Road signs in Azerbaijan are similar to the road sign system of post-Soviet states (as well as neighboring Armenia, Georgia and Russia) that ensure that transport vehicles move safely and orderly, as well as to inform the participants of traffic built-in graphic icons. They generally conform to the Vienna Convention on Road Traffic and Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals. [1]
Since Azerbaijan was a union republic of the Soviet Union before regaining its independence in 1991, road signs in Azerbaijan are largely based on the ГОСТ 10807-78 [2] [3] and ГОСТ 23457-86 Soviet standards (both of them are no longer valid in neighboring Russia since 2006 and replaced with ГОСТ Р 52290-2004 and ГОСТ Р 52289-2004) but with additions. [4] [5] Inscriptions on road signs are in Azerbaijani language (names of settlements can also be written in English) and in Latin script only.
In the Republic of Artsakh, a former breakway state formed during the First Nagorno-Karabakh War in 1991 and de-facto dissolved in September 2023, road signs with settlement names in Armenian, Russian and English were used. In September 2023 after the Azerbaijani offensive in Nagorno-Karabakh, Armenian-language road signs began to be removed. [6]
Road signs in Pakistan are modelled on the British road sign system, with an exceptional difference being that they are bilingual and contain messages in Urdu, the national language, and English, and in some cases, the local regional or provincial languages. Pakistan drives on the left side of the road and follows the left-hand traffic system. Vehicles must be overtaken on their right.
Road signs in New Zealand are similar to those set by the Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals. While New Zealand is not a signatory to the convention, its road signs are generally close in shape and function. New Zealand uses yellow diamond-shaped signs for warnings in common with Australia, the Americas, Ireland, Japan and Thailand. Speed limit signs are a red circle with a white background and the limitation in black, and are in kilometres per hour. There are also some signs unique to New Zealand. Road signs in New Zealand are controlled by NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi and are prescribed in the Land Transport Rule: Traffic Control Devices 2004 and set out in the Traffic Control Devices (TCD) Manual.
Road signs in Ukraine are governed by a combination of standards set out by the Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals, the European Union (EU), and Ukraine Transport and Roads Agency. Ukrainian signs are similar to the signs of other post-Soviet states and are set out in 7 separate categories based on meaning: warning, priority, prohibitory, mandatory, information, service, and additional plates.
Road signs in Estonia ensure that transport vehicles move safely and orderly, as well as to inform the participants of traffic built-in graphic icons. These icons are governed by the Vienna Convention on Road Traffic and Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals. The system is covered in Liiklusmärkide ja teemärgiste tähendused ning nõuded fooridele and the standards document EVS 613:2001 Traffic signs.
Bosnia and Herzegovina is a signatory to the Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals. Therefore, road signs do not differ much from the rest of Europe, such as Croatia, Slovenia, Serbia and North Macedonia. Ministry of Transportation of Bosnia and Herzegovina regulates them. Bosnia and Herzegovina drives on the right as with the rest of Europe, except for Cyprus, Ireland, Malta and the United Kingdom. Bosnian and Herzegovinan road signs have two scripts, Latin and Cyrillic script.
Road signs in Laos generally follow those used in most European countries as set out in the Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals. Despite this, the country itself has never signed the Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signal. Inscriptions on traffic signs are in Lao, the national language of Laos. However, English is also used for stop and important public places such as tourist attractions, airports, railway stations, and immigration checkpoints. Both Lao and English are used on directional signage.
Road signs in Vietnam follow Chinese and French road signs. Some signs are written in both Vietnamese and English. The signs are prescribed by the Vietnam Ministry of Transport with the 2019 standardization being the up-to-date regulations.
Road signs in Mongolia are similar to the Soviet and other European road sign systems. Road signs are regulated in the MNS 4597:2014 standard and conform to the general pattern of road signs as set out in the Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals. Despite the fact that Mongolia was never part of the Soviet Union, the MNS 4597:2014 standard for road signs has many similarities with its post-Soviet counterparts based on the Soviet standard ГОСТ 10807-78 and the Russian standard ГОСТ Р 52290-2004. Mongolia acceded to the Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals on December 19, 1997.
Road signs in Armenia are similar to the signs of other post-Soviet states and most European road sign systems. Armenia is a signatory of the Vienna Convention on Road Traffic and the Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals. The Ministry of Transport regulates these icons, while the police enforces them. Road signs ensure transport vehicles move safely and orderly, as well as, to inform both pedestrians and motorists of traffic rules.
