Spain/White on Blue/Black on White/Black on White/Black on White/Black on Yellow

Also, White on Green for the streets/squares names (only the name), Black on Yellow for public services (Airports or Car-parks or Train/Bus Stations or Shopping Centers), Black/White on Orange for sports and recreation (not very usual), White on Brown for Natural Spaces and Beach, White on Magenta for Cultural services (universities, schools, convention Centers, Museums…), and last, White on Grey for industrial zones

==

Are you sure it is a motorway? What road is it? You know that countries without motorways may not be represented in this forum as mentioned in the title. :cheers:
But good to see the foirst pic from an Angolan road :banana:

I am sure

I think Kosovo will be Green as the dual carriageway magistrales are blue as seen here.... (BTW the central reservation is on the left of the picture, the two right lanes are for local acess.)

http://i33.tinypic.com/2s8gta9.jpg

The first stretch of motorway will open October this year so we will see.

In Australia, whilst generally highway and motorway (freeway) directional signs are green (brown for tourist signage), there is an exception which is for tollways in Victoria (such as the M1 CityLink and M3 EastLink in Melbourne) which are blue, with yellow lettering. This is to differentiate tollways from freeways.

A similar case exists in Ontario, Canada where tollways such as metro Toronto's 407 ERT signage is also blue. Blue signs are also used to differentiate between express lanes (green signs) and collector lanes (blue signs) such as on the 401 and 427. Both the express and collector lanes form part of the motorway/freeway but are different colours to assist drivers in differentiating signage applying to the respective lanes. There has been some comment that collector lanes are not freeway standard, which is incorrect. They form part of the freeway and are fully access-controlled with grade-separation.

Heh, I always assumed blue was the most common for motorways surprised to see that isn't the case. Is there any reason why a country picks blue over green or vice versa? Is it better visibility or is it simply because they're copying it from another country?

This whole conversation is actually somewhat inapplicable to the U.S.; all directional signage is white-on-green here, regardless of the type of road (with minor exceptions like brown used in the National Park system, which includes some roads like the George Washington Memorial Parkway in the Washington area). White-on-blue is used for services, white-on-brown for tourist information....

We don't use the chopsticks symbol either.

http://i33.tinypic.com/2s8gta9.jpg

Is that truck on the right going in the wrong direction? :nuts:

I think so :lol:

In Hungary 20 years ago every road directional sign was white on green.
In the 90's motorway and expressway signs were replaced to white on blue, local roads to black on white while all other roads remaind white on green.
New touristical signs were introduced, using the usual white on brown scheme.
Note that in mixed signs, e.g. in a sign has information about local destinations and a motorway as well, this sign has a white background but the part that informs about the motorway is white on green.

Is that truck on the right going in the wrong direction? :nuts:

No no, read my post first, I explained that the central reservtion is on the left hand side, those two tracks where the truck is are loacal acess lanes and are devided from the expressway.

This is how the road is built..
-------------------------
>>>>>>>> - Local Acess
<<<<<<<< - Local Acess
---------------------------
<<<<<<<< - Expressway
<<<<<<<< - Expressway
=====================
>>>>>>>> - Expressway
>>>>>>>> - Expressway (Photo is taken from this lane)
----------------------------
<<<<<<<< - Local Acess (Truck is here)
>>>>>>>> - Local Acess
---------------------------

It has a total of 8 lanes.

I hope my visualisation makes sense.

No no, read my post first, I explained that the central reservtion is on the left hand side, those two tracks where the truck is are loacal acess lanes and are devided from the expressway.

This is how the road is built..
-------------------------
>>>>>>>> - Local Acess
<<<<<<<< - Local Acess
---------------------------
<<<<<<<< - Expressway
<<<<<<<< - Expressway
=====================
>>>>>>>> - Expressway
>>>>>>>> - Expressway (Photo is taken from this lane)
----------------------------
<<<<<<<< - Local Acess (Truck is here)
>>>>>>>> - Local Acess
---------------------------

It has a total of 8 lanes.

I hope my visualisation makes sense.
OK, but in the photo there's a sign just above the "local access" road, having TWO arrows upwards. What does it mean then?

