Comparison of European road signs

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Example of a Swiss road sign

European traffic signs present relevant differences between countries despite an apparent uniformity and standardisation. Most European countries refer to the 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals, and it has been adopted by Albania, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Montenegro, the Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, San Marino, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey,^[1] Ukraine and the United Kingdom. The convention has not been adopted by Ireland, Moldova and Spain.

Differences between European traffic signs[]

French sign showing the difference between French and Swiss motorway sign colours, on the A411 near Geneva

The main differences relate to

• graphic design details
• local regulatory significance
• the colour-coding of directional signs
• local language texts (sometimes bilingual)
• the meaning and colour-coding of horizontal road surface markings

Graphic differences[]

• Warning signs in Ireland are yellow and diamond-shaped (as in the Americas, Australasia, and some east Asian countries), and thus differ from the white or yellow, red-bordered, triangular signs found in the rest of Europe.
• The design of individual pictograms (tunnel, pedestrian, car, etc.), while broadly similar, often varies in detail from country to country.
• Type of arrows may be different.
• Fonts of written words

Differences of directional and informatory signage[]

Differences in meanings[]

• Sometimes similar signs have minor differences in meanings, following the local traffic codes.^{[citation needed]}
• All European countries use the metric system (distances in kilometres or metres; speeds in kilometres per hour; heights, widths and lengths in metres; weights in tonnes) with the exception of the United Kingdom, where distances and speeds are still indicated in imperial measurements (miles or yards and miles per hour). Since 2016, on width and height limit signs both metric and imperial measurements are used (metres and feet & inches), however older signs still show imperial-only measurements^{[citation needed]}. Since 2011, weight limit signs use metric tonnes with a lower case "t", although some older signs still use the imperial long ton indicated by either an upper case "T" or simply the word "ton".

Horizontal road surface markings[]

• Longitudinal lines (lanes and margins) and symbols on the carriageway are always white (but in Norway a yellow line separates two-way traffic and in Ireland edge lines are yellow). Temporary markings are yellow in Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands and Spain, but red/orange in Switzerland and Russia, and white in the United Kingdom.
• A stop line is always represented by a white thick traversal continuous line, but a give way line may be represented by a white thick dashed line as rectangles (Germany, France, Spain) or by a double-dashed line (United Kingdom) or by the combination of a single solid line and a single dashed line (Ireland) or by a white line of triangles (Austria, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, and Switzerland)
• A disc (time-limited) parking place is identified by white lines in Germany and by blue lines in the Netherlands, France, Spain, and Switzerland. A chargeable parking place is identified by white lines in Germany, France, the Netherlands, and Switzerland and by blue lines in Italy and Spain. A parking place reserved for disabled people is bordered in white in Germany, the Netherlands, Spain and the United Kingdom; in yellow in Italy and Switzerland; and in blue in France. Other reserved parking places (bus, taxis) are bordered with yellow lines in Italy, Spain, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom, but with white lines in Germany.
• The prohibition of roadside parking can be indicated by a yellow continuous line (Austria, Spain, the Republic of Ireland, and the United Kingdom), by a yellow dashed line (the Netherlands and France), by a yellow dashed line with X's (Switzerland), a white continuous line (Italy), or else by black-and-white (the Netherlands) or a black-and-yellow (the Netherlands and Italy) kerb markings. Only in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland does a double yellow line (as well as a white zig-zag line in the vicinity of pedestrian crossings) mean "no parking at any time".
• The prohibition of stopping / waiting is indicated in the Netherlands, France and Switzerland by a yellow continuous line, and in (certain cities of) the United Kingdom by a red continuous line (with double red lines extending the meaning to "no stopping at any time). In the United Kingdom, a yellow zig-zag line near hospitals, police stations, and schools means "no stopping".

