TRAFFIC SIGN
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(Redirected from Road sign)
Most countries post signage, known as 'traffic signs' or 'road signs', at the side of roads to impart information to road users. Since language differences can create barriers to understanding, international signs using symbols in place of words have been developed in Europe and adopted in most countries and areas of the world.
Annexe 1 of the Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals of November 8 1968 defines eight categories of signs:
★ A. Danger warning signs
★ B. Priority signs
★ C. Prohibitory or restrictive signs
★ D. Mandatory signs
★ E. Special regulation signs
★ F. Information, facilities, or service signs
★ G. Direction, position, or indication signs
★ H. Additional panels
However, countries and areas categorise road signs in different ways. In the U.S., the type, placement, and graphic standards of traffic signs and pavement markings are legally regulated — the Federal Highway Administration's ''Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices'' is the standard.
A rather informal distinction among the directional signs is the one between advance directional signs, interchange directional signs and reassurance signs. AD signs will appear at a certain distance from the interchange, giving information for each direction. A number of countries do not give information for the road ahead (so-called pull-through signs) though, and only for the directions left and right. Advance directional signs enable drivers to take precautions for the exit (i.e. switch lanes, double check whether this is the correct exit, slow down). They will often not appear on lesser roads, but are more or less mandatory on expressways and motorways, as drivers would be missing exits without them. While each nation has got its own system, the first approach sign for a motorway exit is mostly placed at at least 1000 meter from the actual interchange. After that sign, one or two further AD signs would typically follow before the actual interchange itself.
At the interchange itself, an interchange directional sign is placed, indicating which way the intersecting road runs (and often confirming the road ahead as well). A reassurance sign comes after the interchange itself and gives confirmation of the road number and/or the distance to a number of major directions on the road ahead.
The earliest road signs were milestones, giving distance or direction; for example, the Romans erected stone columns throughout their empire giving the distance to Rome. In the Middle Ages multidirectional signs at intersections became common, giving directions to cities and towns.
Traffic signs became more important with the development of automobiles. The basic patterns of most traffic signs were set at the 1908 International Road Congress in Rome. Since then there have been considerable change. Today they are almost all metal rather than wood and are coated with retroreflective sheetings of various types for nighttime and low-light visibility.
New generations of traffic signs based on big electronic displays can also change its symbols and also provide intelligent behavior by means of sensors or by remote control. In this sense, "road beacons" or RBS based in the use of RFID special transponders buried in the asphalt arise as an innovative evolution for on-board signalling.
Yet another "medium" for transferring information ordinarily associated with visible signs is RIAS (Remote Infrared Audible Signage), e.g. "Talking Signs®" for print-handicapped (including blind/low-vision/illiterate) people. These are infra-red transmitters serving the same purpose as the usual graphic signs when received by an appropriate device such as a hand-held receiver or one built into a cell phone.
★ Regulatory signs
★ Warning signs
★ Guide signs
★
★ Route marker signs
★
★ Expressway signs
★
★ Freeway signs
★
★ Welcome Signs
★
★ Informational signs
★
★ Recreational and cultural interest signs
★ Emergency management (civil defense) signs
★ Temporary traffic control (construction or work zone) signs
★ School signs
★ Railroad and light rail signs
★ Bicycle signs
The North American and Australian colours normally have these meanings:
★ red with white for stop signs, yield, and forbidden actions (such as No Parking)
★ green with white letters for informational signs, such as directions, distances, and places
★ brown with white for signs to parks, historic sites, ski areas, forests, and campgrounds
★ blue with white for rest areas, food, gasoline or petrol, hospitals, and lodging
★ white with red or black letters for regulatory signs, such as speed limits or parking
★ yellow with black letters and symbols for warning signs, such as curves and school zones
★ orange with black letters for temporary traffic control zones and detours
Regulatory signs are also sometimes seen with white letters on red or black signs. In Quebec, the usage of blue and brown is reversed, and many black-on-yellow signs are red-on-white instead. Many U.S. states now use fluorescent orange for construction signs, and fluorescent yellow-green (FYG) for school zone, crosswalk, pedestrian, and bicycle warning signs. Fluorescent pink signs are sometimes used for incident management warning.
Every state and province has different markers for its own highways, but use standard ones for all federal highways. Many special highways, such as the Queen Elizabeth Way or Trans-Canada Highway, or originally on U.S. highways like the Dixie Highway, have used unique signs. Counties in the U.S. sometimes use a pentagon-shaped blue sign with yellow letters for numbered county roads, though the use is inconsistent even within states.
Most U.S. road signs measure distances in miles rather than kilometres although the federal Department of Transportation has developed metric standards for all signs.
In Australia, Canada, and the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico, distances are measured in kilometres.
Signs in most of Canada, the U.S. and Australia are written in English. Quebec uses French, while New Brunswick uses both English and French and a number of other provinces such as Ontario and Manitoba use bilingual French-English signs in certain localities. Mexico uses Spanish. Within a few miles of the U.S.-Mexico border, road signs are often in English and Spanish, and indigenous languages, mainly Nahuatl as well as some Mayan languages, have been used as well.
