The Convention on Road Signs and Signals, commonly known as the Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals, is a

multilateral treaty A multilateral treaty is a treaty to which two or more sovereign states are parties. Each party owes the same obligations to all other parties, except to the extent that they have stated reservations. Examples of multilateral treaties include the ...

designed to increase road safety and aid international road traffic by standardising the signing system for road traffic (

road signs Traffic signs or road signs are signs erected at the side of or above roads to give instructions or provide information to road users. The earliest signs were simple wooden or stone milestones. Later, signs with directional arms were introduce ...

traffic lights Traffic lights, traffic signals, or stoplights – known also as robots in South Africa are signalling devices positioned at road intersections, pedestrian crossings, and other locations in order to control flows of traffic. Traffic lights ...

and

road marking Road surface marking is any kind of device or material that is used on a road surface in order to convey official information; they are commonly placed with road marking machines (also referred to as road marking equipment or pavement marking eq ...

s) in use internationally. This convention was agreed upon by the

United Nations Economic and Social Council The United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC; french: links=no, Conseil économique et social des Nations unies, ) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations, responsible for coordinating the economic and social fields ...

at its Conference on Road Traffic in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

7 October to 8 November 1968, was concluded in Vienna on 8 November 1968, and

entered into force In law, coming into force or entry into force (also called commencement) is the process by which legislation, regulations, treaties and other legal instruments come to have legal force and effect. The term is closely related to the date of this t ...

on 6 June 1978. This conference also produced the

Vienna Convention on Road Traffic The Convention on Road Traffic, commonly known as the Vienna Convention on Road Traffic, is an international treaty designed to facilitate international road traffic and to increase road safety by establishing standard traffic rules among the co ...

, which complements this legislation by standardising international

traffic laws Traffic comprises pedestrians, vehicles, ridden or herded animals, trains, and other conveyances that use public ways (roads) for travel and transportation. Traffic laws govern and regulate traffic, while rules of the road include traffic l ...

. The convention revised and substantially extended the earlier 1949 Geneva Protocol on Road Signs and Signals, 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. Both the Vienna Convention and the Geneva Protocol were formed according to consensus on road traffic signs that evolved primarily in 20th century continental Western Europe. In order to make it as universal as possible, the convention allows some variations, for example danger warning signs can be triangular or square diamond in shape and road markings can be white or yellow. Though most UN members have not ratified the full treaty, the signs and legal principles enshrined in it form the basis of traffic law in a majority of places. An alternative convention called the SADC-RTSM, provided by the

Southern African Development Community The Southern African Development Community (SADC) is an inter-governmental organization headquartered in Gaborone, Botswana. Its goal is to further regional socio-economic cooperation and integration as well as political and security coopera ...

(SADC), is used by ten countries in southern Africa. Many of the rules and principles of the SADC-RTSM are similar to those of the Vienna Convention. In the United States, signs are based on the US Federal Highway Administration's

Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices The ''Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices for Streets and Highways'' (usually referred to as the ''Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices'', abbreviated MUTCD) is a document issued by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) of the Unit ...

. Signs in the MUTCD are often more text-oriented, though some signs do use pictograms as well. Canada and Australia have road signs based substantially on the MUTCD. In South America, parts of Asia (such as Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia) and New Zealand, road signage is influenced by both the Vienna Convention and MUTCD. In Central America, road signs are heavily influenced by MUTCD and based on the , a

Central American Integration System The Central American Integration System ( es, Sistema de la Integración Centroamericana, or SICA) has been the economic and political organization of Central American states since 1 February 1993. On 13 December 1991, the ODECA countries (Spa ...

(SICA) equivalent to the US MUTCD.

Rules

Road signs

In article 2 the convention classes all road signs into a number of categories (A – H): * A: Danger warning signs * B:

Priority sign Priority traffic signs indicate the order in which vehicles should pass intersection points. Vehicles often come into conflict with other vehicles and pedestrians because their intended courses of travel intersect, and thus interfere with each ot ...

s * C: Prohibitory or restrictive signs * D:

Mandatory sign Mandatory signs are road signs that are used to set the obligations of all traffic that uses a specific area of road. Most mandatory road signs are circular, and may use white symbols on a blue background with a white border, or black symbols on a ...

s * E:

Special regulation sign Special regulation signs are road signs that are used to indicate a regulation or danger warning applying to one or more traffic lanes, indicate to lanes reserved for buses, indicate the beginning or end of a built-up area or signs having zonal val ...

s * F: Information, facilities, or service signs * G:

Direction, position, or indication sign A 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 destin ...

