Comparison of European road signs

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 — 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.

Example of a Swiss road sign

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

Country	Motorways	Expressways	Primary roads		Secondary roads	Regional destinations	Local destinations	Tourist signs	Temporary Detour
			outside urban area
Austria	Salzburg	Wien	Villach		n/a	Salzkammergut[c 1]			Umleitung
Bulgaria	Ямбол Yambol	Русе Ruse	Павликени Pavlikeni		Бяла Byala		Център Centre	Етър Etar	Варна Varna
Croatia	Zagreb	Bjelovar	Vukovar		Mokošica		Zračna luka	Plitvička jezera	Obilazak
Czechia	BRNO	PRAHA	VYŠKOV		n/a	SLOVANY	Letiště	Hrad Bouzov	PRAHA
Denmark	Aarhus	n/a	Skanderborg		n/a		Stadion	Himmelbjerget	Nakskov
Finland	HELSINKI HELSINGFORS	LAPPEENRANTA	PORVOO BORGÅ		n/a	KYMINLINNA	Kirjasto	Hiidenkivi	TURKU
France	PARIS	MARSEILLE	BEAUVAIS[c 2]	TOULON	LA CHAPPELLE	n/a	Gare S.N.C.F.	PARC NATUREL	Déviation
Germany	Hamburg	Freiburg	Lübeck		n/a		Bahnhof	Burg Eltz	Umleitung
Greece	Θεσσαλονίκη Thessaloniki	Πάτρα Patra	ΑΘΗΝΑ ΑΤΗΙΝΑ		n/a		Κέντρο	Ακρόπολη Akropolis
Ireland	Áth Cliath DUBLIN	n/a	Tulach Mhór TULLAMORE[c 3]		Seantrabh SANTRY[c 4]	n/a	Guaire GOREY[c 4]	Srón Bhroin BRANDON POINT	Cúrsa Timpill DETOUR
Italy	VENEZIA	UDINE	BERGOSOLE		n/a		aeroporto	Colfosco	deviazione
Liechtenstein	(CH) St. Gallen	(CH) Chur	Schaan		Vaduz	n/a	Bahnhof	Burg	Umleitung
Lithuania	KLAIPĖDA	KAUNAS	VILNIUS		n/a		CENTRAS		Apylanka
Netherlands	Amsterdam	Den Haag	Woerden		n/a		Centrum		OMLEIDING Volg A[c 5]
Norway	Nannestad	Lillestrøm	Trondheim		n/a		Sykehus	Kvitsand
Poland	Wrocław	Poznań	Opole		n/a		Stacja	Kraków	Objazd
Portugal	Lisboa	n/a	Portalegre		Póvoa de Varzim	ALGARVE[c 6]	centro	castelo	Desvio
Romania	București	n/a	Pitești		n/a	n/a	Centru	Castelul Bran	Ocolire
Slovakia	Košice	Nitra	Bratislava				Centrum	Hrad	obchádzka
Sweden	GÖTEBORG	STOCKHOLM	FALUN		n/a	NORRMALM	Vårdcentral	Långe Erik
Switzerland	Basel	Chiasso	Moudon		Ftan	n/a	Gare CFF	Castello	Umleitung Déviation Deviazione
Spain	Villalba[c 7]	Córdoba[c 8]	Oviedo[c 9]	PINTO[c 10]	BADAJOZ	n/a	centro	Navacerrada	DESVÍO
UK	Nottingham M1	n/a	Holyhead A55		Aylesbury	The NORTH[c 11]	Village Hall	Thorpe Park	Diversion

1. Used to indicate locations like regions, city centres and city districts
2. Used to indicate specific directions
3. National primary & secondary roads
4. Regional & local roads
5. On non-motorways only
6. Regional destinations and cardinal directions are written fully in uppercase (e.g. "ALGARVE" or "NORTE"), with the text and background colors being accordingly with the type of road
7. Next to AUTOPISTA also used for AUTOVÍA and AUTOBIA
8. Vía reservada para automóviles
9. vía rápida
10. carretera convencional
11. Regional destinations consist of upper case cardinal destinations and regions (e.g. "The NORTH" or "The SOUTH WEST") and are only used on motorway and primary road signs