Different typefaces in texts[]

A sign with the use of Transport font in Icelandic

This list is incomplete; you can help by . (September 2019)

• Albania and Italy use the Alfabeto normale typeface (with the narrow variant Alfabeto stretto), a heavier version of the British Transport typeface.
  • Albania has recently started using Arial Narrow Bold typeface.
• Austria and Slovakia use the TERN typeface. In the past, Austria used the Austria Mittelschrift and Engschrift typefaces until 2010. Slovakia used the typeface until 2014.
• Belarus, Lithuania, Russia and Ukraine use typefaces based on one specified in a Soviet standard ГОСТ 10807–78. In Belarus, the according standard is СТБ 1140–99. In Ukraine, it is ДСТУ 4100–2002. In Russia, it is ГОСТ Р 52290–2004.
• Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Luxembourg, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Romania, Slovenia, and Serbia use the SNV typeface. Switzerland used this typeface until 2003.
• Cyprus, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Turkey, Portugal, and the United Kingdom use the Transport typeface. (Motorway typeface is used on United Kingdom and Ireland motorways)
• Denmark uses the Dansk Vejtavleskrift typeface. The typeface is derived from the British Transport typeface.
• Estonia, North Macedonia, Moldova, Slovenia, Turkey and Ukraine use the Arial Bold in mixture with other typefaces.
• Finland uses a typeface developed in the 1960s by the former national board of roads and waterways.^[2]
• France uses the Caractères typeface.
• Germany, Czech Republic and Latvia use the DIN 1451 typeface.
• Greece uses a modified version of the British Transport typeface on most regular roads; motorway signs use a modified version of DIN 1451.
• Hungary does not use a defined typeface as the letters are defined one-by-one in the national regulation. The typeface resembles the DIN 1451 typeface closely.^[3]
  • Hungary has recently started using modified version of Verdana typeface.
• Luxembourg uses Arial (Bold), Caractères Italic, DIN 1451, and the SNV typefaces, often inconsistently.
• The Netherlands uses typefaces derived from FHWA typeface: ANWB/RWS Cc (narrow), Dd (medium) and Ee (wide).
• Norway uses the Trafikkalfabetet typeface.
• Poland does not use a defined typeface as the letters are defined one-by-one in the national regulation.^[4] There are three typefaces resembling the defined one, with two of them distributed as non-commercial freeware – Drogowskaz and Tablica drogowa typefaces. The third one, fully compliant with the regulation is available only for road signs making companies.
  • Poland has recently started using modified version of Allerta typeface with Polish extension.
• Spain used two typefaces in the past: Autopista (derived from FHWA series E modified) for motorways and Carretera Convencional (also known as CCRIGE or Traffic Type Spain D)^[5] for other situations. The typeface Carretera Convencional is derived from the British Transport typeface, and is almost identical to the Italian Alfabeto Normale. Since 2014, all new signs use Carretera Convencional regardless of the status of the road.
• Sweden uses the Tratex typeface.
• Switzerland uses the ASTRA-Frutiger typeface since 2003.
• Turkey and Ukraine use the FHWA typeface.^{[citation needed]}

In Albania, Andorra, Belarus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, France, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Monaco, Russia, San Marino, Sweden, and Ukraine, 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, Germany, Greece, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Switzerland 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.

Table of traffic signs comparison[]

Priority[]

	Austria	Belgium	Czech Republic	Denmark	Estonia	Finland	France	Germany	Greece		Iceland	Ireland	Italy				Netherlands	Norway	Poland			Russia	Serbia				Sweden	Switzerland Liechtenstein	Turkey	Ukraine	UK
Give Way / Yield												or																			or (Wales)
Stop
Priority road												NOT USED																			NOT USED
End of priority road												NOT USED																			NOT USED
Give way to oncoming traffic												NOT USED
Priority over oncoming vehicles												NOT USED
	Austria	Belgium	Czech Republic	Denmark	Estonia	Finland	France	Germany	Greece	Hungary	Iceland	Ireland	Italy	Latvia	Luxembourg	Moldova	Netherlands	Norway	Poland	Portugal	Romania	Russia Belarus	Serbia	Slovakia	Slovenia	Spain	Sweden	Switzerland Liechtenstein	Turkey	Ukraine	UK

Warning[]

