Comparison of European Road Signs

[chays]

While doing research for the 1-2-3 Road Sign Challenge, I ran across this page that has a neat table comparing how various countries present the same road sign.  I found it interesting.  I especially liked to see how different countries handle prohibitionary signs.  Some use a red circle with a slash through the prohibition, and some use just the red circle around the prohibition.  I imagine the different specs might be confusing to some drivers as they travel through different countries.

What do you find interesting?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_European_road_signs

[7/8]

The thing that I find most interesting is that Ireland is the only European country using the yellow diamond for warning signs. Does anyone know why Ireland wouldn't use the red-bordered triangular signs like the rest of Europe?

I also noticed that the sign in this picture I took in Waterloo, ON appears to be based on the European "Roundabout Ahead" sign, except turned upside-down

[Duke87]

The thing that I find most interesting is that Ireland is the only European country using the yellow diamond for warning signs. Does anyone know why Ireland wouldn't use the red-bordered triangular signs like the rest of Europe?

They probably didn't want to use the same signs as the UK. The Irish aren't terribly fond of the Brits.

[Otto Yamamoto]

The thing that I find most interesting is that Ireland is the only European country using the yellow diamond for warning signs. Does anyone know why Ireland wouldn't use the red-bordered triangular signs like the rest of Europe?

I also noticed that the sign in this picture I took in Waterloo, ON appears to be based on the European "Roundabout Ahead" sign, except turned upside-down

That's the same as the Australian Give Way sign used at roundabouts.

[riiga]

Some use a red circle with a slash through the prohibition, and some use just the red circle around the prohibition.  I imagine the different specs might be confusing to some drivers as they travel through different countries.

Not really within Europe, but when involving South American countries though, it gets much worse as they tend to use the red circle as a way of indicating mandatory movements, and use the slash for prohibitions. Both of which are still allowed by the Vienna Convention.

[BrynM65]

The thing that I find most interesting is that Ireland is the only European country using the yellow diamond for warning signs. Does anyone know why Ireland wouldn't use the red-bordered triangular signs like the rest of Europe?

They probably didn't want to use the same signs as the UK. The Irish aren't terribly fond of the Brits.

The Irish introduced their diamonds in 1956, some 8 years before the UK adopted European signs.

Previously UK and Irish signs were virtually the same. The Irish felt the diamond signs were more effective than triangles. Of course there's no real proof either way (I personally can happily cope with either system).

[corco]

My only comment on slash bars for prohibition/end prohibition is that I saw this sign when I was in Bulgaria a few months ago, and felt like there had to be a better way to convey "End No Parking Zone" but realized that there is not.

[riiga]

We use these, which I think better conveys the message by using grey rather than have the colored version. (Don't mind the yellow base, we use that rather than white.)

Begin "no parking" zone


End "no parking" zone

[Brandon]

My only comment on slash bars for prohibition/end prohibition is that I saw this sign when I was in Bulgaria a few months ago, and felt like there had to be a better way to convey "End No Parking Zone" but realized that there is not.

Well, place the sign 90 degrees to traffic and an arrow in the direction of the no parking zone.

https://goo.gl/maps/SEctu844KpB2

[kphoger]

Some use a red circle with a slash through the prohibition, and some use just the red circle around the prohibition.  I imagine the different specs might be confusing to some drivers as they travel through different countries.

Not really within Europe, but when involving South American countries though, it gets much worse as they tend to use the red circle as a way of indicating mandatory movements, and use the slash for prohibitions. Both of which are still allowed by the Vienna Convention.

This actually got me in trouble in Europe once, in the Netherlands if I remember correctly (but I might not remember correctly).  I was on a train platform and wanted to cross over to another platform.  There was a footpath across the railroad track in between platforms and a white sign with a red circle.  I assumed that, since the circle had no slash through it, then it meant I could only cross at that point, not that I was not allowed to cross at that point.  Station staff shouted at me for crossing the track.  This was before I was even familiar at all with Latin America's use of the red circle; it was just commonsense to me because all prohibitive signs in the USA use slashes.