Differences in meanings

• Sometimes similar signs have minor differences in meanings, following the local traffic codes.
• 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 . 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 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

• 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 Universal Grotesk 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.
• Bosnia and Herzegovina uses Verdana typeface in mixture with SNV typeface.
• 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, 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 used a modified version of the British Transport typeface and, today, uses 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.
• 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.

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 capital letters in English and in lowercase 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 lower case.

Table of traffic signs comparison

Priority

	Austria	Belgium	Czechia	Denmark	Estonia	Finland	France	Germany	Greece	Hungary	Iceland	Ireland	Italy	Luxembourg	Moldova	Netherlands	Norway	Poland	Portugal	Romania	Russia Belarus	Slovakia	Slovenia	Spain	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	Czechia	Denmark	Estonia	Finland	France	Germany	Greece	Hungary	Iceland	Ireland	Italy	Luxembourg	Moldova	Netherlands	Norway	Poland	Portugal	Romania	Russia Belarus	Slovakia	Slovenia	Spain	Sweden	Switzerland Liechtenstein	Turkey	Ukraine	UK

Warning

	Austria	Belgium	Czechia	Denmark	Estonia	Finland	France	Germany	Greece	Hungary	Iceland	Ireland	Italy	Luxembourg	Moldova	Netherlands	Norway	Poland	Portugal	Romania	Russia Belarus	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	Czechia	Denmark	Estonia	Finland	France	Germany	Greece	Hungary	Iceland	Ireland	Italy	Luxembourg	Moldova	Netherlands	Norway	Poland	Portugal	Romania	Russia Belarus	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				DEFUNCT	NOT USED	NOT USED
Road narrows on both sides
Road narrows on one side
Dangerous crosswinds																										DEFUNCT
Low-flying aircraft	(until 2022)			or																		DEFUNCT				DEFUNCT			or
Steep descent
Steep ascent							NOT USED
	Austria	Belgium	Czechia	Denmark	Estonia	Finland	France	Germany	Greece	Hungary	Iceland	Ireland	Italy	Luxembourg	Moldova	Netherlands	Norway	Poland	Portugal	Romania	Russia Belarus	Slovakia	Slovenia	Spain	Sweden	Switzerland Liechtenstein	Turkey	Ukraine	UK
Road hump ahead								NOT USED														DEFUNCT
Uneven road ahead
Bend ahead
Double bend ahead
Slippery road surface
Loose road surface
Soft verges		NOT USED					NOT USED	(until 2022)																		NOT USED
Children
Pedestrian crossing ahead
Cyclists ahead
Falling rocks or debris																NOT USED
	Austria	Belgium	Czechia	Denmark	Estonia	Finland	France	Germany	Greece	Hungary	Iceland	Ireland	Italy	Luxembourg	Moldova	Netherlands	Norway	Poland	Portugal	Romania	Russia Belarus	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	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				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										(Belarus)	DEFUNCT				[note 4]	NOT USED	or
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
	Austria	Belgium	Czechia	Denmark	Estonia	Finland	France	Germany	Greece	Hungary	Iceland	Ireland	Italy	Luxembourg	Moldova	Netherlands	Norway	Poland	Portugal	Romania	Russia Belarus	Slovakia	Slovenia	Spain	Sweden	Switzerland Liechtenstein	Turkey	Ukraine	UK

