Road signs in India

A signboard in Kerala

A sign in Bengaluru

Gurgaon Expressway

Sion Panvel Highway

Traffic sign in Kannur

Road sign at a village in West Bengal

Road sign on NH11 near Ajmer, Rajasthan. This is an example of a Gantry-mounted advance direction ahead of an at-grade junction

Road signs in India can vary in design, depending on the location.^{[ citation needed ]} For the most part, they tend to closely follow European practices, usually identical with the United Kingdom or the Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals, although yellow rectangular signs that do carry such messages like "Be gentle on my curves" and "Danger creeps when safety sleeps" are present nationwide. ^[1] Road signs in India are metric.

The official typeface for road signs in India is Transport. ^[2] Though sometimes, road signs may use hand-painted fonts, but some road signs in India also unofficially use Arial or Highway Gothic.

Most urban roads and state highways have signs in the state language and English. National highways have signs in the state language, Hindi and English.

In 2012, the Tourism department of Kerala announced plans to upgrade road signs in the state to include maps of nearby hospitals. ^[3] The Noida Authority announced plans to replace older signboards with new fluorescent signage. ^[4]

Gallery

A circle with a slash shows prohibited activities and circles without slashes show rules. Triangles indicate warnings and show risks. Blue circles indicate mandatory instructions and are there for a particular classes of vehicles. Otherwise, the regular colour of sign boards is red and white.

Mandatory/Regulatory signs

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  Give way
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  Stop
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  Stop (in major Indian languages)
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  No entry
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  Straight ahead prohibited
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  Priority for oncoming vehicles
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  One-way traffic
• 
  One-way traffic
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  No vehicles in both directions
• 
  Cycles prohibited
• 
  Trucks prohibited
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  Pedestrians prohibited
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  Tongas prohibited
• 
  Bullock carts prohibited
• 
  Hand carts prohibited
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  Bullock cart and hand carts prohibited
• 
  All motor vehicles prohibited
• 
  Height limit
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  Width limit
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  Load limit
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  Axle load limit
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  Length limit
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  Left turn prohibited
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  Right turn prohibited
• 
  Overtaking prohibited
• 
  Speed limit (50 km/h)
• 
  Horns prohibited
• 
  Restriction ends
• 
  No parking
• 
  No stopping or standing
• 
  Compulsory ahead
• 
  Compulsory turn left
• 
  Compulsory turn right
• 
  Compulsory turn left ahead
• 
  Compulsory turn right ahead
• 
  Compulsory ahead or turn left
• 
  Compulsory ahead or turn right
• 
  Compulsory keep left
• 
  Compulsory cycle track
• 
  Compulsory sound horn
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  Compulsory minimum speed

Cautionary/Warning signs

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  Curve to left
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  Curve to right
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  Right hair pin bend
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  Left hair pin bend
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  Double curve, first to right
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  Double curve, first to left
• 
  Dangerous curves ahead
• 
  Degree loop
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  Side road to right
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  Side road to left
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  Y-junction to left
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  Y-junction to right
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  Y-junction
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  Intersection
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  Roundabout
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  Traffic light
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  T-junction
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  T-junction major road ahead
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  Major road ahead
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  Staggered junction
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  Merging traffic from right
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  Merging traffic from left
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  Road narrows
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  Road widens
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  Narrow bridge
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  Steep ascent
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  Steep descent
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  Road narrows on left side
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  Road narrows on right side
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  Start of dual carriageway
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  End of dual carriageway
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  Gap in median
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  Pedestrian crossing
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  Children
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  Built-up area
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  Two-way traffic
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  Two-way traffic on cross road ahead warning
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  Roadworks
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  Supplementary plate ''END'' at the leaving side of work zone
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  Danger warning
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  Deaf persons likely on road ahead
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  Blind persons likely on road ahead
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  Cycle crossing
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  Cyclists
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  Dip
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  Bump
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  Rumble strip
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  Rough road
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  Soft verges
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  Loose gravel
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  Slippery road
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  Ice
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  Movable bridge
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  Overhead cables
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  Quayside or riverbank
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  Barrier
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  Crosswind
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  Tunnel
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  Ferry
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  Tramway
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  Falling rocks
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  Animals
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  Wild animals
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  Traffic queues
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  Low-flying aircraft
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  Unguarded Level Crossing
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  Unguarded Level Crossing (100 to 50 Metres Ahead)
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  Unguarded Level Crossing (200 to 100 metres ahead)
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  Guarded Level Crossing
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  Guarded Level Crossing (100 to 50 metres ahead)
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  Guarded Level Crossing (200 to 100 metres ahead)
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  Chevron
• 
  Double chevron
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  Triple chevron
• 
  Object hazard to left
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  Object hazard to right
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  Two-way hazard marker

Informatory signs

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  Stack-type advance direction sign
• 
  Map-type advance direction sign
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  Roundabout
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  Flag-type direction sign
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  Confirmatory sign
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  Place identification sign
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  Truck-lay by
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  Weigh bridge ahead
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  Gantry-mounted advance direction sign ahead of a grade-separated junction
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  Gantry-mounted advance direction ahead of an at-grade junction
• 
  Lane dedicated gantry sign
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  Shoulder-mounted sign in advance of grade-separated junction
• 
  Expressway sign ahead
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  Gantry-mounted advance direction sign ahead of a flyover in urban/city roads
• 
  Supplementary road sign ''No parking''
• 
  Supplementary road sign ''No stopping No standing''

Facility informatory signs

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  Restaurant
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  Light refreshment
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  Hotel or motel
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  First aid station
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  Toilet
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  Petrol station
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  Park and ride
• 
  Park and ride
• 
  Telephone
• 
  Flood gauge

Parking signs

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

References

1. "Unusual road signs in Northern India". arrivealive.co.za. Retrieved 2022-09-10.
2. IRC 67-2022-Code of Practice For Road Signs (4th ed.). Dehli: Indian Roads Congress (published June 2022). 2022. p. 24.
3. Nair, Sangeetha (2012-07-15). "Tourism dept to update signboards across Kerala". The Times of India . Trivandrum. Archived from the original on 2013-02-27. Retrieved 2012-07-21.
4. Keelor, Vandana (2012-07-18). "Blue road signboards give way to red ones". The Times of India . Archived from the original on 2013-01-03. Retrieved 2012-07-21.