The typefaces predominantly used on signs in the U.S. and Canada are the FHWA alphabet series (Series B through Series F and Series E Modified). Details of letter shape and spacing for these alphabet series are given in "Standard Alphabets for Traffic Control Devices," first published by the Bureau of Public Roads (BPR) in 1945 and subsequently updated by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). It is now part of Standard Highway Signs (SHS), the companion volume to the MUTCD which gives full design details for signfaces.
Initially, all of the alphabet series consisted of uppercase letters and digits only, although lowercase extensions were provided for each alphabet series in a 2002 revision of SHS. Current Series B through Series F evolved from identically named alphabet series which were introduced in 1927.
Straight-stroke letters in the 1927 series were substantially similar to their modern equivalents, but unrounded glyphs were used for letters such as B, C, D, etc., to permit more uniform fabrication of signs by illiterate painters. Various state highway departments and the federal BPR experimented with rounded versions of these letters in the following two decades.
The modern, rounded alphabet series were finally standardised in 1945 after rounded versions of some letters (with widths loosely appropriate for Series C or D) were specified as an option in the 1935 MUTCD and draft versions of the new typefaces had been used in 1942 for guide signs on the newly constructed Pentagon road network.
The mixed-case alphabet now called Series E Modified, which is the standard for destination legend on freeway guide signs, originally existed in two parts: an all-uppercase Series E Modified, which was essentially similar to Series E except for a larger stroke width, and a lowercase-only alphabet. Both parts were developed by the California Division of Highways (now Caltrans) for use on freeways in 1948-50.
Initially the Division used all-uppercase Series E Modified for button-reflectorized letters on ground-mounted signs and mixed-case legend (lowercase letters with Series D capitals) for externally illuminated overhead guide signs. Several Eastern turnpike authorities blended all-uppercase Series E Modified with the lowercase alphabet for destination legends on their guide signs.
Eventually this combination was accepted for destination legend in the first manual for signing Interstate highways, which was published in 1958 by the American Association of State Highway Officials (AASHO) and adopted as the national standard by the BPR.
The U.S. National Park Service uses Clarendon, a serif typeface, for guide signage (typically, but not always, on a brown background); some states also use Clarendon for recreational signage.
Georgia, in the past, used uppercase Series D with a custom lowercase alphabet on its freeway guide signs; the most distinctive feature of this typeface is the lack of a dot on lowercase 'i' and 'j'.[1] More recent installations appear to include the dots.[2]
A new typeface family titled "Clearview" has been developed by U.S. researchers in recent years to provide improved legibility, and is currently permitted for light legend on dark backgrounds under FHWA interim approval. Thus far, Clearview has only seen widespread use by state departments of transportation in Arkansas, Illinois[1], Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Texas. In Canada, the Ministry of Transportation for the Province of British Columbia presently specifies Clearview for use on its highway guide signs[2], and its usage has shown up in Toronto on the Don Valley Parkway and Gardiner Expressway, as well as major city streets (white on blue).
It is common for local governments, airport authorities, and contractors to fabricate traffic signs using typefaces other than the FHWA series; Helvetica and Arial are common choices.
In 1968, the European countries signed the Vienna Convention on Road Traffic treaty, with the aim of standardizing traffic regulations in participating countries in order to facilitate international road traffic and to increase road safety. Part of the treaty was the Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals, which defined the traffic signs and signals. As a result, in Western Europe the traffic signs are well standardised, although there are still some country-specific exceptions, mostly dating from the pre-1968 era.
The principle of the European traffic sign standard is that shapes and colours are to be used for indicating same purposes. Triangular shapes (white or yellow background) are used in warning signs. Additionally, the Vienna convention allows an alternative shape for warning signs, a diamond shape, which is rarely used in Europe. The prohibition signs in Europe are round with a red border. Informative and various other secondary signs are of rectangular shape. Animals shown on warning signs include moose, frogs, deer, ducks, cows, sheep, horses, Polar bears (in Svalbard), and monkeys (in Gibraltar). The Convention allows any animal image to be used.
Directional signs have not been harmonised under the Convention, at least not on ordinary roads. As a result, there are substantial differences in directional signage throughout Europe. Differences apply in typeface, type of arrows and, most notably, colour scheme. The convention however specifies a difference between motorways and ordinary roads, and that motorways use white-on-green (e.g. Italy, Switzerland, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Slovenia, Croatia, Czech Republic, Greece, Cyprus, Romania, Slovakia) or white-on-blue (e.g. Germany, the Republic of Ireland, France, United Kingdom, Spain, Netherlands, Belgium, Austria, Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal). Hungary switched from white-on-green to blue-on-green in the early 2000s during the reconstruction of existing and construcion of new motorways, although the first section of the M5 motorway built in the early 90s still has white-on green signes.
Differences are greater for non-motorways: white-on-blue in Italy, Switzerland, Sweden, Czech Republic, Greece, Cyprus, Slovakia, Romania, Finland and Netherlands (in this case the same as motorways), white-on-green in France, United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, Poland and Portugal, black-on-yellow in Germany, Luxembourg, Norway, Slovenia and Croatia, red-on-white in Denmark (though white-on-blue on motorway exits and all overhead gantries), and black-on-white in Spain.
Secondary roads are different from primary roads in France, United Kingdom, Finland, Republic of Ireland, Switzerland and Portugal, always signposted in black-on-white. In Italy, Romania and Sweden, black-on-white indicates only urban roads or urban destinations.