* H: Additional panels The convention then lays out precise colours, sizes, and shapes for each of these classes of sign: ^† May be written in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

or the national language It also specifies the symbols and

pictogram A pictogram, also called a pictogramme, pictograph, or simply picto, and in computer usage an icon, is a graphic symbol that conveys its meaning through its pictorial resemblance to a physical object. Pictographs are often used in writing and ...

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 be seen in darkness with headlights from a distance.

Road markings

The convention also specifies road markings. All such markings must be less than high, with cat's eye reflectors no more than above the road surface. The road markings shall be white or yellow. 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 carriageways. 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: 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.

Contracting parties

The convention has 71 state parties and 35 signatories (including acceding members) as of October 2022: Albania, Armenia, Austria, Bahrain, Belarus, Belgium, Benin, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Central African Republic, Chile, Costa Rica, Côte d'Ivoire, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Denmark, Ecuador, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Guyana, Holy See, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Italy, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Liberia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, North Macedonia, Mexico, Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Myanmar, Netherlands, Nigeria, Norway, Pakistan, Paraguay, the Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, San Marino, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sri Lanka, Suriname, Sweden, Switzerland, Tajikistan, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, Uzbekistan, Venezuela and Vietnam. The only countries in Europe that are not parties to the convention are Ireland, Iceland and Malta. Andorra is a signatory but have yet to ratify the convention. The only countries in Asia that are not parties to the convention are Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Malaysia, People's Republic of China (including Hong Kong and Macau), Republic of China (Taiwan), Israel, Japan, Jordan, Lebanon, North Korea, Oman, Palestine, Syria and Yemen. Cambodia, Laos, and South Korea are all signatories, but have yet to ratify the convention. Other countries have not signed the convention; however, some have voluntarily adopted some Vienna convention signs.

References

External links

Ratifications
— UN Treaty Collection
Road Traffic and Road Signs and Signals Agreements and Conventions
— United Nations Economic Commission for Europe *
Full text of convention
*
Consolidated text of convention including diagrams
*

{{Traffic signs Rules of the road Traffic signs Traffic signals Traffic law Treaties concluded in 1968 Treaties entered into force in 1978 United Nations treaties Treaties of Albania Treaties of Armenia Treaties of Austria Treaties of Azerbaijan Treaties of Bahrain Treaties of the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic Treaties of Belgium Treaties of Bosnia and Herzegovina Treaties of the People's Republic of Bulgaria Treaties of the Central African Republic Treaties of Chile Treaties of Ivory Coast Treaties of Croatia Treaties of Cuba Treaties of Cyprus Treaties of Czechoslovakia Treaties of the Czech Republic Treaties of Zaire Treaties of Denmark Treaties of Estonia Treaties of Finland Treaties of France Treaties of Georgia (country) Treaties of West Germany Treaties of East Germany Treaties of Greece Treaties of Guyana Treaties of the Hungarian People's Republic Treaties of India Treaties of Pahlavi Iran Treaties of Ba'athist Iraq Treaties of Italy Treaties of Kazakhstan Treaties of Kuwait Treaties of Kyrgyzstan Treaties of Latvia Treaties of Liberia Treaties of Lithuania Treaties of Luxembourg Treaties of Moldova Treaties of Mongolia Treaties of Montenegro Treaties of Morocco Treaties of the Netherlands Treaties of Nigeria Treaties of Norway Treaties of Pakistan Treaties of the Philippines Treaties of the Polish People's Republic Treaties of Portugal Treaties of the Socialist Republic of Romania Treaties of the Soviet Union Treaties of San Marino Treaties of Senegal Treaties of Serbia and Montenegro Treaties of Yugoslavia Treaties of Seychelles Treaties of Slovakia Treaties of Slovenia Treaties of Sweden Treaties of Switzerland Treaties of Tajikistan Treaties of North Macedonia Treaties of Tunisia Treaties of Turkmenistan Treaties of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic Treaties of the United Kingdom Treaties of the United Arab Emirates Treaties of Uzbekistan Treaties of Vietnam 1968 in Austria Transport treaties 1968 in transport Treaties extended to West Berlin November 1968 events 1960s in Vienna Transportation engineering standards