Road signs in Israel are regulated by the Ministry of Transportation in the Division of Transportation Planning, most recently set forth in June 2011. They generally use the same pattern of colors, shapes, and symbols set out in the Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals, which are also used in most countries of

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

and the

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

. Despite this, Israel is not a signatory to this convention.

Language

Signs employ three scripts –

Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

, and

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

– and are written in

, the official language of the country,

, and in English. The

stop sign A stop sign is a traffic sign designed to notify drivers that they must come to a complete stop and make sure the intersection (road), intersection (or level crossing, railroad crossing) is safely clear of vehicles and pedestrians before contin ...

, however, instead of displaying words in three languages, or even just in English as required by the Vienna Convention on Road Traffic, conveys its meaning through the depiction of a raised hand.

Font

Israeli road sign regulations provide for the following fonts to be used: Tamrurim for Hebrew script, Medina for Arabic script, and Triumvirat (a

Helvetica Helvetica, also known by its original name Neue Haas Grotesk, is a widely-used sans-serif typeface developed in 1957 by Swiss typeface designer Max Miedinger and Eduard Hoffmann. Helvetica is a neo-grotesque design, one influenced by the f ...

derivative) for Latin script as well as numbers. However, these rules are not consistently followed; some signs use Highway Gothic or Clearview for the Latin script.

Warning signs

Signs warning of hazardous conditions or dangerous situations bear a black-on-white symbol inside a red-bordered triangle. File:Israel road sign 101.svg, Uneven road File:Israel road sign 102.svg, Sharp right curve File:Israel road sign 103.svg, Sharp left curve File:Israel road sign 104.svg, Curve right and then left File:Israel road sign 105.svg, Curve left and then right File:Israel road sign 106.svg, Winding road ahead File:Israel road sign 107.svg, Barriers File:Israel road sign 108.svg, Barriers File:Israel road sign 109.svg, Road narrows ahead File:Israel road sign 110.svg, Road narrows from right ahead File:Israel road sign 111.svg, Road narrows from left ahead File:Israel road sign 112L.svg, Barriers File:Israel road sign 112R.svg, Barriers File:Israel road sign 113.svg, Barriers File:Israel road sign 114.svg, Intersection File:Israel road sign 115.svg, Side road on the right ahead File:Israel road sign 116.svg, Side road on the left ahead File:Israel road sign 117.svg, T-intersection File:Israel road sign 118.svg, Barriers File:Israel road sign 119.svg, Staggered crossroads File:Israel road sign 120.svg, Staggered crossroads File:Israel road sign 121.svg, Roundabout ahead File:Israel road sign 122.svg, Traffic signal ahead File:Israel road sign 123.svg, Minor road merging from the right File:Israel road sign 124.svg, Minor road merging from the left File:Israel road sign 125.svg, Merge with major road from the right File:Israel road sign 126.svg, Merge with major road from the left File:Israel road sign 127a.svg, Possible traffic congestion File:Israel road sign 127b.svg, Traffic congestion ahead File:Israel road sign 128b.svg, Tram crossing ahead File:Israel road sign 129b.svg, Railroad crossing ahead File:Israel road sign 135.svg, Pedestrian crosswalk File:Israel road sign 136.svg, Pedestrians nearby File:Israel road sign 137.svg, Bicycle traffic crossing File:Israel road sign 139.svg, Stop sign ahead File:Israel road sign 140.svg, Dangerous descent File:Israel road sign 141.svg, Danger of skidding File:Israel road sign 142.svg, Rock slide zone File:Israel road sign 143.svg, Rock slide zone File:Israel road sign 149.svg, alt= File:Israel road sign 144.svg, Speed breaker File:Israel road sign 145.svg, Two-way traffic File:Israel road sign 146b.svg,

Camel A camel (from and () from Ancient Semitic: ''gāmāl'') is an even-toed ungulate in the genus ''Camelus'' that bears distinctive fatty deposits known as "humps" on its back. Camels have long been domesticated and, as livestock, they provid ...