Can it be considered as expressway with roundabout on it?

I think Kosovo will be Green as the dual carriageway magistrales are blue as seen here.... (BTW the central reservation is on the left of the picture, the two right lanes are for local acess.)

This thread will only cover countries which have freeways right now. if we consider a color for Kosovo we have to also consider a color for all of the central asian republics and african countries!

OK, but in the photo there's a sign just above the "local access" road, having TWO arrows upwards. What does it mean then?

If you look closely it is only above the car!:tongue3:

Heh, I always assumed blue was the most common for motorways surprised to see that isn't the case. Is there any reason why a country picks blue over green or vice versa? Is it better visibility or is it simply because they're copying it from another country?

I think the colour used on national road/highway signage before motorways were built plays a big part. In Sweden's case I assume blue was always used on highways and therefore, when motorways were built, it was natural to go for green on motorway signage.

This recently happened in Russia. They went for green when they started building proper motorways, as the national network already uses blue. Not much choice there as it basically comes down to cost.

^^ Sweden used black on yellow before 1962, when a major road numbering reform took place. At first, motorways had a dark blue colour, but this was changed when an international treaty was signed. The treaty declared that motorway signs were to have a colour different from those of regular roads.

I do recall having driven on one or two dual carriageway N-routes in South Africa that were signposted in green. In Swaziland, also on South African style, I encountered the same. MR3 between the SAn border and Mbabane is dual carriageway and blue, MR3 between Mbabane and Manzini is dual carriageway and green.

But it may just be that signposting in those areas was just wrong, e.g. that they had just upgraded the road but not yet exchanged the green signs for blue ones. Any Saffers to enlighten us?

OK, as promised earlier today, here comes the long explanation...

Basically, for the road to have blue signage, it must be a dual-carriageway, limited access freeway (i.e. divided, full control of access, no at-grade intersections) . Most freeways across the country qualify - but you do get a few oddballs...

Firstly, in some rural areas, we get what's officially termed a "single-carriageway freeway" - it's an undivided road that meets all the other freeway criteria. Because these roads don't strictly follow the proper definition of a freeway, they have green signage:

http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l116/ron2k-za/roadsigns/za_scheme/single-carriageway.png

Most of these such roads are 2x2 (such as this section of the N2, around 80km north of Durban), although sometimes they're alternating 2x1.

Then, you get dual-carriageway roads that aren't classified as freeways for whatever reason - most likely, at-grade intersections. The N1 route through the Molenaars River Valley (eastern side of the Hugenot Tunnel) is an example of this: it's a dual-carriageway 2x2 (3x2 in a few places) - but, because of this little at-grade intersection on it, it doesn't satisfy the freeway criteria and hence receives green signage:

http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l116/ron2k-za/roadsigns/za_scheme/intersection.png

Another good example of this is the N12 between Klerksdorp and Potchestroom. It's a dual-carriageway road (2x2), but it definitely is not limited access. There's also a few cases where mountain passes are made dual-carriageways only for the duration of the pass, and these short sections aren't classified as freeway either.

And then, you get the screwups. The N7 through Springbok has blue signage when it should definitely have green signage (but for a town so small as Springbok, I suppose they're proud that they actually have a grade-separated interchange - although the purpose would be to keep traffic between Cape Town and Namibia separated from local traffic):

http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l116/ron2k-za/roadsigns/za_scheme/screwup.png

And to end off: we also have signs with brown backgrounds, which are used for anything tourism related:

http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l116/ron2k-za/roadsigns/za_scheme/tourism.png

Hope this post clears up all the confusion. :)

(Just for the record, I haven't visited either Namibia or Swaziland, so I can't comment on the way that they do things.)

^^ Sweden used black on yellow before 1962, when a major road numbering reform took place. At first, motorways had a dark blue colour, but this was changed when an international treaty was signed.

