Road signs in Argentina

Road signs in Argentina are similar to those of other South American countries. They are something of a compromise between the Vienna Convention signs used in Europe and the U.S. system. Argentina is right-hand traffic.

While warning signs are mostly based on the US's MUTCD (yellow diamond shape), information, mandatory and prohibitory signs were taken from the Vienna Convention diagrams.

The most recent versions of Argentine road signs were introduced in 1994, with the promulgation of Law 24.449 by the Congress of Argentina, with the purpose of establishing a single rules system within the whole country.[1]

History

The first road signs in Argentina can be traced to 1817 in Buenos Aires Province, when Juan Martín de Pueyrredón (then Supreme Director of the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata) promulgated a Decree to create a Road Committee. This committee was commissioned to place posts on the main roads to serve as reference and guide for pedestrians. Those posts indicated leagues travelled and destinations.[2]

In 1855, another provincial decree provided for new signs consisting of kilometre markers, which also indicated the name (or number) of the road. Both decree established the basements of an organised sign system not only in Buenos Aires but in the whole country.[2] In 1885, engineer Jorge Coquet designed a sign system which is considered the first organised system in the country. The system was a complete program that include measurements, heights, types of plaques, among other specifications.[2] Those signs were popularly known as "Coquet signs".[3]

After that, the Argentine Automobile Club ("Automóvil Club Argentino"), the largest automobile association of Argentina, started to design an own system of signs (made of iron) and placing them on the main roads in the country.

Road sign at Plaza Italia, Buenos Aires, 1931. The Argentine Automobile Club manufactured signs through several agreements with national and provincial road administrations

In 1932, the "Dirección Nacional de Vialidad" (the Argentine national office in charge of the development, planning and conservation of national routes, abbreviated DNV) was created through law 11,658. It established that all the provinces of Argentina should adopt a unique sign system[4] (similar to the US road signs).[2] Nevertheless, in May 1935 the Congress of Argentina promulgated Law 12,153 which ruled that Argentina suscribed to road signs approved by the 1926 International Convention relating to Road Traffic held in Paris.[5][6] In article 9, Law specified that road signs should be equilateral triangle-shaped,[5] following the procedures of the Paris convention[7] but unlike signs used in Argentina (in form of diamond).[2]

To reach a consensus and solve the problem, in 1939 the DNV created a committee to make variations to the existing sign system. After studying the case, the committee established a code that incorporated both systems, Paris convention's and US signs. It finally came into force in December 1939 and has remained (with minor variations) since then.[2]

The DNV published its first manual of road signs in 1928 (under the name "Señales Camineras") with later editions in 1954, 1963, 1971 and 2017.[8] The "Roadgeek" typeface was adopted as the main font by the DNV in 1971.[8]

In 1941, the DVBA ("Dirección de Vialidad de Buenos Aires", the provincial road administration) signed the first agreement with the Argentine Automobile Club (ACA), which stated that the ACA would built and place about 5,000 road signs on the main routes of Buenos Aires. Other agreements were later signed between both institutions, in 1955 and 1959, that added 6,000 signs to the routes. The total amount for the 11,000 signs was m$n 2,352,000. The ACA also signed agreements with other provincial administrations, such as San Juan (in 1942), Santa Fe (1945), Entre Ríos (1945), and San Luis (1947).[2]

The Buenos Aires Visual Plan established in 1971 in the city of Buenos Aires introduced minor variations on some existing warning and regulatory signs, a part of redesigning street name signs completely.[9] Those signs also introduced the use of the helvetica font in the urban signal system of Buenos Aires.[9] That same year the ACA signed new agreements with the DNV, DVBA and other provincial offices (Santa Fe, Formosa) to built and place road signs. The total of signs were 20,000 for the DNV and 15,000 for the DVBA.[10]

A new traffic law, n° 24449, was promulgated in December 1994.[11] Annex "L" of art. 22 ("uniform sign system") included a list of updated road signs for all the Argentine territory.[12]

Signs system
  • Regulatory signs
  • No straight ahead
  • Do not enter
  • No motor vehicles
  • No motorcycles
  • No bicycles
  • No trucks
  • No pedestrians
  • No U-turn
  • No overtaking
  • No honking horn
  • No parking, stopping allowed
  • No stopping
  • Maximum speed limit (90 km/h)
  • Minimum speed limit (35 km/h)
  • Parking allowed
  • Exclusive parking
  • Motorcycles only
  • Bicycles only
  • Turn right only
  • Turn left only
  • Straight only
  • Pass on right
  • Pass on left
  • Stop - Customs Checkpoint
  • Stop
  • Yield
  • Warning signs
  • Railroad crossing (advance warning)
  • Railroad crossing
  • Railroad level crossing (comprising two or more tracks)
  • Stop ahead (200 m)
  • Yield ahead (200 m)
  • Information signs
  • National route
  • Provincial route
  • Highway
  • End of highway
  • No-exit street
  • Airport
  • Beach
  • Watering place
  • Coffee house
  • Camping
  • Post office
  • Bus stop
  • Motor home parking
  • Parking
  • Fuel station
  • Tire shop
  • Hotel
  • Hospital
  • Police
  • Tourist attraction
  • Rest area
  • Restaurant
  • Museum
  • Park
  • Car repair shop
  • Telephone
  • Taxi stop
  • Aerial lift
  • Rail terminal
  • Bus terminal
  • Destinations
  • City reached
  • Street name
  • Historic signs
  • School warning
  • School warning
  • Distance travelled
  • Railroad crossing ("stop, look, listen")
  • Railroad crossing ("danger railroad")
  • Orientative
  • Taxis stop

See also

References
  1. Law n° 24.449 (separated by Province) on Agencia Nacional de Seguridad Vial de Argentina website (Archive), 30 Mar 2014
  2. Comentario sobre señalamiento by Albino Pozzi on Vialidad magazine #10, Jan-Mar 1960
  3. Señaladores de Coquet fueron donados al Museo, 21 Oct 2011
  4. LEY NACIONAL DE VIALIDAD on InfoLeg
  5. Drivers: United Nations road safety conventions
  6. Ley 12153: APROBACION DE CONVENCION SOBRE CIRCULACION INTERNACIONAL DE AUTOMOVILES on InfoLeg, 9 Jan 1935
  7. Rs 0.741.11 International Convention Of 24 April 1926 Relating To Vehicular Traffic (With Annexes)
  8. Manual de señalamiento vertical (2017) on DNV
  9. Haciendo la ciudad legible by Ronald Shakespear (archived, 18 Jun 2011)
  10. El señalamiento vial del ACA
  11. LEY DE TRANSITO - Ley 24449 del 23/12/1994 on InfoLeg
  12. SISTEMA DE SEÑALIZACION VIAL UNIFORME - Decreto 779, Anexo L
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