Prohibitory

	Austria	Belgium	Czechia	Denmark	Estonia	Finland	France	Germany	Greece	Hungary	Iceland	Ireland	Italy	Luxembourg	Netherlands	Norway	Poland	Portugal	Romania	Russia Belarus	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
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								or										or			DEFUNCT	or or						(no caravans)
	Austria	Belgium	Czechia	Denmark	Estonia	Finland	France	Germany	Greece	Hungary	Iceland	Ireland	Italy	Luxembourg	Netherlands	Norway	Poland	Portugal	Romania	Russia Belarus	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	or	NOT USED	NOT USED	NOT USED	NOT USED			NOT USED	NOT USED	NOT USED
	Austria	Belgium	Czechia	Denmark	Estonia	Finland	France	Germany	Greece	Hungary	Iceland	Ireland	Italy	Luxembourg	Netherlands	Norway	Poland	Portugal	Romania	Russia Belarus	Slovakia	Slovenia	Spain	Sweden	Switzerland Liechtenstein	Turkey	Ukraine	UK
No vehicles carrying dangerous goods		or										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
No vehicles carrying explosives	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	Czechia	Denmark	Estonia	Finland	France	Germany	Greece	Hungary	Iceland	Ireland	Italy	Luxembourg	Netherlands	Norway	Poland	Portugal	Romania	Russia Belarus	Slovakia	Slovenia	Spain	Sweden	Switzerland Liechtenstein	Turkey	Ukraine	UK

End of prohibition

	Austria	Belgium	Czechia	Denmark	Estonia	Finland	France	Germany	Greece	Hungary	Iceland	Ireland	Italy	Luxembourg	Netherlands	Norway	Poland	Portugal	Romania	Russia Belarus	Slovakia	Slovenia	Spain	Sweden	Switzerland Liechtenstein	Turkey	Ukraine	UK
End of no overtaking
End of no horns	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	DEFUNCT			NOT USED	DISUSED	NOT USED	NOT USED	NOT USED
End of all restrictions						NOT USED						NOT USED												DISUSED				NOT USED

Speed limit

	Austria	Belgium	Czechia	Denmark	Estonia	Finland	France	Germany	Greece	Hungary	Iceland	Ireland	Italy	Luxembourg	Netherlands	Norway	Poland	Portugal	Romania	Russia Belarus	Slovakia	Slovenia	Spain	Sweden	Switzerland Liechtenstein	Turkey	Ukraine	UK
Maximum speed limit
End of maximum speed limit																								DISUSED				[note 9]
Speed limit zone																								NOT USED	or
End of speed limit zone																								NOT USED	or
Minimum speed limit		NOT USED									NOT USED	NOT USED			NOT USED									NOT USED
Minimum speed limit ends		NOT USED									NOT USED	NOT USED			NOT USED									NOT USED
Advisory speed	NOT USED	NOT USED						(until 2022)			NOT USED	NOT USED					NOT USED				DEFUNCT				NOT USED

Mandatory

	Austria	Belgium	Czechia	Denmark	Estonia	Finland	France	Germany	Greece	Hungary	Iceland	Ireland	Italy	Luxembourg	Netherlands	Norway	Poland	Portugal	Romania	Russia Belarus	Slovakia	Slovenia	Spain	Sweden	Switzerland Liechtenstein	Turkey	Ukraine	UK
Straight ahead only
Proceed right only															NOT USED					NOT USED							NOT USED
Turn right ahead only
Proceed straight or turn right only												NOT USED																NOT USED
Pass on this side							or			or
Pass on either side								NOT USED										NOT USED			DEFUNCT
Roundabout																												(mini- roundabout)
Route for vehicles carrying dangerous goods			NOT USED	NOT USED		NOT USED		NOT USED	NOT USED		NOT USED	NOT USED			NOT USED	NOT USED		NOT USED			DEFUNCT							NOT USED
Bicycles only																									[note 5]
Pedestrians only																												NOT USED
Bicycles and pedestrians only																									[note 5]
Equestrians only										NOT USED		NOT USED				NOT USED	NOT USED			(Belarus)	DEFUNCT							NOT USED
	Austria	Belgium	Czechia	Denmark	Estonia	Finland	France	Germany	Greece	Hungary	Iceland	Ireland	Italy	Luxembourg	Netherlands	Norway	Poland	Portugal	Romania	Russia Belarus	Slovakia	Slovenia	Spain	Sweden	Switzerland Liechtenstein	Turkey	Ukraine	UK

