TRAFFIC signs NORTH AMERICAN drivers need to KNOW!
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- čas přidán 19. 06. 2024
- 🚦 Ever wondered how road signs in Europe differ from those in the United States? 🇪🇺🇺🇸
I have and now I have experienced both the US MUTCD and Vienna Convention/European style of road signs and here are the MOST IMPORTANT ones you need to know if you plan to drive somewhere that uses these signs!
Let me know what you think about the closure in the comments below!
Thanks for watching!
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Here's @halfasinteresting's video:
• Why US Signs Look Diff...
Here's the @RoadGuyRob video:
• How do engineers make ...
Wikipedia:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vienna_...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Road_si...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Road_si...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Road_si...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Road_si...
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#RoadSigns #TravelGuide #expat #europe #MUTCD #driving
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Chapters:
00:00 - Intro
00:54 - My Experience
01:36 - videos from @halfasinteresting and @RoadGuyRob
02:00 - The Vienna Convention on Road Signs
02:42 - The US uses the MUTCD standard for road signs
03:10 - The Vienna convention signs use symbols over text
04:20 - The signs you need to know
04:42 - Speed Limits & advised speed limit
05:45 - Country Speed Limits sign
06:41 - Built-up areas
07:16 - end of restrictions
08:10 - slashes through the signs means something ends
08:36 - Priority signs
09:30 - No parking & No stopping signs
10:24 - red circle restriction signs
11:36 - red triangle advisory signs
12:15 - residential living area
12:48 - closing, leave a comment below on which signs you like best! - Auta a dopravní prostředky
**VIENNA CONVENTION**
MUTCD or Vienna style road signs. Which do you prefer? Let me know below!
Vienna, of course. Because it makes sense. And you don't have to read, you just need to see a sign and know what it means. Simple.
Vienna, it just makes more sense. There is probably a reason we use icons on computers and phones these days. A manual on every road sign doesn't seem very efficient.
As someone from the US who's pretty familiar with both (although I'm more familiar with the MUTCD) I have to say that I prefer MUTCD BUT with Vienna symbols, the Federal Highway Administration tried to do this but drivers were too stupid to figure them out.
Quebec Canadian signs, they're like mutcd signs but no reading is required (most of the time). Also they use lots of pictograms and have colors that make sense
However we need the priority sign (no yield) here
Fun fact, if the priority sign is before the junction your in a build up area, if it’s after the junction your outside a build up area
Ooh good one! I have noticed this!
Must be specific to some countries. This is not the case in Poland
The most amusing and discouraging thing about the Vienna Convention and the US's involvement is the US basically wrote it and designed the signage. Then refused to adopt it.
🤣🤣
Th US always has to be different
Worth mentioning. The yellow diamond with a cross through it indicates the end of a priority road. So at junctions you must yield to traffic on the right.
Also triangles with an X in it advises that you are approaching an intersection and do not have priority.
Good point!!
Actually it means you are approaching a dangerous intersection, you do have priority to people from te left but have to give way to people from the right. Of course you always give priority to people from the right when not on a priority road even if that sign isn’t there. So the sign literally only means you’re approaching a dangerous intersection
Have you ever noticed traffic lights differences between Vienna convention and MUTCD? In Europe you will never see a flashing red traffic light ordering you to stop and give way. Instead you would see a flashing yellow light which tells you to obey the stop sign (or a yield sign or any other priority sign) close to the traffic light. You should still obey them even with shut down traffic lights
If there are no priority signs it means that your road has the priority but you should proceed with caution
Yeah good point! I agree, Flashing yellow and priority/yield signage is so much better and efficient than the way it's done in North America!!
Terrific video, Kerleem.
If you’ve had a chance to drive in the Nordic countries the traffic signs are even better, in my opinion.
They are like, Vienna Convention 2.0
For example, the speed signs are usually yellow-orangish in colour with the familiar red ring.
In construction areas, school zones, etc., they can be a more day-glo yellow.
A lot more visible to the driver in low light or snowy conditions.
Many other traffic signs in Nordic countries will often be yellow-orangish with a red border too. Very smart colour use for high visibility.
As a driver from Ontario, Canada I very much appreciated these road signs over the Canadian non-Vienna system.
Thanks for your excellent video.