Signposting road numbers differs greatly as well. Only the European route number, if signposted, will always be placed in white letters on a green rectangle.
Some signs like "STOP", "ZONE" etc are recommended to be in English, but the local language is also permitted. If the language uses non-Latin characters, the names of cities and places should also be in Latin transcription.
European countries use the metric system on road signs (distances in kilometres or metres, heights/widths in metres) with the notable exception of the UK, where distances are still indicated in miles. For countries driving on the left, the convention stipulates that the traffic signs should be mirror images of those used in countries driving on the right. This practice, however, is not systematically followed in the four European countries driving on the left, Cyprus, the Republic of Ireland, Malta and the United Kingdom. The convention permits the use of two background colours for danger and prohibit signs, white or yellow. Most countries use white with a few exceptions like Sweden, Finland, Iceland and Poland.
Main articles: Road signs in the United Kingdom
Traffic signing in the UK conforms broadly to European norms, though a number of signs are unique to Britain and direction signs omit European route numbers. The current sign system, introduced on 1 January 1965, was developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s by the Anderson Committee, which established the motorway signing system, and by the Worboys Committee, which reformed signing for existing all-purpose roads. (For illustrations of all British road signs see the Highway Code website).
Britain remains the only European Union member nation and the only Commonwealth country to use non-metric (Imperial) measurements for distance and speed, although metric "authorised-weight" signs were prescribed in 1981 and there is now a dual-unit (imperial first) option for clearance signing.
Three colour schemes exist for direction signs. A road may be a motorway (white on blue), a primary route (white on dark green with yellow route numbers), or a non-primary route (black on white). Most trunk roads, which carry most of the automobile traffic and are owned by central government, and some local authority principal routes are signed as primary routes.
Two typefaces are specified for current British road signs. ''"Transport "'' is used for all text on fixed permanent signs except route numbers on motorway signs for which a taller limited character set typeface called ''"Motorway"'' is used.
Signs are generally in English although bilingual signs are used in Wales (English/Welsh) and are beginning to be seen in parts of the Scottish Highlands (English/Scottish Gaelic).
Road signs in The Netherlands follow the Vienna Convention. Directional signs (which have not been harmonised under the Convention) always use blue as the background colour. The destinations on the sign are printed in white. If the destination is not a town (but an area within town or some other kind of attraction), that destination will be printed in black on a separate white background within the otherwise blue sign.
The Netherlands always signpost European road numbers where applicable (i.e. on the advance directional signs, the interchange direction signs and on the reassurance signs). Dutch national road numbers are placed on a rectangle, with motorways being signposted in white on a red rectangle (as a Axx) and primary roads in black on a yellow rectangle (as Nxx). When a motorway changes to a primary road, its number remains the same, but the A is replaced by the N. So at a certain point the A2 becomes N2, and when it changes to a motorway again, it becomes A2 again.
Signs intended for bike-riders always goes on white signs with red or green letters.
The Dutch typeface, known as ANWB-Ee, is based on the US typeface. A new font, named ANWB-Uu (also known as Redesign), has been developed in 1997 and appears on many recent Dutch signs. The language of the signs is typically Dutch, even though bilingual signs may be used, when the information is relevant for tourists.
Main articles: Road signs in Sweden
The road signs in Finland and Sweden are similar and mostly follow the Vienna Convention with a few adaptations, however allowed within the convention:
★ the background of warning and propitiatory signs is yellow
★ the warning signs of moose and reindeer
★ the background of direction signs is blue with white text
★ the background of motorway direction signs is green with white text
★ when applicable, the language of text is Swedish in Sweden, and either Finnish, Swedish or both in Finland.
The signage typeface Tratex is used exclusively in Sweden and is available as freeware. [5]
Traffic signs in Croatia are the same as traffic signs in the rest of the former Yugoslavia, Croatian road signs appear to follow the Vienna convention. The most common signs are yellow and black signs ''For direction'', blue and white signs ''For information'' and white-on-green signs are used on the highways. There are communist signs that are still in use in Croatia, like signs pointing to Titograd or Slavonski Brod. Sadly, Warning signs for mine fields are still strongly in use, there are also warning signs for the approch of the Serbian and Respublika Srpska borders
Main articles: Road signs in the Republic of Ireland
Until the partition of Ireland in 1922 and the independence of Southern Ireland (now the Republic of Ireland) British standards applied across the island. In 1926 road sign standards similar to those used in the UK at the time were adopted [3]. Law requires that the signs are written in both Irish and English .
In 1956, road signs in the Republic were changed to markedly differ from the UK standard with the adoption of US-style "diamond" signs for many road hazard warnings (junctions, bends, railway crossings, traffic lights) [4]. Some domestic signs were also invented, such as the keep-left sign (a black curved arrow pointing to the upper-left, although some are similar to the European "white arrow on blue disk" signs), while some other signs are not widely adopted outside Ireland, such as the no-entry sign (a black arrow pointing ahead in a white circle with a red slashed circumference).
In January 2005 Ireland adopted metric speed limits. Around 35,000 existing signs were replaced and a further 23,000 new signs erected bearing the speed limit in kilometres per hour. To avoid confusion with the old signs, each speed limit sign now has "km/h" beneath the numerals.