Special regulations

	Austria	Belgium	Czechia	Denmark	Estonia	Finland	France	Germany	Greece	Hungary	Iceland	Ireland	Italy	Luxembourg	Netherlands	Norway	Poland	Portugal	Romania	Russia Belarus	Slovakia	Slovenia	Spain	Sweden	Switzerland Liechtenstein	Turkey	Ukraine	UK
One-way street								(until 2022)
		NOT USED					NOT USED					NOT USED					NOT USED	NOT USED							NOT USED
End of one-way street						NOT USED		NOT USED													NOT USED							NOT USED
Pedestrian crossing												or												or	[note 10]			NOT USED
Road hump						NOT USED		NOT USED					NOT USED								DEFUNCT			NOT USED	NOT USED			NOT USED
Lane ends
Residential area / living street	or																								or
Pedestrian zone																		NOT USED		(Russia) (Belarus)					or
Bus lane
Expressway					NOT USED						NOT USED	NOT USED																NOT USED
Expressway ends					NOT USED						NOT USED	NOT USED																NOT USED
Motorway											NOT USED
Motorway ends											NOT USED
	Austria	Belgium	Czechia	Denmark	Estonia	Finland	France	Germany	Greece	Hungary	Iceland	Ireland	Italy	Luxembourg	Netherlands	Norway	Poland	Portugal	Romania	Russia Belarus	Slovakia	Slovenia	Spain	Sweden	Switzerland Liechtenstein	Turkey	Ukraine	UK

Indication

	Austria	Belgium	Czechia	Denmark	Estonia	Finland	France	Germany	Greece	Hungary	Iceland	Ireland	Italy	Luxembourg	Netherlands	Norway	Poland	Portugal	Romania	Russia Belarus	Slovakia	Slovenia	Spain	Sweden	Switzerland Liechtenstein	Turkey	Ukraine	UK
No through road
Hospital					NOT USED	NOT USED	or	NOT USED										or			DEFUNCT			NOT USED	[note 11] or [note 12]			or
First aid												NOT USED																NOT USED
Bus stop	or	NOT USED													or [note 13]										NOT USED
Escape lane	NOT USED			NOT USED	NOT USED	NOT USED		NOT USED			NOT USED	NOT USED	NOT USED											NOT USED
Tunnel												NOT USED	or							NOT USED					[note 14][7]
Parking
	Austria	Belgium	Czechia	Denmark	Estonia	Finland	France	Germany	Greece	Hungary	Iceland	Ireland	Italy	Luxembourg	Netherlands	Norway	Poland	Portugal	Romania	Russia Belarus	Slovakia	Slovenia	Spain	Sweden	Switzerland Liechtenstein	Turkey	Ukraine	UK

Border Crossings

	Austria	Belgium	Czechia	Denmark	Estonia	Finland	France	Germany	Greece	Hungary	Iceland	Ireland	Italy	Luxembourg	Netherlands	Norway	Poland	Portugal	Romania	Russia Belarus	Slovakia	Slovenia	Spain	Sweden	Switzerland Liechtenstein	Turkey	Ukraine	UK
National border	or or	or or				or					NOT USED	NOT USED								NOT USED		or						NOT USED
National speed limits		or (Flanders)																		(Russia) (Belarus)								or (Northern Ireland)
	Austria	Belgium	Czechia	Denmark	Estonia	Finland	France	Germany	Greece	Hungary	Iceland	Ireland	Italy	Luxembourg	Netherlands	Norway	Poland	Portugal	Romania	Russia Belarus	Slovakia	Slovenia	Spain	Sweden	Switzerland Liechtenstein	Turkey	Ukraine	UK

