CONVENTION ON ROAD SIGNS AND SIGNALS
The Contracting Parties, recognizing that international uniformity of road signs, signals and symbols and of road markings is necessary in order to facilitate international road traffic and to increase road safety, have agreed upon the following provisions:
Chapter II
ROAD SIGNS
ARTICLE 5
1. The system prescribed in this Convention differentiates between the following classes of road signs:
(a) Danger warning signs: these signs are intended to warn road-users of a danger on the road and to inform them of its nature;
(b) Regulatory signs: these signs are intended to inform road-users of special obligations, restrictions or prohibitions with which they must comply; they are subdivided into:
(i) Priority signs;
(ii) Prohibitory or restrictive signs;
(iii) Mandatory signs;
(iv) Special regulation signs;
(c) Informative signs: these signs are intended to guide road-users while they are travelling or to provide them with other information which may be useful; they are subdivided into:
(i) Information, facilities or service signs;
(ii) Direction, position or indication signs;
Advance direction signs;
Direction signs;
Road identification signs;
Place identification signs;
Confirmatory signs;
Indication signs;
(iii) Additional panels.
2. Where this Convention allows a choice between several signs or several symbols,
(a) Contracting Parties undertake to adopt only one of such signs or symbols for the whole of their territories;
(b) Contracting Parties shall endeavour to reach regional agreements on the same choice;
(c) The provisions of Article 3, paragraph 3, of this Convention shall apply to signs and symbols of the types which are not chosen.
ARTICLE 6
1. Signs shall be so placed that the drivers for whom they are intended can recognize them easily and in time. They shall normally be placed on the side of the road appropriate to the direction of traffic; they may, however, be placed or repeated above the carriageway. Any sign placed on the side of the road appropriate to the direction of traffic shall be repeated above or on the other side of the carriageway if local conditions are such that it might not be seen in time by the drivers for whom it is intended.
2. All signs shall apply to the drivers from whom they are intended over the whole width of the carriageway open to traffic. However, signs may be made to apply to only one or to several lanes of the carriageway when lanes are defined by longitudinal markings. In this case, one of the following three options shall be used:
(a) The sign with, if necessary, the addition of a vertical arrow shall be placed above the lane concerned, or
(b) The sign will be placed on the nearside edge of the carriageway when the road markings indicate without doubt that the sign applies solely to the traffic lane on the nearside of the carriageway and that the only purpose of this sign is to confirm a local regulation already indicated by means of road markings, or
(c) Signs E, 1 or E, 2 described in Annex 1, section E, subsection II, paragraphs 1 and 2 to this Convention or signs G, 11 and G, 12 described in Annex 1, section G, subsection V, paragraphs 1 and 2 will be placed on the edge of the carriageway.
3. Where in the opinion of competent authorities a sign would be ineffective if placed on the verge of a road with separated carriageways, it may be placed on the dividing strip and in this case need not be repeated on the verge.
4. It is recommended that domestic legislation should provide:
(a) That signs shall be so placed that they do not obstruct vehicular traffic on the carriageway, and, if placed on the verges, obstruct pedestrians as little as possible. The difference in level between the carriageway on the side where a sign is placed and the lower edge of the sign shall be as uniform as possible for signs of the same class on the same route;
(b) That the dimensions of sign panels shall be such that the sign is easily visible for a distance and can be easily understood by a person approaching it; subject to the provisions of subparagraph (c) of this paragraph, these dimensions shall be adapted to the normal speed of vehicles;
(c) That the dimensions of danger warning signs and of regulatory signs (except special regulation signs) shall be standardized in the territory of each Contracting Party. As a general rule, there shall be four sizes for each type of sign: small, normal, large and very large. Small signs shall be used where conditions do not permit the use of normal signs or where traffic can only move slowly; they may also be used to repeat a preceding sign. Large signs shall be used on very wide roads carrying high-speed traffic. Very large signs shall be used on roads carrying very high-speed traffic, such as motorways.
ARTICLE 7
1. It is recommended that domestic legislation should provide that in order to make them more visible and legible at night, road signs, in particular danger warning signs and regulatory signs other than those regulating standing and parking in lighted streets of built-up areas, shall be lighted or equipped with reflecting material or reflecting devices, provided that this does not result in road-users being dazzled. Dark or light graphic elements of different colours in the signs may be differentiated by means of contrasting light or dark narrow strips respectively.
2. Nothing in this Convention shall prohibit the use, for conveying information, warnings or rules applying only at certain times or on certain days, of signs which are visible only when the information they convey is relevant.
ARTICLE 8
1. In order to facilitate international understanding of signs, the system of signs and signals prescribed in this Convention is based on the use of shapes, and colours characteristic of each class of sign and, wherever possible, on the use of graphic symbols rather than inscriptions. Where Contracting Parties consider it necessary to modify the symbols prescribed, the modifications made shall not alter their essential characteristics.
1-bis. In cases where variable message signs are used, the inscriptions and symbols reproduced on them must also conform to the system of signs and signals prescribed in this Convention. When, however, the technical requirements of a given type of system of signs and signals so warrant, particularly so as to ensure satisfactory legibility, and provided that no error of interpretation is possible, the prescribed dark-coloured signs or symbols may appear in a light colour, light-coloured backgrounds then being replaced by dark backgrounds. The red colour of the symbol of a sign and its border shall not be changed.
2. Contracting Parties wishing to adopt, in accordance with Article 3, paragraph 1 (a) (ii), of this Convention, any sign or symbol not prescribed in this Convention shall endeavour to secure regional agreement on such new sign or symbol.
3. Nothing in this Convention shall prohibit the addition, in order to facilitate the interpretation of signs, of an inscription in a rectangular panel below the sign or in a rectangular panel containing the sign; such an inscription may also be placed on the sign itself, if this does not make the sign more difficult to understand for drivers who cannot understand the inscription.
4. Where the competent authorities consider it advisable to make the meaning of a sign or symbol more explicit or to limit the application of a sign to certain periods, this can be done by inscriptions on the sign as provided in Annex 1 to this Convention or on an additional panel. If regulatory signs are to be restricted to certain road-users or if certain road-users are to be exempt from the regulation, this is done through additional panels according to Annex 1, section H, paragraph 4 (panels H, 5a; H, 5b; and H, 6).
5. The inscriptions referred to in paragraphs 3 and 4 of this Article shall be in the national language or in one or more of the national languages, and also, if the Contracting Party concerned considers it advisable, in other languages, in particular official languages of the United Nations.