Main articles: Road signs in Iceland
Road signs in Iceland mainly follow the Vienna Convention, but use a variant of the colour scheme and minor design changes.
Road signs in South America and Central America vary from country to country. For the most part, conventions in signage tend to resemble North American signage conventions more so than European and Asian conventions. For example, warning signs are typically diamond shaped and yellow rather than triangular and white. Some variations include the "No Parking" sign, which uses a letter 'E' instead of 'P' (the Spanish word for 'Parking' is 'Estacionamiento'). Notable exceptions include speed limit signs, which follow the European conventions.
Signs use white text on blue, and black text on white. Both Arabic and English are used. Helvetica and DIN fonts are used, often on the same sign ''(Example)''. Motorways are signed with a blue shield with yellow numerals, while secondary roads are signed with a green turret with yellow numerals.
Mainland China uses simplified Chinese characters for its traffic signs. It is gradually moving toward internationally-accepted signs; it abandoned, for example, a localised version of the "no parking sign" (with a Hanzi character) and used the blue-red cross sign as of the late 1990s.
In larger cities and on expressways of China, both English and Chinese are used.
All of Hong Kong's signs are bilingual, as English and Chinese are the languages. English often appears on top of text in traditional Chinese. The traffic signs are similar or exactly the same as the traffic signs being used in the United Kingdom as Hong Kong was the former British Crown colony. Besides, most of the signs use the font of Transport (typeface) which is also used in the Great Britain.
Traditional Chinese characters are still used in Hong Kong (as the policy/principle of "one country, two systems" allows Hong Kong to maintain most affairs, including road traffic regulations, the way they were prior to the handover).
Road signs and signals of Hong Kong
Main articles: Road signs in Malaysia
Road signs in Malaysia used Bahasa Melayu the language in that country. However English is used for important public places such as tourist attractions, airports, railway stations and immigration checkpoints. The signs usually use the FHWA Series fonts (Highway Gothic) typeface like United States, Canada and Australia.
Main articles: Road signs in Singapore
Road signs in Singapore are all in English, one of the country's four official languages and the lingua franca of most of the population.
Expressway names are usually in 3 letter contractions such as PIE, for Pan Island Expressway. Singapore's road signs tend to be similar to those of the United Kingdom, with triangular warning signs and circular signs as restrictive signs. The signs usually use the Bureau Grotesque One Seven typeface, with the exception of street name signs, which have been produced using the Rotis Serif typeface since August 2001.
In Brunei, Road signs used Bahasa Melayu the official and the national language in that country, similar to Malaysia. It is written in both Jawi and Roman script.
Bureau of Indian Standards (former Indian Standards Institution) IRC is the standardization body for traffic signs in India. But the standardization is not always followed on all types of roads in India. Generally the national highways and the state highways do carry the standardized signboards. Warning and prohibition signs are circular with a red border on white background. The directional markings (of places) are done with white letters on green background.
India too has its share of peculiar and exotic signboards. For example in developing villages it is not unusual to spot a signboard prohibiting the entry of bullock carts to certain lanes. Similarly there are sets of signage at the highways and roads crossing through forest areas cautioning the drivers of the wildlife. The signboards generally use English language sometimes accompanied with the local language.
Signs & Media International (TM)
South Africa has well developed standards for road signs. Triangular signs are used for warnings and circular signs are used for prohibitions. In the 1990s the colours of these signs were changed from white-on-blue with a red border to black-on-white with a red border. Some regulatory signs that enforce the direction of traffic flow, or minimum speed limits are white on blue.
Informational signs are rectangular and white on green on normal roads and white on blue on freeways. The information on these signs is usually in English, and sometimes in Afrikaans. Other informational signs, such as those that name rivers and towns are white, while tourist information signs are white on brown.
Australia and New Zealand use diamonds for warning signs (yellow for permanent, orange for temporary) similar to America, but regulatory and information signs tend to follow European practice.
For an extensive collection of traffic signs, see Wikipedia Commons.
★ Fingerpost
★ Rules of the road
★ Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices
★ Street sign theft
★ Traffic light
★ Bilingual sign
★ Town sign
★ Exit numbering
★
★ Manual of Traffic Signs – information on United States signs
★ Traffic & Road Sign Test – test your knowledge on U.S. traffic signs
★ A gallery of strange signs from around the U.S.
★ Signs and signals in the European Union
★ The Highway Code, signs in the UK
★ Danish traffic signs
★ The Road User's Code, signs in Hong Kong SAR
★ Indian Traffic Rules and Signals
★ Traffic signs in Croatia
★ Photos of directional signage on motorways
★ mycrazyhobby.com - A collection of street signs and traffic lights
Traffic lights in Örnsköldsvik, Sweden
A road sign used on the Warrego Highway in Queensland, informing motorists of the number of kilometres from the sign to the cities and towns listed.
Most countries post signage, known as 'traffic signs' or 'road signs', at the side of roads to impart information to road users. Since language differences can create barriers to understanding, international signs using symbols in place of words have been developed in Europe and adopted in most countries and areas of the world.
