Comparison of European road signs

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French sign showing the difference between French and Swiss motorway sign colours, on the A411 near Geneva A411 panneaux A15b M2 signalisation Suisse France.jpg
French sign showing the difference between French and Swiss motorway sign colours, on the A411 near Geneva

Nearly all European countries operate a broadly similar system of road signs, road markings and traffic signals, but there are noticable differencess mainly in:

Contents

Most European countries are party to the 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals and the associated European agreements supplementing it. A comparison of signage, however, reveals some significant differences at a national level—alongside less minor differences at a regional level.

Standardisation

Example of a Swiss road sign CH-Hinweissignal-Entfernungstafel.svg
Example of a Swiss road sign

The 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals has been signed—but not necessarily ratified—by the following countries (including acceding states): Albania, Andorra, Armenia, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Moldova, Montenegro, the Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, San Marino, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, [1] Ukraine and the United Kingdom.

The Convention has not been signed by Iceland, Ireland or Malta, but these countries are nonetheless largely consistent with the key tenets of the system that the Convention establishes.

Graphic differences

Directional and informatory signage

The colour, shape, text style (bold, capitals etc.), or even an additional sign (pictogram, route number, etc.) of the signage give information about the road class of the indicated route.

CountryMotorways

(Controlled-access highway
announced as
Vienna Convention road sign E5a-V1.svg or Vienna Convention road sign E5a-V2.svg )

Expressways

(Limited-access road
announced as
Vienna Convention road sign E6a-V1.svg or Vienna Convention road sign E6a-V2.svg )