Road signs in Georgia are similar to the road sign system of other post-Soviet states that ensure that transport vehicles move safely and orderly, as well as to inform the participants of traffic built-in graphic icons. However, some road signs look a bit different from Soviet ones and closer to the European ones. These icons are governed by the Vienna Convention on Road Traffic and Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals.
Road signs in Kazakhstan are similar to the road sign system of other post-Soviet states that ensure that transport vehicles move safely and orderly, as well as to inform the participants of traffic built-in graphic icons. These icons are governed by the Vienna Convention on Road Traffic and Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals. Road signs are regulated by the СТ РК 1125-2021 standard.
Road signs in Kyrgyzstan are similar to the road sign system of other post-Soviet states that ensure that transport vehicles move safely and orderly, as well as to inform the participants of traffic built-in graphic icons. These icons are governed by the Vienna Convention on Road Traffic and Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals.
Road signs in Uzbekistan are regulated by the O'zDst 3283-2017 standard. Due to the country being a former Soviet Socialist Republic between 1924 and 1991, road signs are similar in design to those used in the Soviet Union before its dissolution in 1991, as well as in most other post-Soviet states. Uzbekistan acceded to the Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals on January 17, 1995. The Soviet Union itself was once a signatory to the Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals.
Road signs in Lithuania conform to the general pattern of those used in most other European countries as set out in the 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals. Due to the country being occupied and annexed by the Soviet Union between 1940 and 1990, when it restored its independence, modern road signs used in Lithuania are in many ways similar in design to road signs used in the Soviet Union before its dissolution in 1991. This design of road signs is still used in most post-Soviet states, in particular Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine. Neighboring post-Soviet Baltic countries Latvia and Estonia, which were also occupied by the Soviet Union in 1940, have significantly modified their road sign designs, resulting road signs in these two countries being extremely different in design from road signs used in most other post-Soviet states.
The road signs, used on the Serbian road network, are regulated by the "Regulation of Traffic Signs", which was last time modified in 2017.
Road signs in Russia are governed by the traffic rules approved by the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation No. 1090 of 23 October 1993 “On the Rules of the Road”, Appendix 1 “Road Signs”. They are regulated by the ГОСТ Р 52289-2019 and ГОСТ Р 52290-2004 standards determining the rules for the use and production of road signs. The vast majority of road signs used in Russia were in the preceding Soviet standard ГОСТ 10807-78, which was introduced in the Soviet Union on 1 January 1980 before its dissolution in 1991 and is no longer valid in Russia since 1 January 2006 after it was replaced by the modern standard ГОСТ Р 52290-2004 for road signs. Road signs generally conform to the Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals. Similar road signs are also used in other post-Soviet states.
Road signs in Portugal are governed by the "Regulamento de Sinalização do Trânsito" of the Republic of Portugal.
Road signs in Latvia conform to the general pattern of those used in most other European countries. They are regulated in Ceļu satiksmes noteikumi and the standards documents LVS 77–1:2016 "Ceļa zīmes. 1. daļa: Ceļa zīmes", LVS 77-2:2016 "Ceļa zīmes. 2. daļa: Uzstādīšanas noteikumi" and LVS 77-3:2016 "Ceļa zīmes. 3. daļa: Tehniskās prasības" in conformity with the 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals. Latvia acceded to the Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals on October 19, 1992.
Road signs in Turkmenistan are similar to the road sign system of other post-Soviet states that ensure that transport vehicles move safely and orderly, as well as to inform the participants of traffic built-in graphic icons. They generally conform to the Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals. Turkmenistan acceded to the Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals on June 14, 1993.
Road signs in the Soviet Union were regulated in the ГОСТ 10807-78 standard which was introduced on 1 January 1980. This standard also specified the typeface used on road signs. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, this standard continued to apply in all countries that were formerly Soviet republics until some of them adopted their own national standards for road signs. The shapes and colors of road signs in the Soviet Union, and now in all post-Soviet states, fully comply with the 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals, to which the Soviet Union was originally a signatory. On 8 November 1968, the Soviet Union signed the Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals, and on 7 June 1974 ratified it with some declarations and reservations made upon ratification.