Despite an apparent uniformity and standardisation, European traffic signs present relevant differences between countries. However most European countries refer to the 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals — adopted in Europe by Albania, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Montenegro, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, San Marino, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey and Ukraine. In Russia and Belarus the road signs are almost same with some exceptions. The convention has not been adopted in Ireland, Moldova, Spain, and the UK.
The main differences relate to
graphic design details
local regulatory significance
the colour-coding of directional signs
local language texts (sometimes bilingual)
meaning and colour-coding of pavement and kerb/curb markings
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
This list is incomplete. You can help by adding missing countries or typeface.
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, Kosovo, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Montenegro, Romania, Slovenia, and Serbia use the SNV typeface. Switzerland used this typeface until 2003.
Cyprus, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Turkey, Portugal, and the United Kingdom use the Transport typeface. (Motorway typeface is used on United Kingdom motorways)
Denmark uses the Dansk Vejtavleskrift typeface. The typeface is derived from the British Transport typeface.
Estonia and Moldova use the Arial Narrow Bold in mixture with Helvetica typeface.
Finland uses a typeface developed in the 1960s by the former national board of roads and waterways.
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.
Luxembourg uses Arial (Bold), Caractères Italic, DIN 1451, and the SNV typefaces, often inconsistently.
Turkey and Ukraine use the FHWA typeface.
Spain uses two typefaces: Autopista (derived from FHWA series E modified) for motorways and Carretera Convencional (also known as CCRIGE or Traffic Type Spain D) for other situations. The typeface Carretera Convencional is derived from the British Transport typeface, and is almost identical to the Italian Alfabeto Normale.
Netherlands use typefaces derived from FHWA typeface: ANWB/RWS Cc (narrow), Dd (medium) and Ee (wide).
Norway uses the Trafikkalfabetet typeface.
Poland uses the Drogowskaz typeface.
Sweden uses the Tratex typeface.
Switzerland uses the Frutiger typeface.
In Albania, Andorra, Belarus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, France, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Monaco, Russia, San Marino, Slovakia, 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 Greece and Luxembourg both capital and lowercase are used.
In most European countries, it is indicated by red borders and a white background.
An amber background is used in Sweden, Greece, Finland, Iceland, the Republic of Macedonia, and Poland (in some other countries it means a provisional road work sign).
Also, the yield sign/give way sign in Sweden, Finland, and Poland has a yellow background.
In Ireland, it is indicated by a yellow diamond.
Many countries normally have adopted an orange or amber background.
A yellow background is used in France, Italy, Spain, Sweden, Finland, Iceland, Lithuania, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, and Romania.
White text on a blue background is used in Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Lithuania (from 2020), Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, and the United Kingdom.
White text on a green background is used in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Italy, Lithuania (until 2020), Macedonia, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, and Ukraine.
White-on-blue (the same as motorways) is used in Belgium, Estonia, Latvia, and Netherlands.
White-on-blue is used in Belarus, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Finland, Greece, Italy, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia, Sweden, Switzerland, and Turkey.
White-on-green is used in France, Hungary, Ireland, Poland, Portugal, and the United Kingdom.
Black-on-yellow is used in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Germany, Luxembourg, Norway, Serbia, and Slovenia.
Red-on-white is used in Denmark (though white-on-blue on motorway exits and all overhead gantries)
Black-on-white is used in Austria and Spain.
Black-on-white is used in France, Ireland, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.
In Bulgaria, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, and Sweden, black-on-white indicates only urban roads or urban destinations.
White-on-green is used in Austria to indicates locations like regions, city center, city districts.
White-on-green is used in Spain to indicate street names, neighbourhoods, districts and other locations in a city.
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, speeds, heights and widths are still indicated in imperial measurements (miles or yards; miles per hour; feet and inches), with an optional indication in metres on some limit restriction signs. Weight limits are shown in metric tonnes with a lower case "t", although some older signs still use the imperial long ton indicated by either a upper case "T" or simply the word "ton".
Pavement and kerb/curb 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 and Netherlands, but red/orange in Switzerland and white in 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) or by a double dashed line (United Kingdom) or by a white line of triangles (Italy, Netherlands, Austria, Switzerland and Norway).
A disc (time-limited) parking place is identified by white lines in Germany and France and by blue lines in Netherlands and Switzerland. A chargeable parking place is identified by white lines in Germany, France, Netherlands and Switzerland and by blue lines in Italy and Spain. A disabled people parking is bordered in white in United Kingdom, Germany, Spain and Netherlands, in blue in France and in yellow in Italy and Switzerland. Other reserved parking places (bus, taxis) are yellow in United Kingdom, Italy and Switzerland but white in Germany.
No parking on a side of a road can be represented by a yellow continuous line (United Kingdom, Spain, Netherlands, Austria), by a yellow dashed line with X's (Switzerland), a white continuous line (Italy), or a dashed white line (France), or also by a yellow and black kerb/curb (Italy) or black and white kerb/curb (Netherlands). Only in UK a double yellow line means non parking at any time and a white zig-zag line no parking.
No stopping/waiting on a side of a road is represented in United Kingdom by a red continuous line (a double red lines extends the prohibition to any time) and in Switzerland by a yellow continuous line. A yellow zig-zag line near schools, police stations or hospitals in UK means no stopping.
