Coloured roadsigns are not that problematic
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- Опубликовано: 16 окт 2024
- Really, the system actually does work.
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As a fellow European, I had no idea that road signs in the US use text instead of graphics.
Some use graphics, but yeah it's a lot of text. However, color is also important with the signs here, too. There's kind of a lot, so I don't really want to explain, but if you're curious you can look up "american road sign colors" on images and see. It's something you have to learn when learning to drive.
They are green instead of blue because we get blue skies
@@liamosterhout6538 According to the Arizona Department of Transportation, it's actually because green blends in *better* with the scenery while still being visible. Which is the most American thing I read in a long time.
Also, using red, orange, green and brown is absolutely terrible for anyone with a red-green blindness, which is 1 in 12 men and 1 in 200 women. In comparison, colorblindness related to blue is 1% of that.
So while your skies might be blue (like they are at a lot of different places outside the US as well), that's neither the real reason nor a good one for your bad road design.
To quote the Arizona Department:
And green is considered a “cool” color. It’s not distracting and generally won’t surprise the driver upon seeing it. It blends in enough to be considered part of the scenery, but sticks out enough to notice when you need it.
Sources for the statistics include, but are not limited to: iristech.co/statistics/
www.colorblindguide.com/post/colorblind-people-population-live-counter
www.colourblindawareness.org/colour-blindness/#:~:text=Colour%20(color)%20blindness%20(colour,and%201%20in%20200%20women.
It’s a mix. Most of them use both. I’ve never seen the sign he showed as an example, and I’ve been driving in the US for 8 years
Not knocking your system but we get slightly more information. It just wouldn't work there it sounds like. Also literacy isn't super high so we encourage it wherever possible. 2nd part is a joke :)
Not to mention that recognising a sign is faster than reading fucking lines of text
I came here for that exact comment.
Exactly. I was puzzled about this when driving in the US:
Yet if the conventions were reversed Europeans would say the simplicity was because Americans are stupid can can't read.
The speed limits, chapter 1:
@@HildeTheOkayish In the beginning....
It doesn't even matter that there are language barriers. It is simply much better to have clear signs instead of text. A driver shouldn't have to read to understand a sign, it should be understood immidiately.
Most road signs in Europe are neither. You won't understand them unless you specifically study them... like a language.
@@microcolonel Disagree. Most of them are.
@@microcolonel You have to have a basic understanding of traffic laws and traffic signs to get a drivers license. Is that not required where you live?
@@Jonathan-oe5vz we require a test of the common ones which need explanation, but most American signs are obvious or literally say exactly what they mean in English.
@@microcolonel Not learning what different signs mean and instead having to take your eyes of the road to read seems both unsafe and unnecessarily complicated.
If there's something I love about the Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals it is the standardisation we achieved in Europe.
The Vienna Convention is basically a global standard, not just Europe. Even most non-signatories mostly follow it. Just not the USA.
That happens with a lot of European standardisation and regulation. initial scope was often just Europe that expands beyond. Except the USA, if they can they wont lol
I agree. It's just... Simple... To go to 15 odd countries and be able to understand the very basics of law and order or just know I can charge my cellphone with no problem...
Yuck, globalism
@@AverageAlien you hate people understanding road signs in foreign countries?
For driving exams we get taught that red circle is prohibition, blue circle obligation, triangle is warning - it is extremely easy from that point on, you just learn what the pictograms mean
I also recently learned that the shape of the stop sign is the only octagon, to be recognised even from the back side, to double check that you are in a priority lane and to make sure that the car on the opposite one is about to stop!
@@user70776_here in the Netherlands we also have a yellow diamond shape on priority roads. And ofcourse shark's teeth when needing to give the right of way.
@@user70776_ also as give way sign which is the only one (at least in my country) what is upside triangle.
@@user70776_ My understanding was that STOP is such an important instruction that it has to be understood even if the sign is obscured by e.g. ice, or the paint is faded, etc.
@@TheJamesMyes, could be!
Funny thing is, with that Short he basically explained that whole system
Yet americans still say ,,You need to study signs, it's better if you just read". WHAT IS THERE TO STUDY?
@@TheTrooper1878Well, america once had a simular System and at some point after ww2 changed it to wall of text. So, probely too much people who cant remember for a week what Red on a sign could signal.
@@TheTrooper1878Alright. Let's ask them to read these:
• limite de poids par essieu 5 tonnes
• vain polkupyöriä
• Überholverbot
• закінчується заборона на обгін
@@dbclass4075As a European... nerozumiem
Yeah, almost. He forgot the shapes :)
Also, kids in Kindergarten can learn pictograms
Reading takes longer to learn
So the kiddies can participate in life round the roads and know what to look out for
If children need to read road signs to be safe on your roads, you have failed them.
@@microcolonel well, duh
But we happen to live in a world where cars stole the streets from the people, so we gotta give the young every advantage possible.
