23:30

2 Answers 2

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This give way sign still means for the cars waiting at the junction to give way. The reason for the circular sign is because of it being in a service station where all the signs giving one instruction or direction are circular (I don't know why).

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The sign is clearly requiring you to give way, since the alternative is absurd (although literally correct). Note that the double dashed line at the junction also indicates that you must give way.

The sign is not an official UK road sign, and is on private property, not a public road. This sort of mis-signage seems quite common off the public road network: I live near an office park where the sign that should say either "Hey, pedestrians – cross here!" or "Motorists – look out for pedestrians!" (I forget exactly where the sign is) actually indicates that pedestrians are prohibited.

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    There used to be a website gently taking the mickey out of the service station company who made these signs: here on the Wayback Machine. Among them are a sign apparently banning pedestrians from a zebra crossing, a sign apparently setting a minimum speed limit of 20mph in the car park and a sign apparently requiring you to visit a hotel.
    – Hedgehog
    Commented Aug 27, 2017 at 22:39

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