Definitions
Annexe 1 of the Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals of November 8 1968 defines eight categories of signs:
★ A. Danger warning signs
★ B. Priority signs
★ C. Prohibitory or restrictive signs
★ D. Mandatory signs
★ E. Special regulation signs
★ F. Information, facilities, or service signs
★ G. Direction, position, or indication signs
★ H. Additional panels
However, countries and areas categorise road signs in different ways. In the U.S., the type, placement, and graphic standards of traffic signs and pavement markings are legally regulated — the Federal Highway Administration's ''Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices'' is the standard.
A rather informal distinction among the directional signs is the one between advance directional signs, interchange directional signs and reassurance signs. AD signs will appear at a certain distance from the interchange, giving information for each direction. A number of countries do not give information for the road ahead (so-called pull-through signs) though, and only for the directions left and right. Advance directional signs enable drivers to take precautions for the exit (i.e. switch lanes, double check whether this is the correct exit, slow down). They will often not appear on lesser roads, but are more or less mandatory on expressways and motorways, as drivers would be missing exits without them. While each nation has got its own system, the first approach sign for a motorway exit is mostly placed at at least 1000 meter from the actual interchange. After that sign, one or two further AD signs would typically follow before the actual interchange itself.
At the interchange itself, an interchange directional sign is placed, indicating which way the intersecting road runs (and often confirming the road ahead as well). A reassurance sign comes after the interchange itself and gives confirmation of the road number and/or the distance to a number of major directions on the road ahead.
History
Roman milestone
The earliest road signs were milestones, giving distance or direction; for example, the Romans erected stone columns throughout their empire giving the distance to Rome. In the Middle Ages multidirectional signs at intersections became common, giving directions to cities and towns.
Traffic signs became more important with the development of automobiles. The basic patterns of most traffic signs were set at the 1908 International Road Congress in Rome. Since then there have been considerable change. Today they are almost all metal rather than wood and are coated with retroreflective sheetings of various types for nighttime and low-light visibility.
New generations of traffic signs based on big electronic displays can also change its symbols and also provide intelligent behavior by means of sensors or by remote control. In this sense, "road beacons" or RBS based in the use of RFID special transponders buried in the asphalt arise as an innovative evolution for on-board signalling.
Yet another "medium" for transferring information ordinarily associated with visible signs is RIAS (Remote Infrared Audible Signage), e.g. "Talking Signs®" for print-handicapped (including blind/low-vision/illiterate) people. These are infra-red transmitters serving the same purpose as the usual graphic signs when received by an appropriate device such as a hand-held receiver or one built into a cell phone.
North America and Australia
Yellow and black warning signs for Kangaroos are common in Australia.
Categorization
★ Regulatory signs
★ Warning signs
★ Guide signs
★
★ Route marker signs
★
★ Expressway signs
★
★ Freeway signs
★
★ Welcome Signs
★
★ Informational signs
★
★ Recreational and cultural interest signs
★ Emergency management (civil defense) signs
★ Temporary traffic control (construction or work zone) signs
★ School signs
★ Railroad and light rail signs
★ Bicycle signs
Color schemes
The North American and Australian colours normally have these meanings:
★ red with white for stop signs, yield, and forbidden actions (such as No Parking)
★ green with white letters for informational signs, such as directions, distances, and places
★ brown with white for signs to parks, historic sites, ski areas, forests, and campgrounds
★ blue with white for rest areas, food, gasoline or petrol, hospitals, and lodging
★ white with red or black letters for regulatory signs, such as speed limits or parking
★ yellow with black letters and symbols for warning signs, such as curves and school zones
★ orange with black letters for temporary traffic control zones and detours
Regulatory signs are also sometimes seen with white letters on red or black signs. In Quebec, the usage of blue and brown is reversed, and many black-on-yellow signs are red-on-white instead. Many U.S. states now use fluorescent orange for construction signs, and fluorescent yellow-green (FYG) for school zone, crosswalk, pedestrian, and bicycle warning signs. Fluorescent pink signs are sometimes used for incident management warning.
Highway symbols and markers
Every state and province has different markers for its own highways, but use standard ones for all federal highways. Many special highways, such as the Queen Elizabeth Way or Trans-Canada Highway, or originally on U.S. highways like the Dixie Highway, have used unique signs. Counties in the U.S. sometimes use a pentagon-shaped blue sign with yellow letters for numbered county roads, though the use is inconsistent even within states.
Units
Most U.S. road signs measure distances in miles rather than kilometres although the federal Department of Transportation has developed metric standards for all signs.
In Australia, Canada, and the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico, distances are measured in kilometres.
Languages
Signs in most of Canada, the U.S. and Australia are written in English. Quebec uses French, while New Brunswick uses both English and French and a number of other provinces such as Ontario and Manitoba use bilingual French-English signs in certain localities. Mexico uses Spanish. Within a few miles of the U.S.-Mexico border, road signs are often in English and Spanish, and indigenous languages, mainly Nahuatl as well as some Mayan languages, have been used as well.
Typefaces
The typefaces predominantly used on signs in the U.S. and Canada are the FHWA alphabet series (Series B through Series F and Series E Modified). Details of letter shape and spacing for these alphabet series are given in "Standard Alphabets for Traffic Control Devices," first published by the Bureau of Public Roads (BPR) in 1945 and subsequently updated by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). It is now part of Standard Highway Signs (SHS), the companion volume to the MUTCD which gives full design details for signfaces.
