The endpaper of the Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals

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 or multilateral agreement 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 reservation (law), reservations. Ex ...

to standardize 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 introduc ...

traffic lights Traffic lights, traffic signals, or stoplights – also known as robots in South Africa, Zambia, and Namibia – are signaling devices positioned at road intersections, pedestrian crossings, and other locations in order to control the flow o ...

and road markings) in use internationally.

History

The Convention on Road Signs and Signals was agreed upon by the

United Nations Economic and Social Council The United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) is one of six principal organs of the United Nations, responsible for coordinating the economic and social fields of the organization, specifically in regards to the fifteen specialized ...

at its Conference on Road Traffic in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

7 October to 8 November 1968, was concluded in Vienna on 8 November 1968, and entered into force 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. 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. Goals The SADC's goal is to further regional socio-economic cooperation and integration as well as political and se ...

(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. 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, several Asian countries (Cambodia, Japan, 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 (, or SICA) has been the economic and political organization of Central American states since 1 February 1993. On 13 December 1991, the ODECA countries (Spanish: ''Organización de Estados Centroamericano ...

(SICA) equivalent to the US MUTCD. In 2025, the Global Forum for Road Traffic Safety (WP.1) adopted a amendment proposal, which is supposed to replace the entire text of the Convention. It includes the abolishment of some signs and a new numbering scheme for all signs. The proposal will also affect the European Supplement Agreement and the Protocol on Road Markings.

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 signs * 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 in shape and may use white symbols on a blue background with a white border, or black sym ...

s * E: Special regulation signs * F: Information, facilities, or service signs * G: Direction, position, or indication sign * 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 or the national language It also specifies the symbols and

pictogram A pictogram (also pictogramme, pictograph, or simply picto) is a graphical symbol that conveys meaning through its visual resemblance to a physical object. Pictograms are used in systems of writing and visual communication. A pictography is a wri ...

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, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Belarus, Belgium, Benin, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Burundi, Central African Republic, Chile, Costa Rica, Côte d'Ivoire, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Czechia, 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, Madagascar, Mexico, Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Myanmar, Netherlands, Nigeria, Norway, Pakistan, Paraguay, the Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, 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 Andorra, Ireland, Iceland, Malta and Monaco. 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 {{Use dmy dates, date=September 2020 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 Egypt 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 1960s in Vienna Transportation engineering standards