s File:Israel road sign 147.svg, Farm vehicles crossing File:Children warning sign israel.svg, Children or school crosswalk File:Israel road sign 901.svg, Road works File:Israel road sign 902.svg, End of road works File:Israel road sign 915d.svg, Flooded road

Regulatory signs

With the exception of the special shapes used for "Stop" and "Yield" signs (respectively, an octagon and a downward-pointing triangle), signs giving orders are circular and are of two kinds: * Mandatory signs (e.g. "Turn right only") bear a white symbol on a blue disk. * Prohibitory signs (e.g. "No left turn") take the form of a black-on-white symbol inside a red-bordered circle, sometimes with the addition of a red slash through the symbol. File:Israel road sign 201.svg, Go straight or turn right File:Israel road sign 202.svg, Go straight or turn left File:Israel road sign 203.svg, Go straight File:Israel road sign 204.svg, Turn right File:Israel road sign 207.svg, Turn left File:Israel road sign 208.svg, Turn right or left File:Israel road sign 209.svg, Go straight or make right U-turn File:Israel road sign 210.svg, Go straight or make left U-turn File:Israel road sign 211.svg, Compulsory right U-turn File:Israel road sign 212.svg, Compulsory left U-turn File:Israel road sign 213.svg, May pass on either sign File:Israel road sign 214.svg, Pass on the right File:Israel road sign 215.svg, Pass on the left File:Israel road sign 216.svg, Start of motorway File:Israel road sign 217.svg, End of motorway File:Israel road sign 218.svg, Minimum speed limit File:Israel road sign 219.svg, Road for motor vehicles only File:Israel road sign 220.svg, Start of traffic calming area File:Israel road sign 221.svg, End of traffic calming area File:Israel road sign 222.svg, Traffic recession area File:Israel road sign 223.svg, End of traffic recession area File:Israel road sign 224.svg, Cycle lane File:Israel road sign 225.svg, End of cycle lane File:Israel road sign 226.svg, Pedestrian path File:Israel road sign 227.svg, Cycle path File:Israel road sign 228.svg, Shared pedestrian and cycle path File:Israel road sign 229.svg, Segregated pedestrian and cycle path File:Israel road sign 230a.svg, Toll lane or toll road File:Israel road sign 231a.svg, End of toll lane or toll road File:Israel road sign 301.svg, Give way File:Israel road sign 302.svg, Stop File:Israel road sign 303.svg,

Roundabout A roundabout, a rotary and a traffic circle are types of circular intersection or junction in which road traffic is permitted to flow in one direction around a central island, and priority is typically given to traffic already in the junct ...

File:Israel road sign 304.svg, Stop (manual control) File:Israel road sign 305.svg, Go (manual control) File:Israel road sign 307.svg, Yield to oncoming traffic File:Israel road sign 308.svg, Priority over oncoming traffic File:Israel road sign 309.svg, Priority road File:Israel road sign 310.svg, End of priority road File:Israel road sign 401.svg, Closed to all vehicles File:Israel road sign 402.svg, No entry File:Israel road sign 403.svg, Barriers File:Israel road sign 404.svg, Barriers File:Israel road sign 405.svg, Cars and motorbikes prohibited File:Israel road sign 406.svg, No trucks weighing over 10 tonnes File:Israel road sign 407.svg, Vehicles transporting hazardous materials prohibited File:Israel road sign 408.svg, Cars prohibited File:Israel road sign 409.svg, Motorbikes prohibited File:Israel road sign 410.svg, Tractors and work vehicles prohibited File:Israel road sign 411.svg, Animals prohibited File:Israel road sign 412.svg, Bicycles prohibited File:Israel road sign 413.svg, Pedestrians prohibited File:Israel road sign 414.svg, Pedestrians, bicycles, work transport and animals prohibited File:Israel road sign 415.svg, No vehicles weighing over 6 tonnes File:Israel road sign 416.svg, No vehicles higher than 4.6 meters File:Israel road sign 417.svg, No vehicles wider than 2.1 meters File:Israel road sign 418.svg, No driving lessons zone File:Israel road sign 419.svg, End of no driving lessons zone File:Israel road sign 420.svg, No overtaking File:Israel road sign 421.svg, End of no overtaking File:Israel road sign 422.svg, Overtaking is prohibited for large vehicles File:Israel road sign 423.svg, End of no overtaking for large vehicles File:Israel road sign 424.svg, Urban area File:Israel road sign 425.svg, End of urban area File:Israel road sign 426-50.svg, Speed limit (50