I didn't know that, but I can imagine as it is how the Germans still do it.
A general cultural shift must have taken place in the Nordics post-WWII as we gradually shifted from being quite German-orientated to becoming very Americanised. Funnily enough, Norway still uses black on yellow and blue for motorways. I actually prefer blue. :cheers:

Sweden has and still uses black on yellow for local direction signage though.
Was there no differentiation between highway and local road signage before 1962?

http://lh5.ggpht.com/-KNWrxHrCimk/S8w7OajnMwI/AAAAAAAAAeI/HcI2N2_rDkQ/v%2525200932%252520Vagvisare.jpg

I do remember however, blue highway signs in Sweden having a much darker tone of blue.
Still a few of them around. Must have changed during the mid-80's?

http://forumbilder.se/images/a69201184129P0ea3.jpg

^^Norwegian motorways are blue on white, all other roads are black on yellow. A complete copy of the German system to be frankly.

Durin: I think the difference was that private roads had a red border instead of black, like on your picture. Private roads still have black on yellow with a red border.

Regular road (no matter number of lanes):
http://www.lovdata.no/for/grafikk/sf-20051007-1219-709-01.gif

Motorway (fulfilling all European standards for such):
http://www.hast.as/uploads/trafikkskilt/vegvisningsskilt/images/705.gif

I do remember however, blue highway signs in Sweden having a much darker tone of blue. Still a few of them around. Must have changed during the mid-80's?
The introduction of retroflective foil in the late 1980s saw an introduction of foil that was brighter than the old tone of blue. Maybe that is the change that you refer to? And even apart from retroflective foil, blue signs have become brighter over time. In many countries, signs used to be black before they turned blue.

To revert on Australia, they used to have a special colour for freeways. People on Aussiehighways speak of it as Freeway Green. Freeways used to be signposted in a brighter shade of green than other roads (which are also signposted green). But I don't think that many states still use that make that distinction. WA possibly?

Spain/White on Blue/Black on White/Black on White/Black on White/Black on Yellow

Also, White on Green for the streets/squares names (only the name), Black on Yellow for public services (Airports or Car-parks or Train/Bus Stations or Shopping Centers), Black/White on Orange for sports and recreation (not very usual), White on Brown for Natural Spaces and Beach, White on Magenta for Cultural services (universities, schools, convention Centers, Museums…), and last, White on Grey for industrial zones


and... white over brown for national parks or other zone with environment protection.

The introduction of retroflective foil in the late 1980s saw an introduction of foil that was brighter than the old tone of blue. Maybe that is the change that you refer to?

It was not question about just changing the foil. Since 1958, Sweden really had two different blue tones in their traffic signs:

http://i53.tinypic.com/3495ez6.jpg

The color scheme was updated in 1970's and 1980's. The direction sings turned much lighter blue, and the visual design was updated, too:

http://www.mattigronroos.fi/etc/MoraGavle.jpg

^^ Cool First time to see black signs!

Very nice! I see that the guide dates back to the pre-1967 era of right-hand traffic (note the roundabout, two-way traffic and no overtaking signs)

It was not question about just changing the foil. Since 1958, Sweden really had two different blue tones in their traffic signs:

http://i53.tinypic.com/3495ez6.jpg

The color scheme was updated in 1970's and 1980's. The direction sings turned much lighter blue, and the visual design was updated, too:

http://www.mattigronroos.fi/etc/MoraGavle.jpg

The motorway sign is not correct here. They were not light blue, they were dark blue (black) in that time. Before around 1980 all motorways had the same colur like other roads in Sweden. But after they had to chanche because international treaty for European motorways declared motorway signs were to have a different colour from other roads.

This thread will only cover countries which have freeways right now. if we consider a color for Kosovo we have to also consider a color for all of the central asian republics and african countries!

You should have read my coment properly. I stated that Kosovo will have its first stretch of motorway this October which is two months from now.

and... white over brown for national parks or other zone with environment protection.
= White on Brown for Natural Spaces and Beach

You should have read my coment properly. I stated that Kosovo will have its first stretch of motorway this October which is two months from now.

Ah so if they are going to have the motorway in two months so I will put it in the map.

You should have read my coment properly. I stated that Kosovo will have its first stretch of motorway this October which is two months from now.

Ah so if they are going to have the motorway in two months and you are sure that the sighs will be green so I will put it in the map.

But after they had to chanche because international treaty for European motorways declared motorway signs were to have a different colour from other roads.

Well...