Primary routesSecondary routesRegional destinationsLocal destinationsTourist signsTemporary detour
Outside urban area
Albania TIRANËSHKODERKUDHESn/an/aQenderPlazhi i ZaroshkesDURRES
Armenia ՍԵՎԱՆ
SEVAN
ԵՐԵՎԱՆ
YEREVAN
ՉԱՐԵՆՑԱՎԱՆ
CHARENTSAVAN
n/an/aՀՅՈՒՐ. ԱՆԻ ՊԼԱԶԱ
HOTEL ANI PLAZA
ՎԱՅՈՑ ՁՈՐ
VAYOTS DZOR
Շրջանցման ուղղություն
DETOUR
Austria SalzburgWienVillachn/aSalzkammergut [c 1] Umleitung
Belarus МІНСКГОМЕЛЬМАГІЛЁЎn/an/aвул. ФІЛІМОНАВАКАСЦЁЛ СВЯТОГА МІХАІЛАаб'езд
Belgium BrusselKortrijk
Courtrai
Gent
Gand
n/an/aCentrum
Centre
Zentrum
AtomiumWegomlegging
Déviation
Umleitung
Bruxelles
[c 2]
Bosnia and Herzegovina Sarajevo
Сарајево
Banja Luka
Бања Лука
Mostar
Мостар
n/an/aCentar
Центар
MeđugorjeObilazak
Обилазак
Bulgaria София
Sofia
Русе
Ruse
Бургас
Burgas
n/an/aЦентър
Centre
Етър
Etar
Варна
Varna
Croatia ZagrebBjelovarVukovarn/an/aCentarPlitvička jezeraObilazak
Zračna luka [c 3]
Czech Republic BRNOPRAHAVYŠKOVn/aSLOVANYLetištěHrad BouzovPRAHA
Denmark Aarhusn/aSkanderborg [c 4] n/an/aStadionHimmelbjergetNakskov
Estonia n/aTALLINNHAAPSALUn/an/aMUSTAMÄEPirita kloosterÜMBERSÕIT
Finland HELSINKI
HELSINGFORS
LAPPEENRANTAPORVOO
BORGÅ
n/aKYMINLINNAKirjastoHiidenkiviTURKU
France PARISMARSEILLEBEAUVAIS [c 5] TOULONLA CHAPPELLEn/aGare S.N.C.F.PARC NATURELDéviation
Germany HamburgFreiburg [c 6] Lübeckn/an/aBahnhofBurg EltzUmleitung
Greece Θεσσαλονίκη
Thessaloniki
Πάτρα
Patra
Αθήνα
Athina
n/an/aΚέντρο
Centre
Ακρόπολη
Akropolis
Εύοσμος
Evosmos
Hungary BudapestVácGyöngyösn/an/a◉ CentrumVárGödöllő
Iceland n/an/aAkureyrin/aGarðabærFlugstöðn/aHjáleið
Ireland Áth Cliath
DUBLIN
n/aTulach Mhór
TULLAMORE [c 7]
Seantrabh
SANTRY [c 8]
n/an/aAn Bhóireann
THE BURREN
Cúrsa Timpill
DETOUR
Italy VENEZIAUDINEBORGOSOLEn/an/aaeroportoColfoscodeviazione
Latvia n/aRĪGALIEPĀJAn/an/acentrsKURZEMES ŠVEICEDAUGAVPILS
Liechtenstein CH international vehicle registration oval.svg  St. Gallen CH international vehicle registration oval.svg  ChurSchaanVaduzn/aBahnhofBurgUmleitung
Lithuania VILNIUSKAUNASMARIJAMPOLĖn/an/aCENTRASKernavės archeologinė vietovėApylanka
Montenegro PodgoricaBarHerceg Novin/an/aCentarSkadarsko JezeroObilazak
Netherlands A 44 AmsterdamDen HaagArnhem N 50n/an/aCentrumNationaal ParkOMLEIDING
Volg A [c 9]
Norway NannestadLillestrømTrondheimn/an/aSykehusKvitsandBergen
Poland WrocławPoznańSuwałkin/an/aCentrumKrakówObjazd
Portugal Lisboan/aPortalegreFig.ra Foz [c 10] ALGARVE [c 11] centrocasteloDesvio
Romania BucureștiCraiovaPiteștin/an/aCentruCastelul BranOcolire
Russia БЕЛГОРОД
BELGOROD
МОСКВАТЮМЕНЬn/aЛИПЕЦКул. Арбатмузей-усадьба Н. К. РЕРИХАобъезд
Serbia Београд
Beograd
Крагујевац
Kragujevac
Зрењанин
Zrenjanin
Сомбор [c 12] n/aЦентар
Centar
Студеница
Studenica
Обилазак
Obilazak
Slovakia KošiceNitraBratislavan/an/aCentrumHradobchádzka
Slovenia MariborNova GoricaMedvoden/an/aCenterPostojnska jamaObvoz
Spain Villalba [c 13] Córdoba [c 14] Oviedo / Uviéu [c 15] PINTO [c 16] BADAJOZn/acentroNavacerradaDESVÍO
Sweden GÖTEBORGSTOCKHOLMFALUNn/aNORRMALMVårdcentralLånge ErikNYKÖPING
Switzerland BaselChiassoMoudonFtann/aGare CFFCastelloUmleitung
Déviation
Deviazione
Turkey İstanbuln/aAnkaran/an/aŞehir MerkeziDara Antik Kentin/a
Ukraine Київ
Kyiv
Жашків
Zhashkiv
Рудня
Rudnia
n/an/aЦентрБорисоглібська церкваоб'їзд
detour
United Kingdom Nottingham M1n/a [c 17] Inbhir Nis
Inverness
A9 [c 18]
Tyddewi
St Davids
[c 19]
The NORTH [c 20] Village HallThorpe ParkDiversion
  1. Used to indicate locations like regions, city centres, city districts and tourist locations. In reality, there is no clearcut and consistent usage of the white on green signs; for city centres and city districts, black on white signals are often preferred if the roads leading to them are primary roads.
  2. The directional signs to motorways are white on green, whereas the directional signs on motorways are white on blue. Compare sign F31 of the Belgian Road Code in green (a directional sign to a motorway, but not on a motorway) with the other directional signs in blue (especially F15, F25, F27 and F29, all of which are also used in blue on motorways): "Code de la route - Article 71. Signaux d'indication (F1-F31)" . Retrieved 28 September 2021.
  3. Used for services and objects like stations, hospitals etc. See: Pravilnik o turističkoj i ostaloj signalizaciji na cestama. Retrieved on 2022-08-07.
  4. Directional signs that are mounted overhead on multi-lane primary roads are white on blue.
  5. Used to indicate specific directions
  6. German traffic law does not recognise the category of "expressways", but there are certain roads commonly referred to as "autobahnähnliche Straßen" ("roads similar to motorways") which, while not being "motorways" in a legal sense, have a very similar profile to motorways. The signs on such roads are not white on blue (as on motorways), but normally black on yellow as on most other primary roads or, in exceptional cases, black on white as on local roads.
  7. National primary & secondary roads. Route numbers are written in yellow.
  8. Regional & local roads
  9. On non-motorways only
  10. Certain town names may be abbreviated, in this case for Figueira da Foz
  11. Regional destinations and cardinal directions are written fully in uppercase (e.g. "ALGARVE" or "NORTE"), with the text and background colors being accordingly with the type of road
  12. Town names on regional and local roads are displayed only in Cyrillic, and in the languages of national minorities where they exist. [2]
  13. Next to AUTOPISTA also used for AUTOVÍA and AUTOBIA
  14. Vía reservada para automóviles
  15. vía rápida
  16. carretera convencional
  17. There is no expressway class of road in the UK
  18. In Scotland, some signs are bilingual, with Scottish Gaelic text shown on top and in yellow.
  19. In Wales, all signs are bilingual, with Welsh text shown on top in the same colour as English text.
  20. Regional destinations consist of upper case cardinal destinations and regions (e.g. "The NORTH" or "The SOUTH WEST") and are only used on motorway and primary road signs

