Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals
Encyclopedia
Treaty
A treaty is an express agreement under international law entered into by actors in international law, namely sovereign states and international organizations. A treaty may also be known as an agreement, protocol, covenant, convention or exchange of letters, among other terms...
designed to increase road safety and aid international road traffic by standardising the signing system for road traffic (road signs, traffic lights and road markings) in use internationally.
This convention was agreed upon by the United Nations Economic and Social Council
United Nations Economic and Social Council
The Economic and Social Council of the United Nations constitutes one of the six principal organs of the United Nations and it is responsible for the coordination of the economic, social and related work of 14 UN specialized agencies, its functional commissions and five regional commissions...
at its Conference on Road Traffic in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
7 October 1968 to 8 November 1968, was done in Vienna on 8 November 1968 and came into force
Coming into force
Coming into force or entry into force refers to the process by which legislation, regulations, treaties and other legal instruments come to have legal force and effect...
6 June 1978. This conference also produced the Vienna Convention on Road Traffic
Vienna Convention on Road Traffic
The Vienna Convention on Road Traffic is an international treaty designed to facilitate international road traffic and to increase road safety by standardising the uniform traffic rules among the contracting parties...
, which complements this legislation by standardising international traffic laws.
The convention revised and substantially extended the earlier 1949 Geneva Protocol on Road Signs and Signals http://web.archive.org/web/20091026194353/http://geocities.com/bkkriders/law/unc/sign1949.html, itself based in turn on the 1931 Geneva Convention concerning the Unification of Road Signals.
Amendments, including new provisions regarding the legibility of signs, priority at roundabouts and new signs to improve safety in tunnels were adopted in 2003.
Road signs
- A Danger warning signWarning signA traffic warning sign is a type of traffic sign that indicates a hazard ahead on the road that may not be readily apparent to a driver.In most countries, they usually take the shape of an equilateral triangle with a white background and a thick red border...
s
- B Priority signs
- C Prohibitory or restrictive signsProhibitory traffic signProhibitory traffic signs are used to prohibit certain types of manoeuvres or some types of traffic.-No entry:No admittance to unauthorised personnel, usually shown as a red circle with a white rectangle across its face.-Speed limits:...
- D Mandatory signMandatory signMandatory signs are road signs which are used to set the obligations of all traffic which use a specific area of road. Unlike prohibitory or restrictive signs, mandatory signs tell traffic what it must do, rather than must not do...
s
- F Information, facilities, or service signs
- G Direction, position, or indication signDirection, position, or indication signA direction sign, more fully defined as a direction, position, or indication sign by the Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals, is any road sign used primarily to give information about the location of either the driver or possible destinations, and are considered a subset of the informative...
- H Additional panels
The convention then lays out precise colours, sizes and shapes for each of these classes of sign:
| Class of sign | Shape | Ground | Border | Size | Symbol |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Danger warning sign | Equilateral triangle | White or yellow | Red | 0.9 m (large), 0.6 m (small) | Varies, black |
| Diamond | Yellow | Black | 0.6 m (large), 0.4 m (small) | Varies, black | |
| Priority signs | |||||
| Give way sign Yield sign In road transport, a ' or ' traffic sign indicates that each driver must prepare to stop if necessary to let a driver on another approach proceed. A driver who stops has yielded the right of way to another... |
Inverted equilateral triangle | White or yellow | Red | 0.9 m (large), 0.6 m (small) | None |
| Stop sign Stop sign A Stop sign is a traffic sign to notify drivers that they must stop before proceeding.-Specifications:The Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals proposed standard stop sign diameters of 0.6, 0.9 or 1.2 metres. UK and New Zealand stop signs are 750, 900 or 1200 mm, according to sign... |
Octagon | Red | None | 0.9 m (large), 0.6 m (small) | Stop† written in white |
| Circular | White or yellow | Yellow | 0.9 m (large), 0.6 m (small) | Stop† written in blue or black | |
| Priority road | Diamond | White | Black | 0.5 m (large), 0.35 m (small) | Yellow square |
| End priority | Diamond | White | Black | 0.5 m (large), 0.35 m (small) | Yellow square and grey or black diagonal lines crossing the sign |