Basically, the Vienna convention does not enforce anything. Every member state in entitled to post a reservation. A reservation is a declaration of making a decision to deviate from one more articles of the statement. For example, if Sweden wanted do change the motorway signs to be purple text on pink background, that would be possible.

Then, the Vienna convention does not declare the motorway sings to be different color from other roads. It states they shall be white on blue or green background, nothing more. Therefore, Sweden made that distinction voluntarily, like most (all?) other member states.

A country could always ignore the Vienna convention, I hardly think that it could be enforced

The whole beauty of the European motorway routes are the different styles of siganege you see, different style of everything... a mix of different ways to build or design motorways. If all EU motorways were standardized, that would kind of suck really.

Today i dont understand brazilian motorway signs

http://i.imgur.com/g7gAM.jpg

A country could always ignore the Vienna convention, I hardly think that it could be enforced

Yes. UK, Spain and Portugal have signed the agreement, but do not have ratified it. Most of the members have declared a few minor reservations. The agreement is a useful basis for voluntary standardization still allowing adaptation to country-specific needs.

The whole beauty of the European motorway routes are the different styles of siganege you see, different style of everything... a mix of different ways to build or design motorways. If all EU motorways were standardized, that would kind of suck really.
Yeah it would the become like Unite States of America (United States of Europa):nuts:

The whole beauty of the European motorway routes are the different styles of siganege you see, different style of everything... a mix of different ways to build or design motorways. If all EU motorways were standardized, that would kind of suck really.

I agree! I allways recognize a motorway when I see one, long before I see the first directional sign; I like the national differences in colours, arrows, Stack VS diagram (map-like) design and such. I find it specially interesting when two neighboring countries has the complete opposit colour scheme; Like Poland and the Czhech Republic or France and Italy.

It was not question about just changing the foil. Since 1958, Sweden really had two different blue tones in their traffic signs.

The color scheme was updated in 1970's and 1980's. The direction sings turned much lighter blue, and the visual design was updated, too.

I experimented with the old and new design and came up with this hybrid which I really like.

Standard sign:
http://i705.photobucket.com/albums/ww55/anonymson/nygammal_gron.png

Exit sign on motorway:
http://i705.photobucket.com/albums/ww55/anonymson/nygammal_avfart.png

Apparently the UK uses blue for signs...

Apparently the UK uses blue for signs...

Blue for motorways in the UK and green for other roads. Thats the same in Hungary and Poland too.

I think the signs in the UK look quite similar to the signs in Germany. :)

^^ Blue for motorways, green for primary A-roads and white for others

^^ Blue for motorways, green for primary A-roads and white for others

As in France. (The equivalent of primary routes being the so-called réseau vert - green network.)

Blue/green mix in Ontario, Canada:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c6/Hghway_401_Collectors_at_Weston_Road.jpg/1600px-Hghway_401_Collectors_at_Weston_Road.jpg

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/8/8d/409-427_Interchange.jpg/1600px-409-427_Interchange.jpg

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6d/401_Basketweave_Crop.jpg/1600px-401_Basketweave_Crop.jpg

^^Do they use blue anywhere other than the 401?

Blue for motorways in the UK and green for other roads. Thats the same in Hungary and Poland too.

I think the signs in the UK look quite similar to the signs in Germany. :)

Pardon??? How???

Anyone knows about Freeways (Expressways) in Vietnam? Is the blue shown for Freeways or for normal roads?

^^Do they use blue anywhere other than the 401?
Yes all the signs in 407 ETR are blue but thats it!

Green on expressways:

http://i.imgur.com/BWKul.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/Pp02Q.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/0XxMa.jpg

^^ ThanksChrisZwolle for the pictures!

Pardon??? How???
...Yes but I think that hungarian "darkish" green is not that usual in other countries...:)

...Yes but I think that hungarian "darkish" green is not that usual in other countries...:)

Not that, I'm wondering how he worked out that UK signs look simular to German ones.

Not that, I'm wondering how he worked out that UK signs look simular to German ones.

Probably he meant the color for motorways

Probably he meant the color for motorways

Most of western Europe use blue ones. That doesn't make them look simular. Does a blue BMW 5 series look simular to a blue Fiat Ceicento?