Different typefaces in texts

A sign with the use of Transport font in Icelandic Icelandic-Road-Sign.png
A sign with the use of Transport font in Icelandic

In Albania, Armenia, Andorra, Belarus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland. France, Greece (partly), Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Monaco, Russia, San Marino and Sweden, destinations on direction signs are written in capital letters. In Ireland, they are written in all-capital letters in English and in mixed-case letters in Irish. In Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Denmark, Germany, Greece (partly), Hungary, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Montenegro, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Switzerland, Turkey and Ukraine both capital and lowercase are used. In Spain, destinations reached by motorway are written in capital and lowercase, while those reached by other roads are written in capital letters. In the United Kingdom and Portugal, regional destinations names and cardinal directions are written in capital letters, while the remaining destinations names are written in capital and lowercase.

Differences in meanings

Irish rural speed limit sign on a local road Sign-1070806, Dingle Peninsula, Co. Kerry, Ireland.jpg
Irish rural speed limit sign on a local road

Road surface markings

Traffic signs comparisons for all countries

Direct comparison tables between different traffic signs in every country are illustrated in several gallery articles listed below:

Gallery (type of sign)Examples
Built-up area limits
Checkpoint
De-restrictions
Indication
Mandatory
Priority
Prohibitory
Special regulations
Warning

See also

Sources

References

  1. Erkut Kırmızıoğlu (2010). Analysis of comprehension of traffic signs: a pilot study in Ankara, Turkey (Master of Science thesis). Middle East Technical University. hdl:11511/20158.
  2. "Технички приручник за спровођење одредаба Правилника о саобраћајној сигнализацији" (PDF) (in Serbian). 2019. Retrieved 1 May 2025.
  3. "Межгосударственный стандарт ГОСТ 10807-78 "Знаки дорожные. Общие технические условия" (утв. постановлением Госстандарта СССР 30.08.1978 N 2401) (с изменениями и дополнениями) (не действует) | ГАРАНТ". base.garant.ru. Retrieved 20 March 2023.
  4. "Скачать ГОСТ 10807-78 Знаки дорожные. Общие технические условия". meganorm.ru (in Russian). Retrieved 25 March 2023.
  5. "ГОСТ Р 52290-2004 Технические средства организации дорожного движения. Знаки дорожные. Общие технические требования (с Поправками, с Изменениями N 1, 2, 3)". docs.cntd.ru. Retrieved 20 March 2023.
  6. "СТБ 1140-2013 Технические средства организации дорожного движения. Знаки дорожные. Общие технические условия" (PDF). meganorm.ru (in Russian and Belarusian). Retrieved 27 March 2023.
  7. Bovtko, Sergiy (11 June 2020). "Нові дорожні знаки. Навіщо вони з'явилися і що буде далі?" (in Ukrainian). Auto RIA. Retrieved 9 April 2022.
  8. "ДСТУ 4100:2021 Безпека дорожнього руху" (PDF). zakon.isu.net.ua (in Ukrainian). 14 September 2022.
  9. Österman, Tuomas; Miettinen, Saija; Ronkainen, Kaisa (2005). "Opastusmerkkien luettavuus" [Readability of guidance signs](PDF) (in Finnish). Helsinki: Tiehallinto. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 31 July 2011.
  10. "KÖZÚTI JELZŐTÁBLÁK (Y) A FELIRATOK BETŰI, SZÁMJEGYEI ÉS ÍRÁSJELEI". Magyar Közút (in Hungarian). Retrieved 24 March 2024.
  11. Obwieszczenie Ministra Infrastruktury z dnia 9 września 2019 r. w sprawie ogłoszenia jednolitego tekstu rozporządzenia Ministra Infrastruktury w sprawie szczegółowych warunków technicznych dla znaków i sygnałów drogowych oraz urządzeń bezpieczeństwa ruchu drogowego i warunków ich umieszczania na drogach  [Announcement of the Minister of Infrastructure of 9 September 2019 on the publication of the uniform text of the Minister of Infrastructure regulation on detailed technical conditions for road signs and signals as well as road safety devices and conditions for their placement on roads], Dz. U., 2019, No. 2311
  12. "Traffic Signs Manual Chapter 3 – Regulatory Signs" (PDF). gov.uk. Department for Transport. Retrieved 13 April 2024.
  13. "The rural speed limit sign" (PDF). Department of Transport.
  14. "S.I. No. 618/2024 - Road Traffic (Signs) (Speed limits) Regulations 2024" . Retrieved 20 December 2024.
  15. "Halte- und Parkverbot". Fahrschule Fürböck (in German). Retrieved 9 December 2021.