| Priority for oncoming traffic | Circular | White or yellow | Red | Unspecified | Black arrow indicating direction with priority, red arrow indicating direction without |
| Priority over oncoming traffic | Rectangle | Blue | None | Unspecified | White arrow indicating direction with priority, red arrow indicating direction without |
| Prohibitory signs | |||||
| Standard prohibitory | Circular | White or yellow | Red | 0.6 m (large), 0.4 m (small) | Varies |
| Parking prohibitory | Circular | Blue | None | 0.6 m (large), 0.2 m (small) | Varies |
| End of prohibition | Circular | White or yellow | None | 0.6 m (large), 0.4 m (small) | Black or grey diagonal line |
| Mandatory signs | |||||
| Standard mandatory | Circular | Blue | None | 0.6 m (large), 0.4 m (small), 0.3 m (very small) | Varies, white |
| Circular | White | Red | 0.6 m (large), 0.4 m (small), 0.3 m (very small) | Varies, black | |
| Special regulation signs | |||||
| All signs | Rectangular | Blue | Unspecified | Unspecified | Varies, white |
| Light | Unspecified | Unspecified | Varies, Black | ||
| Information, facilities or service signs | |||||
| All signs | Unspecified | Blue or green | Unspecified | Unspecified | Varies, on white or yellow rectangle |
| Direction, position or indication signs | |||||
| Informative signs | Rectangular, sometimes with arrowhead | Light | Unspecified | Unspecified | Varies, dark |
| Dark | Unspecified | Unspecified | Varies, light | ||
| Motorways | Rectangular | Blue or green | Unspecified | Unspecified | Varies, white |
| Temporary | Rectangular | Yellow or orange | Unspecified | Unspecified | Varies, black |
| Additional panels | |||||
| All panels | Unspecified | White or yellow | Black, blue or red | Unspecified | Varies, black or dark blue |
| Black or dark blue | White or yellow | Unspecified | Varies, white or yellow | ||
† May be written in English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
or the national language
It also specifies the symbols and pictogram
Pictogram
A pictograph, also called pictogram or pictogramme is an ideogram that conveys its meaning through its pictorial resemblance to a physical object. Pictographs are often used in writing and graphic systems in which the characters are to considerable extent pictorial in appearance.Pictography is a...
s which may be used, and the orientations in which they may be used. When more than one is available, the same one must be used nationally. All signs, except for those that do not apply at night, must be reflective enough to been seen in darkness with headlights from a distance.
Road markings
The convention also specifies road markings. All such markings must be less than 6 mm high, with cat's eyeCat's eye (road)
The cat's eye is a retroreflective safety device used in road marking and was the first of a range of raised pavement markers. It originated in the UK in 1933 and is today used all over the world....
reflectors no more than 15 mm above the road surface.
The length and width of markings varies according to purpose, although no exact figures for size are stated; roads in built up areas should use a broken line for lane division, while continuous lines must only be used in special cases, such as reduced visibility or narrowed carriage ways.
All words painted on the road surface should be either of place names, or of words recognisable in most languages, such as "Stop" or "Taxi".
Traffic lights
The Convention specifies the colours for traffic lights and their meanings, and places and purposes lights may be used for, like so:| Type | Shape | | Colour | Position | Meaning | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Non-flashing | Plain | Green | At intersection | Proceed | |
| Amber | At intersection, level crossing, swing bridge, airport, fire station or ferry terminal | Stop if possible | |||
| Red | At intersection | Stop | |||
| Red and amber | At intersection | Signal is about to change (usually to green) | |||
| Arrow pointing left | Green | At intersection | Only traffic turning left may proceed | ||
| Arrow pointing right | Green | At intersection | Only traffic turning right may proceed | ||
| Arrow pointing upwards | Green | At intersection | Only traffic travelling straight ahead may proceed | ||
| Arrow pointing downwards | Green | Above lane | Traffic may continue in lane | ||
| Cross (×) | Red | Above lane | Traffic may not enter lane (lane closed) | ||
| Arrow pointing diagonally downwards | Amber or white | Above lane | Lane closes shortly ahead, change lane | ||
| Flashing | Plain | Double Red | At level crossing, swing bridge, airport, fire station or ferry terminal | Stop | |
| Amber | Anywhere except intersection | Proceed with caution | |||
| Amber | At intersection | The priority is determined by  Priority Route or  Yield signs. |
|||
| Lunar white | At crossing | Proceed | |||
Red flashing lights may only be used at the locations specified above; any other use of the lights is in breach of the convention. Red lights must be placed on top when lights are stacked vertically, or on the side closest to oncoming traffic if stacked horizontally.