Most of western Europe use blue ones. That doesn't make them look simular. Does a blue BMW 5 series look simular to a blue Fiat Ceicento?

Yes. :)

Most of western Europe use blue ones. That doesn't make them look simular. Does a blue BMW 5 series look simular to a blue Fiat Ceicento?

Even Iran's Freeway signs are blue and normal roads are green! :|

What's the road disclipine like in Iran? One might be forgiven to think that's complete anarchy?

^^
Iran has 80,000 km of roads. 65,000 km are paved and there is 1,800 km of Freeways in Iran. The road signs for Freeways are blue and they are numbered 1, 2, 5, 7 and 9. There are also a few unnumbered freeways.National roads in Iran use green signage and they are numbered from 11 to 99. odd numbers for NS roads increasing from west to east and even numbers are for EW roads increasing from north to south. Iran also has lots of Expressways. Some of them are part of National Roads and some others are part of Municipalities. They also use green signs. Iran also has secondary roads which have 3-digit numbers but they are not marked frequently in the country.
This is the link for Iranian thread http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=426574
http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=406966

This is the official colouring scheme for direction signs in Hungary:

http://www.forgalomszabalyozas.hu/lib/thumbnail_2d.php?img=/data/www/forgalomszabalyozas.hu/html/dynamic/511.jpg&base_width=1024&base_height=576

Road numbers and settlement names are fictional (ok, M9 exists in reality), unfortunately I couldn't find a bigger image.

^^
BND
Where did you find this?

^^ it's in the regulation called: 40/2001 (XI. 23.) order of the Minister of Transportation and Water Affairs about the regulation of the system and signs of directions on public roads :)

You can find the regulation here (http://www.complex.hu/jr/gen/hjegy_doc.cgi?docid=A0100040.KOV) (in Hungarian), and in the appendix you can find the scanned version of this graphic. I found this better version on the homepage of Magyar Plastiroute, a company of traffic technology (actually who design and place the signs). They have a nice collection of pictures about placing signs, unfortunately their homepage (http://www.forgalomszabalyozas.hu/kezdolap) is in Hungarian only.

Some more from this homepage:
http://www.forgalomszabalyozas.hu/lib/thumbnail_2d.php?img=/data/www/forgalomszabalyozas.hu/html/dynamic/512.jpg&base_width=1024&base_height=576

http://www.forgalomszabalyozas.hu/lib/thumbnail_2d.php?img=/data/www/forgalomszabalyozas.hu/html/dynamic/513.jpg&base_width=1024&base_height=576

Great! Thanks :)

Speed Limitations:
http://fars.mrt.ir/Portal/Picture/ShowPicture.aspx?Width=900&Height=720&ID=90f6ef5c-8178-4b61-bda2-aa24b2419d51
Signs in Tehran:
http://shasa.ir/shasa_content/media/image/2010/01/39969_orig.bmp
Signs at a junction:
http://www.imenrahgostarsepahan.ir/Img/Pics/photo_013.gif
Some Signs: Blue Freeway/Green other Roads
http://www.farsroad.ir/administrator/uploaded/p.gif
http://www.farsroad.ir/administrator/uploaded/o.gif

First motorway in Kosovo has opened, Kosovo uses Green signs for motorways.

http://i44.tinypic.com/2j738h.jpg

Albanian and Serbian?
Does "jug" mean south in both languages?

^^ Yes, and Prizren is also called the same in both languages (although I think it can also be 'Prizreni' in Albanian).

No, Prizren is just Prizren in Albanian and funnily enough the word Jug is 'south' in both languages.

Does "jug" mean south in both languages?
yes and sever = north (the same as Bulgarian)

well Bulgarian and Serbian are Slavic languages.

The Kosovo motorway looks really very good.

^^^^

Shiny Crash Barriers!

Green vs. Blue signs, I don´t know, they booth look all right. Although the FONT determines the visual outcome of the picture!!!...and again the colour of the sign can play a important roll in the whole picture....
The blue (standard) signs in Hungary are fine,.... I liked the dark green in the old days. As I said before, when you saw those signs in the dark ours, they were lightening up in the dark with black signs and white scripts! They were very clear/bright!!:)