Built-up Area Limits

Under the Vienna Convention the Begin and End Built-up Area signs imply a change between Built-up Area and Rural traffic rules including speed limit. In many European Countries the dark background with light coloured text version of the sign is intended for information only.[8] Poland uses white text on a green background (E-17a/E18a) to show the political boundary of a place as information and uses the black on white pictogram version (D-42/D-43) to designate the change of traffic rules.[9]

	Austria	Belgium	Czechia	Denmark	Estonia	Finland	France	Germany	Greece	Hungary	Iceland	Ireland	Italy	Luxembourg	Netherlands	Norway	Poland	Portugal	Romania	Russia Belarus	Slovakia	Slovenia	Spain	Sweden	Switzerland Liechtenstein	Turkey	Ukraine	UK
Entrance to built up area		or or or			or				or	or or		on national roads, or on national roads (only), or on regional/local roads	or	or				or		Russia: or Belarus: or					[note 15] Switzerland: (main roads) (minor roads) Liechtenstein: (main roads) (minor roads)			NOT USED
Leaving built up area		or or or			or				or	or or		on national roads (only)		or				or		Russia: or Belarus: or					Switzerland:[note 16] (main roads) (minor roads) Liechtenstein: (main roads) (minor roads)			NOT USED
Entrance to locality	NOT USED	NOT USED		NOT USED	NOT USED		NOT USED		NOT USED	NOT USED	NOT USED	NOT USED		NOT USED	NOT USED					Russia: Belarus:	NOT USED		or		NOT USED			varying design
Leaving locality	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					Russia: Belarus:	NOT USED			NOT USED	NOT USED			varying design
	Austria	Belgium	Czechia	Denmark	Estonia	Finland	France	Germany	Greece	Hungary	Iceland	Ireland	Italy	Luxembourg	Netherlands	Norway	Poland	Portugal	Romania	Russia Belarus	Slovakia	Slovenia	Spain	Sweden	Switzerland Liechtenstein	Turkey	Ukraine	UK

Checkpoints

	Austria	Belgium	Czechia	Denmark	Estonia	Finland	France	Germany	Greece	Hungary	Iceland	Ireland	Italy	Luxembourg	Netherlands	Norway	Poland	Portugal	Romania	Russia Belarus	Slovakia	Slovenia	Spain	Sweden	Switzerland Liechtenstein	Turkey	Ukraine	UK
Customs				NOT USED						or	NOT USED	NOT USED			or										or			NOT USED
Police	NOT USED	NOT USED		NOT USED			or		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
Toll	NOT USED	or	NOT USED	NOT USED	NOT USED	NOT USED		or				NOT USED		NOT USED	NOT USED	or or (electronic toll collection)				NOT USED	NOT USED		or		NOT USED	NOT USED	NOT USED	(road charge)
Other Control	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		DEFUNCT	NOT USED			NOT USED	NOT USED		NOT USED
	Austria	Belgium	Czechia	Denmark	Estonia	Finland	France	Germany	Greece	Hungary	Iceland	Ireland	Italy	Luxembourg	Netherlands	Norway	Poland	Portugal	Romania	Russia Belarus	Slovakia	Slovenia	Spain	Sweden	Switzerland Liechtenstein	Turkey	Ukraine	UK

See also

• Comparison of European traffic laws
• Traffic sign
• Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals
• Comparison of MUTCD-influenced traffic signs
• Comparison of traffic signs in English-speaking countries

