Comparison of European road signs

• Graphic design details
• Local regulatory significance
• The colour-coding of directional signs
• Local language texts
• The meaning and colour-coding of horizontal road surface markings

Standardisation

Graphic differences

• Warning signs in Ireland are yellow and diamond-shaped, and thus differ from the white or yellow, red-bordered, triangular signs found in the rest of Europe
• The design of individual pictograms, while broadly similar, often varies in detail from country to country
• Type of arrows may be different
• Fonts of written words

Directional and informatory signage

Different typefaces in texts

• Andorra officially uses the Swiss 721 typeface, which is identical to Helvetica. However, some signs use the Caractères and Carretera Convencional typefaces.
• Austria and Slovakia use the Tern typeface. Austria used the Austria typeface until 2010. Slovakia used the Universal Grotesk typeface from Czechoslovakia era until 2014.
• Azerbaijan, Belarus, Greece, North Macedonia, Malta, Moldova, Russia, Slovenia, Turkey and Ukraine use the Arial Bold and/or Helvetica Bold typefaces in mixture with other official typefaces.
• Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Lithuania, Moldova, Russia and Ukraine use typefaces based on one specified in the Soviet standard GOST 10807–78. In Russia, the modern standard is GOST R 52290–2004. In Belarus, the according standard is STB 1140–2013. In Ukraine, it is DSTU 4100–2002.
• *Ukraine has recently started using the typeface, as part of a signage redesign according to DSTU 4100:2021.
• Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Romania, Slovenia, and Serbia use the SNV typeface. Liechtenstein and Switzerland used this typeface until 2003.
• Cyprus uses the Helvetica typeface.
• Denmark uses the Dansk Vejtavleskrift typeface. The typeface is derived from the British Transport typeface.
• Estonia uses the Arial Narrow Bold typeface.
• Finland uses a typeface developed in the 1960s by the former national board of roads and waterways.
• France uses the Caractères typeface.
• * In the French Basque Country a lighter variant of Helvetica is used for Basque language place names.
• Germany, the 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.
• Italy, Albania and San Marino use the typeface, a heavier version of the British Transport typeface.
• Luxembourg uses the Helvetica, Caractères and SNV typefaces, often inconsistently.
• The Netherlands uses typefaces derived from FHWA typeface: ANWB/RWS Cc , Dd and Ee .
• Norway uses the Trafikkalfabetet typeface.
• Poland does not use a defined typeface as the letters are defined one-by-one in the national regulation. 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 only available for road sign manufacturers.
• Spain uses the typeface, which is derived from the British Transport typeface, and is almost identical to the Italian Alfabeto Normale. Until 2014, Autopista was used for motorways.
• Sweden and Åland use the Tratex typeface. Åland formerly used the Finnish typeface in mixture with Tratex.
• Switzerland and Liechtenstein use the ASTRA-Frutiger typeface since 2003.
• Turkey uses two typefaces derived from the FHWA typeface. O-Serisi is used for motorways and E-Serisi is used for all other roads.
• The United Kingdom, Iceland, Ireland, Malta and Portugal use the Transport typeface. An oblique variant of Transport is used in Ireland for Irish text.
• *Motorway typeface is used for route numbers on United Kingdom and Ireland motorways, and for exit and route numbers in Portugal.

Differences in meanings

• Sometimes similar signs have minor differences in meanings, following the local traffic codes.
• * The United Kingdom's "pass either side" sign indicates that drivers may pass on either side of an obstacle, such as a traffic island, to reach the destination.
• * The Irish Rural [speed limit sign|"rural speed limit" sign] takes the appearance of that used to denote the end of all previously signed restrictions used elsewhere in Europe, but actually indicates a speed limit of 60 km/h. It is always accompanied with a "SLOW" supplementary plate.
• All European countries use the SI system with the exception of the United Kingdom, where distances and speeds are still indicated in imperial measurements. Since 2016, on width and height limit signs both metric and imperial measurements are used, however older signs still show imperial-only measurements. Weight limits have been expressed in metric tonnes since 1981, but signs continued to use an upper case "T" until 2011.

Road surface markings

• Longitudinal lines and symbols on the carriageway are always white. Temporary markings are yellow in Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands and Spain, but red/orange in Liechtenstein, 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 or by a double-dashed line or by a white line of triangles. In Ireland, give way markings are represented by a single dashed line; on one way streets and entrances to roundabouts it is instead represented by a combination of a single solid line and a single dashed line.
• A disc parking place is identified by white lines in Germany and by blue lines in Liechtenstein, the Netherlands, France, Spain, and Switzerland. A chargeable parking place is identified by white lines in Germany, France, Liechtenstein, the Netherlands, and Switzerland and by blue lines in Italy, Spain and Russia. A parking place reserved for disabled people is bordered in white in Germany, the Netherlands, Spain and the United Kingdom; in yellow in Italy, Liechtenstein and Switzerland; and in blue in France. Other reserved parking places are bordered with yellow lines in Italy, Liechtenstein, 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, by a yellow dashed line, by a yellow dashed line with X's, a white continuous line, or else by black-and-white or a black-and-yellow kerb markings. Only in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland does a double yellow line mean "no parking at any time".
• The prohibition of stopping / waiting can be indicated by a yellow continuous line, and in the United Kingdom by a red continuous line. In the United Kingdom, a yellow zig-zag line near hospitals, police stations, and schools means "no stopping".

Traffic signs comparisons for all countries