Initially, all of the alphabet series consisted of uppercase letters and digits only, although lowercase extensions were provided for each alphabet series in a 2002 revision of SHS. Current Series B through Series F evolved from identically named alphabet series which were introduced in 1927.
Straight-stroke letters in the 1927 series were substantially similar to their modern equivalents, but unrounded glyphs were used for letters such as B, C, D, etc., to permit more uniform fabrication of signs by illiterate painters. Various state highway departments and the federal BPR experimented with rounded versions of these letters in the following two decades.
The modern, rounded alphabet series were finally standardised in 1945 after rounded versions of some letters (with widths loosely appropriate for Series C or D) were specified as an option in the 1935 MUTCD and draft versions of the new typefaces had been used in 1942 for guide signs on the newly constructed Pentagon road network.
The mixed-case alphabet now called Series E Modified, which is the standard for destination legend on freeway guide signs, originally existed in two parts: an all-uppercase Series E Modified, which was essentially similar to Series E except for a larger stroke width, and a lowercase-only alphabet. Both parts were developed by the California Division of Highways (now Caltrans) for use on freeways in 1948-50.
Initially the Division used all-uppercase Series E Modified for button-reflectorized letters on ground-mounted signs and mixed-case legend (lowercase letters with Series D capitals) for externally illuminated overhead guide signs. Several Eastern turnpike authorities blended all-uppercase Series E Modified with the lowercase alphabet for destination legends on their guide signs.
Eventually this combination was accepted for destination legend in the first manual for signing Interstate highways, which was published in 1958 by the American Association of State Highway Officials (AASHO) and adopted as the national standard by the BPR.
Uses of Non-FHWA Typefaces
The U.S. National Park Service uses Clarendon, a serif typeface, for guide signage (typically, but not always, on a brown background); some states also use Clarendon for recreational signage.
Georgia, in the past, used uppercase Series D with a custom lowercase alphabet on its freeway guide signs; the most distinctive feature of this typeface is the lack of a dot on lowercase 'i' and 'j'.[1] More recent installations appear to include the dots.[2]
A new typeface family titled "Clearview" has been developed by U.S. researchers in recent years to provide improved legibility, and is currently permitted for light legend on dark backgrounds under FHWA interim approval. Thus far, Clearview has only seen widespread use by state departments of transportation in Arkansas, Illinois[1], Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Texas. In Canada, the Ministry of Transportation for the Province of British Columbia presently specifies Clearview for use on its highway guide signs[2], and its usage has shown up in Toronto on the Don Valley Parkway and Gardiner Expressway, as well as major city streets (white on blue).
It is common for local governments, airport authorities, and contractors to fabricate traffic signs using typefaces other than the FHWA series; Helvetica and Arial are common choices.
Europe
The first road signs established in the Czech Republic since 01. 11. 1935, 6 blue-white danger warning signs. They were supplanted 01. 11. 1939 with red-white-black signs.
In 1968, the European countries signed the Vienna Convention on Road Traffic treaty, with the aim of standardizing traffic regulations in participating countries in order to facilitate international road traffic and to increase road safety. Part of the treaty was the Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals, which defined the traffic signs and signals. As a result, in Western Europe the traffic signs are well standardised, although there are still some country-specific exceptions, mostly dating from the pre-1968 era.
The principle of the European traffic sign standard is that shapes and colours are to be used for indicating same purposes. Triangular shapes (white or yellow background) are used in warning signs. Additionally, the Vienna convention allows an alternative shape for warning signs, a diamond shape, which is rarely used in Europe. The prohibition signs in Europe are round with a red border. Informative and various other secondary signs are of rectangular shape. Animals shown on warning signs include moose, frogs, deer, ducks, cows, sheep, horses, Polar bears (in Svalbard), and monkeys (in Gibraltar). The Convention allows any animal image to be used.
Directional signs have not been harmonised under the Convention, at least not on ordinary roads. As a result, there are substantial differences in directional signage throughout Europe. Differences apply in typeface, type of arrows and, most notably, colour scheme. The convention however specifies a difference between motorways and ordinary roads, and that motorways use white-on-green (e.g. Italy, Switzerland, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Slovenia, Croatia, Czech Republic, Greece, Cyprus, Romania, Slovakia) or white-on-blue (e.g. Germany, the Republic of Ireland, France, United Kingdom, Spain, Netherlands, Belgium, Austria, Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal). Hungary switched from white-on-green to blue-on-green in the early 2000s during the reconstruction of existing and construcion of new motorways, although the first section of the M5 motorway built in the early 90s still has white-on green signes.
Differences are greater for non-motorways: white-on-blue in Italy, Switzerland, Sweden, Czech Republic, Greece, Cyprus, Slovakia, Romania, Finland and Netherlands (in this case the same as motorways), white-on-green in France, United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, Poland and Portugal, black-on-yellow in Germany, Luxembourg, Norway, Slovenia and Croatia, red-on-white in Denmark (though white-on-blue on motorway exits and all overhead gantries), and black-on-white in Spain.
Secondary roads are different from primary roads in France, United Kingdom, Finland, Republic of Ireland, Switzerland and Portugal, always signposted in black-on-white. In Italy, Romania and Sweden, black-on-white indicates only urban roads or urban destinations.