km/h The kilometre per hour ( SI symbol: km/h; non-SI abbreviations: kph, kmph, km/hr) is a unit of speed, expressing the number of kilometres travelled in one hour. History Although the metre was formally defined in 1799, the term "kilometres per h ...

) File:Israel road sign 4פ26-50.svg, Speed limit (50 km/h) File:Israel road sign 427-50.svg, End of speed limit (50 km/h) File:Israel road sign 428.svg, No right turn ahead File:Israel road sign 429.svg, No left turn ahead File:Israel road sign 430.svg, No right U-turn File:Israel road sign 431.svg, No left U-turn File:Israel road sign 432.svg, Parking prohibited File:Israel road sign 433.svg, Parking and stopping prohibited File:Israel road sign 434.svg, End of parking prohibition File:Israel road sign 435.svg, Parking of trucks weighing over 10,000 kg prohibited File:Israel road sign 436.svg, End of parking prohibition of trucks weighing over 10,000 kg File:Israel road sign 438.svg, Customs

Information signs

Signs giving information are generally rectangular (sometimes pointed at one end in the case of direction signage). Highways in Israel are classified as: * National (single-digit number) * Inter-city (two digits) * Regional (three digits) * Local (four digits) Route-marker signs are also color-coded: *

Freeway A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway, and expressway. Other similar terms ...

s (Blue) * Expressways (Red) * Regional routes (Green) * Local roads (Black, formerly Brown) Most directional signs to towns and cities are: * white-on-blue (

freeway A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway, and expressway. Other similar terms ...

s) * white-on-green (other main roads) * black-on-white (local destinations) * white-on-brown (tourist destinations: landmarks, historical sites, nature reserves, etc.). The sign for permitted parking features a white-on-blue "P" for "parking" enclosed by the Hebrew letter Het ("ח") for "''hanaya''" (), which also means "parking"). The sign informing users that they are on a priority road is a white-edged yellow "diamond" (i.e. a square turned through 45°). File:ISR-FW-1.svg, National Freeway (1 digit) File:ISR-HW1.png, National Freeway which is also an Inter-City Expressway (1 digit) File:ISR-HW-3.svg, National Inter-City Expressway (1 digit) File:ISR-HW-10.svg, Inter-City Expressway (2 digits) File:ISR-FW-20.svg, National Expressway (2 digit) File:ISR-HW-171.svg, Regional roads (3 digits) File:ISR-HW-5066.svg, Local roads (4 digits) File:Annava165.jpg, Freeway sign File:Highway sign of Israel directing towards Bet-She'an.svg, Major road sign File:Israel road sign 617b.svg, Local destination sign File:Israel road sign 617c.svg, Tourist destination sign File:Tel Aviv street sign.png, Street sign File:Israel road sign 230a.svg, Entry to toll File:Israel road sign 626.svg, Parking (sign can be two-sided) File:Israel road sign 437.svg, Handicapped parking File:Israel road sign 306.svg, Pedestrian crossing File:Israel road sign 608.svg, Exit sign File:Israel road sign 618.svg, One-way traffic File:Israely road sign-Border sign.svg, Border sign File:Israel road sign 623.svg, No through road File:Israel road sign 624.svg, No through road on right File:Israel road sign 625.svg, No through road on left File:Israel road sign 633.svg, Tunnel File:Israel road sign 634.svg, End of tunnel

References

External links

* {{Middle East topic, Road signs in

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

Road transport in Israel