	Austria	Belgium	Czech Republic	Denmark	Estonia	Finland	France	Germany	Greece	Hungary	Iceland	Ireland	Italy	Latvia	Luxembourg	Moldova	Netherlands	Norway	Poland	Portugal	Romania	Russia Belarus	Serbia	Slovakia	Slovenia	Spain	Sweden	Switzerland Liechtenstein	Turkey	Ukraine	UK
Give Way ahead
Stop ahead
Traffic signals ahead													or
Roundabout ahead		NOT USED						NOT USED				or (mini- roundabout)												DEFUNCT				REPLACED by sign No. 4.54
Two-way traffic ahead					or							or																			or
Traffic queues likely ahead											NOT USED
Level crossing without barriers ahead											NOT USED
Level crossing with barriers ahead								(until 2022)			NOT USED	or (no lights)												DEFUNCT
Level crossing (one track)								(overhead wires)			NOT USED	NOT USED									and										(ungated)
Level crossing (multiple tracks)								NOT USED			NOT USED	NOT USED									and			DEFUNCT				DEFUNCT			(ungated) DEFUNCT
	Austria	Belgium	Czech Republic	Denmark	Estonia	Finland	France	Germany	Greece	Hungary	Iceland	Ireland	Italy	Latvia	Luxembourg	Moldova	Netherlands	Norway	Poland	Portugal	Romania	Russia Belarus	Serbia	Slovakia	Slovenia	Spain	Sweden	Switzerland Liechtenstein	Turkey	Ukraine	UK
Tram crossing											NOT USED													DEFUNCT
Crossroads with priority to the right												NOT USED					(dangerous crossroads)														NOT USED
Crossroads with a minor road
Junction with a minor road							NOT USED	NOT USED																				DEFUNCT
Merging traffic	NOT USED	NOT USED	NOT USED	NOT USED	NOT USED		NOT USED	NOT USED						NOT USED		NOT USED	NOT USED	NOT USED			NOT USED			NOT USED				DEFUNCT	NOT USED	NOT USED
Road narrows on both sides
Road narrows on one side
Dangerous crosswinds																												DEFUNCT
Low-flying aircraft				or																				DEFUNCT				DEFUNCT			or
Steep descent
Steep ascent							NOT USED
	Austria	Belgium	Czech Republic	Denmark	Estonia	Finland	France	Germany	Greece	Hungary	Iceland	Ireland	Italy	Latvia	Luxembourg	Moldova	Netherlands	Norway	Poland	Portugal	Romania	Russia Belarus	Serbia	Slovakia	Slovenia	Spain	Sweden	Switzerland Liechtenstein	Turkey	Ukraine	UK
Road hump ahead								NOT USED																DEFUNCT					NOT USED
Uneven road ahead
Bend ahead
Double bend ahead
Slippery road surface
Loose road surface
Soft verges							NOT USED	(until 2022)																				NOT USED
Children
Pedestrian crossing ahead
Cyclists ahead
Falling rocks or debris																	NOT USED
	Austria	Belgium	Czech Republic	Denmark	Estonia	Finland	France	Germany	Greece	Hungary	Iceland	Ireland	Italy	Latvia	Luxembourg	Moldova	Netherlands	Norway	Poland	Portugal	Romania	Russia Belarus	Serbia	Slovakia	Slovenia	Spain	Sweden	Switzerland Liechtenstein	Turkey	Ukraine	UK
Snow or ice						NOT USED	NOT USED															(Belarus)					NOT USED	[note 1]
Fog likely							NOT USED							NOT USED					NOT USED			NOT USED		DEFUNCT			NOT USED	[note 2]			NOT USED
Opening or swing bridge					NOT USED						NOT USED													NOT USED				NOT USED
Unprotected quayside or riverbank										or														NOT USED				NOT USED			or
Domestic animals						NOT USED
Wild animals						or
Tunnel ahead	NOT USED	NOT USED			NOT USED	NOT USED	NOT USED	NOT USED					NOT USED	NOT USED	NOT USED		NOT USED		NOT USED					DEFUNCT		NOT USED		REPLACED by sign no. 4.07a [note 3][6]
Accident area / accident ahead	NOT USED	NOT USED		NOT USED		NOT USED			NOT USED		NOT USED					or						(Belarus)		DEFUNCT				[note 4]	NOT USED
Roadworks ahead
Other danger
Other danger (temporary)	NOT USED	NOT USED	NOT USED	NOT USED		NOT USED		NOT USED		NOT USED	NOT USED	NOT USED		NOT USED	NOT USED	NOT USED	NOT USED		NOT USED		NOT USED	NOT USED		NOT USED	NOT USED		NOT USED	NOT USED		NOT USED	NOT USED
	Austria	Belgium	Czech Republic	Denmark	Estonia	Finland	France	Germany	Greece	Hungary	Iceland	Ireland	Italy	Latvia	Luxembourg	Moldova	Netherlands	Norway	Poland	Portugal	Romania	Russia Belarus	Serbia	Slovakia	Slovenia	Spain	Sweden	Switzerland Liechtenstein	Turkey	Ukraine	UK

