Road signs in Germany
Road signs in Germany follow the design of that set out in the Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals.
Traffic signs, road markings, installations, and symbols used in Germany are prescribed by the Road Traffic Regulation and the Traffic Signs Catalog.
Regulation
§§ 39 to 43 of the StVO regulate the effect of traffic signs and installations. Annexes 1 to 3 illustrate most warning, regulatory, and directional signs and annex 4 illustrates the traffic installations. Other traffic signs and installations not specified in the StVO, primarily specific supplementary signs, are published in the VzKat.The latest version of the VzKat was issued in May 2017 as the annex to the General Administrative Rules for the Road Traffic Regulation.
The StVO, the VwV-StVO and the VzKat are supported by technical rules, mostly published by the, especially:
- The Guidelines for Directional Signage outside of Motorways
- The Guidelines for Directional Signage on Motorways
- The Guidelines for Touristic Signage
- The Guidelines for Signage for Detours
- The Guidelines for the Marking of Roads
- The Guidelines for Traffic Signals
- The Guidelines for the Safety of Road Construction Sites
The used typeface is the DIN 1451 font.
History
The first set of unified road signs in Germany was introduced in 1927 in the Weimar Republic with the Verordnung über Warnungstafeln für den Kraftfahrzeugverkehr. It consisted of only 6 warning signs.In 1934, this regulation was replaced with the Imperial Road Traffic Regulation, which was acccompanied by an administrative ordinance with a set of 37 road signs.
The Imperial Road Traffic Regulation was replaced in 1938 with an regulation called "Regulation about the behavior in Road Traffic", abbreviated "Road Traffic Regulation". This regulation was amended a few times until the occupation of Germany in 1945.
The StVO of 1938 remained in force until 1971 in West Germany and until 1956 in East Germany.
Germany signed the Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signal in 1968, together with the Vienna Convention on Road Traffic. The adoption of the provisions of both conventions led to the development of a new StVO which entered into force in 1971 in West Germany.
The first sign with symbols of the current design is Sign 325, which has been introduced in 1980. In 1992 this design has been applied to all road signs of the StVO.