Signposting road numbers differs greatly as well. Only the European route number, if signposted, will always be placed in white letters on a green rectangle.
Some signs like "STOP", "ZONE" etc are recommended to be in English, but the local language is also permitted. If the language uses non-Latin characters, the names of cities and places should also be in Latin transcription.
European countries use the metric system on road signs (distances in kilometres or metres, heights/widths in metres) with the notable exception of the UK, where distances are still indicated in miles. For countries driving on the left, the convention stipulates that the traffic signs should be mirror images of those used in countries driving on the right. This practice, however, is not systematically followed in the four European countries driving on the left, Cyprus, the Republic of Ireland, Malta and the United Kingdom. The convention permits the use of two background colours for danger and prohibit signs, white or yellow. Most countries use white with a few exceptions like Sweden, Finland, Iceland and Poland.
United Kingdom
Main articles: Road signs in the United Kingdom
Traffic signing in the UK conforms broadly to European norms, though a number of signs are unique to Britain and direction signs omit European route numbers. The current sign system, introduced on 1 January 1965, was developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s by the Anderson Committee, which established the motorway signing system, and by the Worboys Committee, which reformed signing for existing all-purpose roads. (For illustrations of all British road signs see the Highway Code website).
Britain remains the only European Union member nation and the only Commonwealth country to use non-metric (Imperial) measurements for distance and speed, although metric "authorised-weight" signs were prescribed in 1981 and there is now a dual-unit (imperial first) option for clearance signing.
Three colour schemes exist for direction signs. A road may be a motorway (white on blue), a primary route (white on dark green with yellow route numbers), or a non-primary route (black on white). Most trunk roads, which carry most of the automobile traffic and are owned by central government, and some local authority principal routes are signed as primary routes.
Two typefaces are specified for current British road signs. ''"Transport "'' is used for all text on fixed permanent signs except route numbers on motorway signs for which a taller limited character set typeface called ''"Motorway"'' is used.
Signs are generally in English although bilingual signs are used in Wales (English/Welsh) and are beginning to be seen in parts of the Scottish Highlands (English/Scottish Gaelic).
The Netherlands
Road signs in The Netherlands follow the Vienna Convention. Directional signs (which have not been harmonised under the Convention) always use blue as the background colour. The destinations on the sign are printed in white. If the destination is not a town (but an area within town or some other kind of attraction), that destination will be printed in black on a separate white background within the otherwise blue sign.
The Netherlands always signpost European road numbers where applicable (i.e. on the advance directional signs, the interchange direction signs and on the reassurance signs). Dutch national road numbers are placed on a rectangle, with motorways being signposted in white on a red rectangle (as a Axx) and primary roads in black on a yellow rectangle (as Nxx). When a motorway changes to a primary road, its number remains the same, but the A is replaced by the N. So at a certain point the A2 becomes N2, and when it changes to a motorway again, it becomes A2 again.
Signs intended for bike-riders always goes on white signs with red or green letters.
The Dutch typeface, known as ANWB-Ee, is based on the US typeface. A new font, named ANWB-Uu (also known as Redesign), has been developed in 1997 and appears on many recent Dutch signs. The language of the signs is typically Dutch, even though bilingual signs may be used, when the information is relevant for tourists.
Finland and Sweden
Swedish Moose warning sign
Main articles: Road signs in Sweden
The road signs in Finland and Sweden are similar and mostly follow the Vienna Convention with a few adaptations, however allowed within the convention:
★ the background of warning and propitiatory signs is yellow
★ the warning signs of moose and reindeer
★ the background of direction signs is blue with white text
★ the background of motorway direction signs is green with white text
★ when applicable, the language of text is Swedish in Sweden, and either Finnish, Swedish or both in Finland.
The signage typeface Tratex is used exclusively in Sweden and is available as freeware. [5]
Croatia
Traffic signs in Croatia are the same as traffic signs in the rest of the former Yugoslavia, Croatian road signs appear to follow the Vienna convention. The most common signs are yellow and black signs ''For direction'', blue and white signs ''For information'' and white-on-green signs are used on the highways. There are communist signs that are still in use in Croatia, like signs pointing to Titograd or Slavonski Brod. Sadly, Warning signs for mine fields are still strongly in use, there are also warning signs for the approch of the Serbian and Respublika Srpska borders
Ireland
Main articles: Road signs in the Republic of Ireland
Until the partition of Ireland in 1922 and the independence of Southern Ireland (now the Republic of Ireland) British standards applied across the island. In 1926 road sign standards similar to those used in the UK at the time were adopted [3]. Law requires that the signs are written in both Irish and English .
In 1956, road signs in the Republic were changed to markedly differ from the UK standard with the adoption of US-style "diamond" signs for many road hazard warnings (junctions, bends, railway crossings, traffic lights) [4]. Some domestic signs were also invented, such as the keep-left sign (a black curved arrow pointing to the upper-left, although some are similar to the European "white arrow on blue disk" signs), while some other signs are not widely adopted outside Ireland, such as the no-entry sign (a black arrow pointing ahead in a white circle with a red slashed circumference).