Prohibitory[]

	Austria	Belgium	Czech Republic	Denmark	Estonia	Finland	France	Germany	Greece	Hungary	Iceland	Ireland	Italy	Latvia	Luxembourg	Moldova	Netherlands	Norway	Poland	Portugal	Romania	Russia Belarus	Serbia	Slovakia	Slovenia	Spain	Sweden	Switzerland Liechtenstein	Turkey	Ukraine	UK
No vehicles
No entry												no exceptions or with exceptions
No motor vehicles		NOT USED											NOT USED
No motor vehicles except motorcycles				NOT USED		NOT USED	NOT USED					NOT USED		NOT USED				NOT USED				NOT USED								NOT USED
No motorcycles												NOT USED
No bicycles																												[note 5]
No pedestrians
No buses																						NOT USED
No heavy goods vehicles																				or								[note 6]
No tractors		NOT USED										NOT USED																DEFUNCT
No trailers		NOT USED						or												or				DEFUNCT	or or						(no caravans)
	Austria	Belgium	Czech Republic	Denmark	Estonia	Finland	France	Germany	Greece	Hungary	Iceland	Ireland	Italy	Latvia	Luxembourg	Moldova	Netherlands	Norway	Poland	Portugal	Romania	Russia Belarus	Serbia	Slovakia	Slovenia	Spain	Sweden	Switzerland Liechtenstein	Turkey	Ukraine	UK
Maximum height
Maximum width
Maximum vehicle length	or
Maximum weight																		or
Maximum weight per axle		NOT USED																										[note 7]			DEFUNCT
Maximum weight per tandem axle	NOT USED	NOT USED	NOT USED				NOT USED	NOT USED	NOT USED	NOT USED	NOT USED	NOT USED	NOT USED	NOT USED			NOT USED		NOT USED	NOT USED	or	NOT USED		NOT USED	NOT USED	NOT USED			NOT USED	NOT USED	NOT USED
	Austria	Belgium	Czech Republic	Denmark	Estonia	Finland	France	Germany	Greece	Hungary	Iceland	Ireland	Italy	Latvia	Luxembourg	Moldova	Netherlands	Norway	Poland	Portugal	Romania	Russia Belarus	Serbia	Slovakia	Slovenia	Spain	Sweden	Switzerland Liechtenstein	Turkey	Ukraine	UK
No vehicles carrying dangerous goods												NOT USED
No vehicles carrying dangerous water pollutants				NOT USED	NOT USED	NOT USED						NOT USED		NOT USED			NOT USED	NOT USED				NOT USED					NOT USED				NOT USED
No vehicles carrying explosives	NOT USED		NOT USED	NOT USED	NOT USED	NOT USED					NOT USED			NOT USED			NOT USED	NOT USED						NOT USED
Minimum safe following distance between vehicles		NOT USED						(over 3.5 t)		or		NOT USED					NOT USED	NOT USED													NOT USED
No right turn								NOT USED									NOT USED
No left turn								NOT USED									NOT USED
No U-turns
No overtaking																				or
No overtaking by heavy goods vehicles																															NOT USED
No parking or waiting																															DEFUNCT (singular)
No stopping
No parking zone													NOT USED															or
No horns or excessive motor noise		NOT USED				NOT USED		NOT USED		NOT USED	NOT USED	NOT USED					NOT USED							DEFUNCT			NOT USED	REPLACED by sign no. 4.14[note 8]			NOT USED
	Austria	Belgium	Czech Republic	Denmark	Estonia	Finland	France	Germany	Greece	Hungary	Iceland	Ireland	Italy	Latvia	Luxembourg	Moldova	Netherlands	Norway	Poland	Portugal	Romania	Russia Belarus	Serbia	Slovakia	Slovenia	Spain	Sweden	Switzerland Liechtenstein	Turkey	Ukraine	UK