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Road signs in Iceland are visual communication devices placed along roads and highways throughout the country to provide information, warnings, and guidance to motorists and pedestrians. Iceland never ratified the Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals, but road signs in Iceland conform to the general pattern of those used in most other European countries, with certain design elements borrowed from Danish and Swedish practice. Signs tend to be more sparsely employed than in other European countries, especially in rural areas.
Most road signs in Iceland are not retroreflective, making them harder to see at night.
Distances and other measurements are displayed in metric units. All text within the main signs and on auxiliary signs is exclusively in Icelandic with very few exceptions.
Icelandic road signs most closely resemble their Swedish counterparts, with rounded corners and yellow backgrounds. However, there are many differences in detail, especially in the silhouettes used.
Shape and colour are used to indicate the function of signs:
Type of sign | Shape | Border | Background colour | Text/Symbol |
---|---|---|---|---|
Warning | Triangular | Red | Yellow | Black |
Prohibition | Circular | Red | Yellow | Black |
Mandatory instructions | Circular | White | Blue | White |
Supplementary | Rectangular | White Red | Blue Yellow | White Black |
Directions, sometimes | Rectangular | Black | Yellow | Black |
Information | Rectangular | White | Blue | White |
A version of the Transport typeface employed on road signs in the UK – modified to include accented characters and the Icelandic letters ð (eth) and þ (thorn) – is used on Icelandic road signs.
The original legal source for these are the Icelandic Transport Authority, [1] first ratified in article 289/1995 [2] and subsequently amended in 2019 by 365/2019 [3] and 548/2019. [4]
Road signs in the United Kingdom and in its associated Crown dependencies and overseas territories conform broadly to European design norms, though a number of signs are unique: direction signs omit European route numbers, and road signs generally use the imperial system of units, unlike the rest of Europe. Signs in Wales and parts of Scotland are bilingual.
Road signs in Sweden are regulated in Vägmärkesförordningen, VMF (2007:90), and are to be placed 2 metres from the road with the sign 1.6 m from the base for motorized roads. Except for route numbers, there are a maximum of three signs on a pole, with the most important sign at the top. All signs have a reflective layer added on selected parts of the sign as is custom in European countries; most larger signs also have their own illumination.
Road signs in Singapore closely follow those laid down in the traffic sign regulations used in the United Kingdom, although a number of changes over the years have introduced some slight deviations that suit local road conditions. Road signs in Singapore conform to the local Highway Code under the authority of Singapore Traffic Police.
Road signs in Italy conform to the general pattern of those used in most other European countries, with the notable exception that the background of motorway (autostrada) signs is green and those for 'normal' roads is blue. They are regulated by the Codice della Strada and by the Regolamento di Attuazione del Codice della Strada in conformity with the 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals.
Road signs in Israel are regulated by the Ministry of Transportation in the Division of Transportation Planning, most recently set forth in June 2011.
Road signs in Finland were formerly regulated in Tieliikenneasetus (5.3.1982/182), but now are currently regulated in Siirtymäsäännökset (8.5.2020/360).
Road signs in the Czech Republic are regulated by the Ministry of Transport and the police. The signs are nearly the same as the European norm, but with small changes. The law governing the road signs is Decree number 30/2001 Sb., many times amended, and replaced by decree 294/2015 Sb., in force since 1 January 2016.
Road signs in Austria are regulated in Straßenverkehrsordnung (StVO).
Road signs in Switzerland and Liechtenstein generally conform to the 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals.
Road signs in Mauritius are standardised traffic signs used in Mauritius according to the Traffic Signs Regulations 1990. They are heavily modelled on road signs in the United Kingdom, since Mauritius is a former British colony. Mauritius drives on the left.
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 Hong Kong are standardised by the Transport Department. Due to being a former British territory, the road signage in Hong Kong is similar to road signs in the United Kingdom, with the addition of Traditional Chinese characters.
Road signs in Cambodia are standardized road signs are similar to those used in Europe but much of it resembles road signage systems used in South American countries with certain differences. The designs of road signage match their neighbours of Thailand and Malaysia, both of which adopt a modified version of the South American road signage system. Until the early 1980s, Cambodia closely followed American, European, Australian, and Japanese practices in road sign design, with diamond-shaped warning signs and circular restrictive signs to regulate traffic. Unlike Thailand and Malaysia, Cambodia does not use the FHWA Series fonts typeface, favouring Helvetica instead.
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 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 the 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 modified their road sign designs a little bit further than the road sign standard that was applied for the whole USSR before dissolution in the early 1990s.
Road signs in the Philippines are regulated and standardized by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH). Most of the signs reflect minor influences from American and Australian signs but keep a design closer to the Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals, to which the Philippines is an original signatory. The Philippines signed the convention on November 8, 1968, and ratified it on December 27, 1973.
Road signs in the Republic of Bulgaria were introduced by the Road Traffic Act and are regulated by:
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 South Africa are based on the SADC-Road Traffic Sign Manual, a document designed to harmonise traffic signs in member states of the Southern Africa Development Community. Most of these signs were in the preceding South African RTSM.