In January 2005 Ireland adopted metric speed limits. Around 35,000 existing signs were replaced and a further 23,000 new signs erected bearing the speed limit in kilometres per hour. To avoid confusion with the old signs, each speed limit sign now has "km/h" beneath the numerals.
Iceland
Main articles: Road signs in Iceland
Road signs in Iceland mainly follow the Vienna Convention, but use a variant of the colour scheme and minor design changes.
South and Central America
A common speed bump sign in Belize.
Road signs in South America and Central America vary from country to country. For the most part, conventions in signage tend to resemble North American signage conventions more so than European and Asian conventions. For example, warning signs are typically diamond shaped and yellow rather than triangular and white. Some variations include the "No Parking" sign, which uses a letter 'E' instead of 'P' (the Spanish word for 'Parking' is 'Estacionamiento'). Notable exceptions include speed limit signs, which follow the European conventions.
Asia
Arab countries
Signs use white text on blue, and black text on white. Both Arabic and English are used. Helvetica and DIN fonts are used, often on the same sign ''(Example)''. Motorways are signed with a blue shield with yellow numerals, while secondary roads are signed with a green turret with yellow numerals.
People's Republic of China
Mainland China uses simplified Chinese characters for its traffic signs. It is gradually moving toward internationally-accepted signs; it abandoned, for example, a localised version of the "no parking sign" (with a Hanzi character) and used the blue-red cross sign as of the late 1990s.
In larger cities and on expressways of China, both English and Chinese are used.
Hong Kong
A bilingual road sign located on Victoria Park Road, Hong Kong
All of Hong Kong's signs are bilingual, as English and Chinese are the languages. English often appears on top of text in traditional Chinese. The traffic signs are similar or exactly the same as the traffic signs being used in the United Kingdom as Hong Kong was the former British Crown colony. Besides, most of the signs use the font of Transport (typeface) which is also used in the Great Britain.
Traditional Chinese characters are still used in Hong Kong (as the policy/principle of "one country, two systems" allows Hong Kong to maintain most affairs, including road traffic regulations, the way they were prior to the handover).
Road signs and signals of Hong Kong
Malaysia
Main articles: Road signs in Malaysia
Road signs in Malaysia used Bahasa Melayu the language in that country. However English is used for important public places such as tourist attractions, airports, railway stations and immigration checkpoints. The signs usually use the FHWA Series fonts (Highway Gothic) typeface like United States, Canada and Australia.
Singapore
Main articles: Road signs in Singapore
Road signs in Singapore are all in English, one of the country's four official languages and the lingua franca of most of the population.
Expressway names are usually in 3 letter contractions such as PIE, for Pan Island Expressway. Singapore's road signs tend to be similar to those of the United Kingdom, with triangular warning signs and circular signs as restrictive signs. The signs usually use the Bureau Grotesque One Seven typeface, with the exception of street name signs, which have been produced using the Rotis Serif typeface since August 2001.
Brunei
In Brunei, Road signs used Bahasa Melayu the official and the national language in that country, similar to Malaysia. It is written in both Jawi and Roman script.
India
Bureau of Indian Standards (former Indian Standards Institution) IRC is the standardization body for traffic signs in India. But the standardization is not always followed on all types of roads in India. Generally the national highways and the state highways do carry the standardized signboards. Warning and prohibition signs are circular with a red border on white background. The directional markings (of places) are done with white letters on green background.
India too has its share of peculiar and exotic signboards. For example in developing villages it is not unusual to spot a signboard prohibiting the entry of bullock carts to certain lanes. Similarly there are sets of signage at the highways and roads crossing through forest areas cautioning the drivers of the wildlife. The signboards generally use English language sometimes accompanied with the local language.
Signs & Media International (TM)
Africa
South Africa
South Africa has well developed standards for road signs. Triangular signs are used for warnings and circular signs are used for prohibitions. In the 1990s the colours of these signs were changed from white-on-blue with a red border to black-on-white with a red border. Some regulatory signs that enforce the direction of traffic flow, or minimum speed limits are white on blue.
Informational signs are rectangular and white on green on normal roads and white on blue on freeways. The information on these signs is usually in English, and sometimes in Afrikaans. Other informational signs, such as those that name rivers and towns are white, while tourist information signs are white on brown.
Australia and New Zealand
Australia and New Zealand use diamonds for warning signs (yellow for permanent, orange for temporary) similar to America, but regulatory and information signs tend to follow European practice.
Image gallery
For an extensive collection of traffic signs, see Wikipedia Commons.
Danger or caution signs
Prohibitory or restrictive signs
Mandatory signs
Direction signs
See also
★ Fingerpost
★ Rules of the road
★ Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices
★ Street sign theft
★ Traffic light
★ Bilingual sign
★ Town sign
★ Exit numbering
★
External links
USA
★ Manual of Traffic Signs – information on United States signs
★ Traffic & Road Sign Test – test your knowledge on U.S. traffic signs
★ A gallery of strange signs from around the U.S.
European Union
★ Signs and signals in the European Union
★ The Highway Code, signs in the UK
★ Danish traffic signs
Asia
★ The Road User's Code, signs in Hong Kong SAR
★ Indian Traffic Rules and Signals
Other
★ Traffic signs in Croatia
★ Photos of directional signage on motorways
★ mycrazyhobby.com - A collection of street signs and traffic lights
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