@@microcolonelchildren are on roads as pedestrians and riding bikes (eg to school) and by them self. So it is important for them to know certain road signs
@@microcolonel In Europe, most kids go to school themselves. It's important for them to know the basics.
@@5fr4ewq sure, but reading signs is weird for pedestrians anyway. Signal lights and road striping (crossing lines, zebra stripes, etc.), sure, but pedestrians shouldn't need to read traffic signs to understand what to do.
It comes both ways. As an European when watching US daschcam videos I often wonder why US roadsigns are so complicated. So many unnecessary writen instructions instead of pictograms. Who have enough time to read it all while driving?
Moreover, roadsigns in Europe are taught in elementary school together with such trivia like 'before crossing the road, check if there's no incoming traffic'. It takes a teacher 2 hours to get the entire population to understand them.
Wait, what? I can't recall ever learning roadsigns in elementary school
@@sosukelele well, I've been in elementary in the late 90' in Poland. Maybe it differ from country to country, or just the times has changed. 🤷🏻♂️
IMO however it would make even more sense now to teach about such things, when there's a lot more cars on the road and a lot more roadsigns in general, some also concerning pedestrians. But I guess we all know how the education system works in the EU. Or rather how it doesn't 🤣
We have this thing called literacy, and a shared language that is generally required for life in the country, so words on low speed regulatory signs make total sense.
American signage is orderly and makes a lot of sense to Americans. The color coding system is also much more consistent.
The signs with the most words are regulatory (white with black text) signs, and among those the ones with the most text are the ones meant to be read at very slow speed or fully stopped.
When getting a learning permit to drive, you pass a written test that goes over some basic road signs, especially the ones that are not self-explanatory, but for the most part signs are obvious in the U.S. and Canada if you know the local language.
@@microcolonel Huh. I'd say most (though certainly not all) of the color-and-shape roadsigns are pretty much self-explanatory, if you know just a few basic rules.
@@microcolonel I see. It goes well then for the US citizens. The moment a Mexican, or any other non English speaking person visits the US, let's assume legally going for vacation (and don't get into politics), they're basically screwed.
I don't want to emphasize on any roadsigns system being better than the other, but the discussion basically comes down to the same as the metric / imperial dilema. There's the American way, and there's the rest of the world way.
So to summarize;
Pictures bc lots of languages
Blue = do this
Red = don't do this
Diagonal stripe = this stops
I got that right, right?
Yeah, apart from when it's red, and triangle shaped, because that means danger. Like, there's a siluette of a deer on a sign like that, it means wild animals might happen to cross the road.
@@hungariangiraffe6361 In Poland and some Scandinavian countries it's even better because the warning signs are the same as in the rest of Europe, just yellow inside. Easier to recognise from a distance and still understandable for foreigners.
@@hungariangiraffe6361
Triangles for warnings, circles for instructions, rectangles for information
Shape also plays a very important role in combination with the color. These are the most important categories I can think of:
Round, red ring, black writing/pictograms, : Something is forbidden or limited (e.g. No bikes, no trailers or maximum axle load as shown in the video)
Round, blue background, white writing/pictograms: Something is mandatory (e.g. bikes only or minimum speed as shown in the video)
Triangular, edge at the bottom : Danger
Triangular, corner at the bottom: Give way / yield
Octagon: Stop
Rectangular: Usually some kind of information (e.g. parking, directions, dead end)
@@Pan_SchaboszczakActualy Yugoslavia had yellow insides on some signs, now only the work on road sign has yellow inside others are white.
I never thought about the language barrier, I always thought signs made so much more sense and is so much more intuitive to comprehend than writing out a lengthy text
we still don't have a logo for "Anlieger frei" or "bei Nässe"
To be fair, it was only a few years ago when I learned about Europe wanting to standardise road signs + roads in general to make traffic/driving easier for everyone across borders. This was in context of them painting all road markers on the ground white, where some used to be yellow (ie. continued yellow line used to mean no bypassing from either lane, fragmented white lines meant it was okay to bypass). This would otherwise be fine, but I originally come from Lapland, where 1) driving is pretty damn important with the long distances 2) snow and ice covers the land for half the year. It includes the roads.
The yellow lines were easy to see even from underneath the snow and ice, but I struggled a lot more with the white after the change.
The text isn’t lengthy at all it’s always less than 5 words and takes about as long to comprehend as a sign
@@barrackobamar my eyes can easily dry in a few hours of driving, or end up so overstimulated that my vision gets slightly blurry. Not enough to get in the way of driving and traffic, but enough for me to struggle to read road signs (text), especially from a distance. I'm going to have a much easier time recognising simple shapes and symbols from far away than trying to read text that looks the same from a distance. Objectively speaking, having a symbol vs words as traffic signs, symbols are much better imo. Especially with the latin alphabeth where words can get quite lenghty and sometimes it can take longer for one's brain to process than a quick glance at a symbol you know the meaning of immediately.