There used to be a ferry from NL to Norway that I hoped to use one day to drive to Norway, but they apparently went bankrupt. I would love to drive there!
Thanks for watching!
Mainland China uses the MUTCD colours on warning signs (black on yellow), but use the Vienna Convension triangle. Some European countries like Romania also use a yellow backdrop on temporary signs (compared to New Zealand where they use a supplemental "TEMPORARY" plate)
This is extremely useful and timely video as I'm studying abroad in Spain! Looking forward to using my international driving permit 😏
Glad to hear it!
Thanks for watching
I cant help but lol at how you voiced Vienna over Geneva in the videos...
but excellent video, I love how in depth it was. I think the Vienna system makes way more sense despite living in US my whole life
🤣 thanks!
I’ll always prefer a rigorous semiotics system over words that can be anything.
Even though I think the worded signs can sometimes be more aesthetically pleasing on their own, especially evocative buttons like POWER or PLAY or GO, when taken as a whole system the semiotics are always far more satisfying.
Absolutely!
Also, an intersection cancels the speed limit, unless you're in a speed limit zone, in which case, only the crossed out sign cancels it
If it cancels the speed limit, what then applies?
@@Kerleem The standard limit for the area you're in: built-up, non built-up, etc.
In Poland, for example, there's often a 70 sign before an intersection on country roads. Please remember to go 90 after the intersection or you'll be overtaken a lot, even by trucks xD
Also, intersections with unpaved roads, entries or exits to and from residential areas, parking lots, gas stations etc. are NOT legally considered inspections
@@Kerleem Basically, think of it as like the sign on your shirt :)
Also there are no 4 way stop signs, if you encounter a stop sign the meaning is strictly that traffic on the other road has (unlimited) priority.
Good point, a difference in road design which (thankfully) means less stop signs!
Lmao 🤣 the Vienna correction
🙃
American signs are good if you speak english language, maybe. The design of sign must or can be for humans to understand around the world like dangerous goods traffic symbols or similar United Nation "UN" signs like UN1993 for some flammable ahlcohol liquid or who knows?
Yes exactly. Very English-biased
A picture is worth a 1 000 words. A white circle with a red rim and a red stripe? I already know that something is forbidden. And then arrow to the left? I now know that it forbids going left. No need to know the language of the country I drive in. In various countries you would have multiple languages just for their own country. Not even speaking when a truck driver driver from Poland to Portugal or from Norway to Italy.
With signs a driver gets all the information he needs. A sign that forbids me to park with 09:00-19-00 under it means that I am not allowed to park there from nine in the morning till 7 in the evening, regardless where I drive in Europe. And even if there are words used that might mean nothing to me, I know at least that parking is forbidden, so better look for a different place. I am sure that any driver in Europe will know what all these signs mean, regardless if they speak the language or not.
Even a word like "uitgezonderd" followed by the sign of a bicycle under a one way street will mean that that is the exception. e.g. at 9:42 we see a sing that says "CU Exceptia CD - TC". I have NO idea what it means, but I know I am most likely not allowed to park there. If you look closely, you see the car that IS parked there has a licence plate that starts with CD. That mean Corps Diplomatic. That means it is an embassy. So only embassy vehicles are allowed to park there. So I do know what it means, but even if it is something I would NOT know what the words mean, I know that I am most likely not allowed to stop there. But the words oat 11:32 means nothing to me. It will give some exception, but why risk it. I doubt it will give ME an exception or as it says "motor" it will not say forbidden, except when your motor is running.
So because of the international character of Europe and even countries by themselves, it is WAY easier to use images.
i like the european ones much more, they look modern visually. the american ones aesthetically look ugly and old
Yeah good point!
May be biased but I think the US signs are a lot more coherent. Maybe Europe has better road rules but I think that has to do with their laws rather than the designs of the signs
It’s a combination of factors in Europe. Less car dependency, better drivers eduction, and different road designs.
I do like less text in signs, but the US signs are quite clear in their text descriptions
@@Kerleem I like both, but I do prefer the MUTCD, but the MUTCD is kinda factored in on a federal vs state level (basically, there's the federal MUTCD, but states may create their own based off the federal one.) some states might do downright stupid things with their signs, but the federal signs are decent for the most part. Most text on signs that you see is in a very specific context, and it is clear for the most part.