- Comparison of European traffic signs
Despite an apparent uniformity and standardisation, European traffic signs presents relevant differences between countries. However most European countries refer to the
1968 Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals — adopted in Europe by Albania, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Montenegro, Norway, Poland, Romania, Russian Federation, San Marino, Serbia, Slovakia, Sweden, Switzerland, Macedonia and Ukraine.Differences between European traffic signs
Main differences are related to:
* graphic differences
* differences in meanings
* the use of a different colour-code scheme
* local language texts (sometimes bilingual)Graphic differences
* Warning signs in Ireland have a diamond shape with a yellow background in place of the standard triangular shape. They diverge from the standards of the rest of Europe.
* Many pictograms (tunnel, pedastrian, car, etc.) are quite different in many countries.
* Type of arrows may be different.
* Different typefaces in texts. United Kingdom, Italy, Spain, Iceland, Ireland, Greece and Portugal uses a Transport font. Germany usesDIN 1451 . Netherlands usesFHWA Series fonts . Switzerland aFrutiger font.Different colour codes
* Usually warning signs have red borders and a white background. But in Sweden, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Greece, Finland, Iceland, the Republic of Macedonia and Poland, they have an amber background (in other countries it means a provisional road work signs). Also the yield sign used in Sweden, Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia, Finland, and Poland has a yellow background.
* Many countries normally have adopted a orange or amber background for road work or construction signs. Other countries (France, Italy, Sweden, Finland, Iceland and Poland) uses a yellow background.
* Motorway destinations are indicated with white texts on a blue background in United Kingdom, Germany, France, Spain, Netherlands, Ireland, Belgium, Austria, Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal, Latvia and Hungary. But with white texts on a green background in Italy, Switzerland, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Slovenia, Croatia, Czech Republic, Greece, Cyprus, Romania, Slovakia and Serbia.
* Primary roads (non motorway) are white-on-blue in Italy, Switzerland, Sweden, Czech Republic, Greece, Cyprus, Slovakia, Romania, Latvia, Finland and Netherlands (in this case the same as motorways), white-on-green in France, United Kingdom, Ireland, Poland and Portugal, black-on-yellow in Germany, Luxembourg, Norway, Slovenia, Serbia and Croatia, red-on-white in Denmark (though white-on-blue on motorway exits and all overhead gantries), and black-on-white in Austria and Spain.
* Secondary roads are different from primary roads in France, United Kingdom, Finland, Ireland, Switzerland and Portugal, always signposted in black-on-white. In Germany, Italy, Romania and Sweden, black-on-white indicates only urban roads or urban destinations.Differences in meanings
* Sometimes similar signs have little differences in meanings, following the local traffic codes.
* European countries use the metric system (distances in kilometres or metres, heights/widths in metres) with the exception of the United Kingdom, where distances are still indicated in miles.Table of comparison of traffic signs in the five main European countries
Comparison of traffic signs in the five main countries of
European Union (United Kingdom ,Germany ,France ,Italy andSpain ).United Kingdom
Germany
France
Italy
Spain
4
4
4
4
4
5
Notes
# Indicates the use of Norwegian sign images that are identical to UK signs, for illustration.
# Indicates the use of Irish sign images that are identical to UK signs, for illustration.
# Indicates the use of French sign images that are identical to UK signs, for illustration.
# Indicates the use of German sign images that are identical to UK signs, for illustration.
# Indicates the use of Spanish sign images that are identical to UK signs, for illustration.ee also
*
Traffic sign
*Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals
*Road signs in Iceland
*Road signs in the Republic of Ireland
*Road signs in Italy
*Road signs in Norway
*Road signs in Sweden
*Road signs in the United Kingdom External links
* http://www.travlang.com/signs/
* http://german.about.com/library/blauto_traf.htm
* http://homepages.cwi.nl/~dik/english/traffic/References
*European Standard for Traffic Signs - EN 12899-1:2001 "Fixed, Vertical Road Traffic Signs – Part 1: Fixed Signs, Requirements"
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