Notes

1. The slippery road surface sign is permanent and the lower plate is added temporarily.
2. Plate below danger sign reads one of either: German: Nebel, French: brouillard, Italian: nebbia
3. This sign (no. 4.07a) is the announcement of a tunnel; the distance indicated tells the distance to tunnel entrance, not its length. Not to be mismatched with sign no. 4.07!
4. Plate below danger sign reads one of either: German: Unfall, French: accident, Italian: incidente
5. Always also implies mopeds with a maximum design speed of 25 km/h
6. Prohibition of large goods vehicles (with total weight larger than 3.5 t, including any load).
7. Applies also to axles being apart not more than 1 metre.
8. This sign has been replaced by sign no. 4.14 "Hospital", since it was only used in this context!
9. National Speed Limit applies. 70 mph on motorways and dual carriageways and 60 mph on single carriageway roads (other limits apply to different classes of vehicle).
10. Always produced on non-urban roads, in urban settings only, if badly visible; mandatory priority given to pedestrians – always applicable on any pedestrian crossings even without sign.
11. Indicates hospital with emergency station open 7/24.
12. Means only presence of hospital, rest home, or the like. Is an educated indication to be quiet and to drive carefully.
13. In the Netherlands, the first one is always used because otherwise it wouldn't be an official bus stop. The bottom one is sometimes used to inform drivers a bus stop is coming up, mostly outside the built-up area.
14. This sign (no. 4.07) is produced at the beginning of a tunnel; if accompanied with sign no. 5.03 (length indication), it indicates the length of the tunnel, not the distance to the tunnel, as done by sign no. 4.07a!
15. The presence of an entry sign of a town or village is often accompanied with a speed limit; normally the generally valid speed limit of 50 km/h sign no. 2.30.1.
16. The name above the horizontal line is the name of the next village or town (not the name of the current place!), the name(s) below the line mention the next major settlement(s), and optionally, the distance to them.

References

• European Standard for Traffic Signs - EN 12899-1:2001 Fixed, Vertical Road Traffic Signs – Part 1: Fixed Signs, Requirements

1. http://etd.lib.metu.edu.tr/upload/12612722/index.pdf
2. Österman, Tuomas; Miettinen, Saija; Ronkainen, Kaisa (2005). "Opastusmerkkien luettavuus" [Readability of guidance signs] (PDF) (in Finnish). Helsinki: Tiehallinto. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 31 July 2011.
3. Útügyi műszaki előírás, e-ÚT 04.02.12.
4. Rozporządzenie w sprawie szczegółowych warunków technicznych dla znaków i sygnałów drogowych oraz urządzeń bezpieczeństwa ruchu drogowego i warunków ich umieszczania na drogach [Regulation on detailed technical conditions for road signs and signals as well as road safety devices and conditions for their placement on roads], Dz. U. z 2003 r. Nr 220, poz. 2181
5. "Traffic Type Spain D". Myfonts.com. 22 February 1999. Retrieved 9 November 2012.
6. "SR/RS 741.21 (Signalisation Act, SSV/OSR/OSStr) Art. 45 (Signalisation of Special Roads) para 3" (Swiss federal laws) (in German, French, and Italian). Berne, Switzerland: Swiss Federal Council. 15 January 2017. Retrieved 2 March 2018. Das Signal steht am Eingang des Tunnels sowie zusätzlich als Vorsignal (Art. 44 Abs. 3) [The signal is located at the entrance of the tunnel and additionally as a pre-signal (Art. 44 para. 3)]
7. "SR/RS 741.21 (Signalisation Act, SSV/OSR/OSStr) Art. 45 (Signalisation of Special Roads) para 3" (Swiss federal laws) (in German, French, and Italian). Berne, Switzerland: Swiss Federal Council. 15 January 2017. Retrieved 2 March 2018. Das Signal steht am Eingang des Tunnels sowie zusätzlich als Vorsignal (Art. 44 Abs. 3) [The signal is located at the entrance of the tunnel and additionally as a pre-signal (Art. 44 para. 3)]
8. "Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals - unece" (PDF). United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE). UNITED NATIONS. Retrieved 12 July 2018.
9. "Rozporządzenie Ministrów Infrastruktury oraz Spraw Wewnętrznych i Administracji z dnia 31 lipca 2002 r. w sprawie znaków i sygnałów drogowych". prawo.sejm.gov.pl. Polish Parliament. Retrieved 12 July 2018.