@@sammalsikuri3828 ngl that seems like a personal problem idk how your eyes get dry when driving really isn’t much different from any other task o your eyes. Also once you know all the signs you don’t really have to read them they kinda end up turning into symbols themselves as you know the shape and what the general outline of text looks like
I still remember with horror my first journey on a coach in the UK.
There were also signs like this
"low clearance bridge 11'4" 1/4 mile ahead"
Well, my odometer shows the distance in meters and my bus was 3.40 m high.
And what the hell is a quarter mile?
So, stop, get out your calculator and determine:
The permitted clearance height is 3.45 meters and the bridge is in 400 meters.
So it should fit.
Sorry to all the following vehicle drivers who had to wait behind the stopping bus for 1 minute and who were annoyed by the stupid German bus driver
The next time I drove I had a sticker on the dashboard that said 3.40 m = 11 ft 2 inches
As a Brit, I can only apologise on behalf of my ridiculous and backward nation. Any road signs with imperial units should've been chucked in the bin decades ago but sadly there are thousands of examples with nonsense measures above and beside our streets.
@@oliverravenBe the change you want to see in the world, steal an outdated road sign today!
The UK is so confusing with their mix of metric and imperial. At least the US is consistent.
@@Lillith. Except for the Interstate 19, IIRC …
That must have been a while ago, I've never seen a height or width limit sign that didn't have both. And I've driven around 20,000 miles a year for the past 4 years.
In the US we used to have those pictogram signes as well, but due to some reasons - suddenly the text only signes entered the road signs handbook. The typical example is "narrow bridge" - the pictogram resembled pretty much the one used in Europe, but now you see nearly only "NARROW BRIDGE" signs. The pictogram signs are still valid and you could use them for new signage, but - again - due to some reasons I do not know nor understand - the US decided to go text only. Which is very idiotic from the psychological and reaction time standpoint. It takes more time to read than to pattern match a pictogram in your brain.
Well, when there is no real training required for getting a licence, I can only inagine signs have switched to sinole text, because nobody checks anyway, if drivers actually knew all the symbols. Not everybody can read, but most can and easily understand the written signs. I personally don't have any issues with Anerican road signs and I am glad, for driving there I don't need to learn a whole different set of icons.
Yeah, MUTCD did tried Vienna Convention's symbols during the 1970's. American drivers just didn't understood the Vienna Convention's symbols, they confused when symbols mean;
- Many American motorists were bewildered by the Vienna Convention's symbol sign with two children on it, they even later replaced it with an adult and a child.
- When they saw signs for Road Narrows, they were confused and was criticized as baffling to U.S. drivers who saw a "big milk bottle"
American drivers just prefer words over symbols.
@@automation7295 that comes down to teaching it driving school. If they never learned the signs (which isn't too hard but one still needs to learn i) they obviously don't get them.
I feel like it could be solved the same way metrication could be done: step by step.
First demand that both systems are used side by side. Then make the old system voluntary. Then remove the old system. Do that over like 20 years and by the time it's done everyone understands the new system.
@@automation7295 It's a game of habit. Keep in mind that by the 70s, the USA already had a long running standard of signage using a mix of text and logograms. In fact, this system was standardized around the late 40s iirc.
Because of this, new signage with no formal training on what it means created a situation where American drivers get confused by the meanings depicted. Additionally, most then thought it was a pointless change since the US standard worked just fine (and it mostly does aside the gratuitous English, it's mostly logograms).
Lastly, one has to keep in mind that it was a lot easier for the rest of the world to adopt the Vienna system since a majority had no long running standard prior to it. Those that did were a bit torn up after WW2 and had a somewhat clean slate to adopt it onto.
@@HappyBeezerStudios When MUTCD tried to adopt Vienna Convention's symbols during the 1970's, all warning signs has additional panel with text under them, hoping that drivers understood what they meant. But to no ones surprised it failed, all symbols got replaced with words, however some existing symbols like traffic signal ahead stayed.
Vienna Convention's "opening bridge" got replaced with the word "Draw bridge"
Once you've driven in Europe, it's really not hard to understand what they all mean. They're INCREDIBLY intuitive in context.
For good reason, as otherwise, the signs will be these:
• limite de poids par essieu 5 tonnes
• vain polkupyöriä
• Überholverbot
• закінчується заборона на обгін
Here in Sweden we do actually put a red diagonal stripe across the sign to indicate something being prohibited.
We also paint our signs yellow instead of white so take everything I said with a grain of salt.
I mean, the yellow signs make them easier to read in the snowy hellscape that Sweden is for a great portion of the year, so that specifically is not bad at all
The same in Finland.
But somehow not in the snowy hellscape that is Norway 🤔
Yellow for other europeans is temporary signs
"Rund und rot: das heißt Verbot!"
Rund und blau heist "gut" ich trau 🤔 ( being English, I can get the sense of words written in othee languages, but can't form grammatical sentences, even in english) Middle English had a word "trow" , which meant believe/trust and was probably German. "Google translate" agreed with my hopeful intention one-way, if it does make sense to an actual speaker of german, I'd be a very happy old man.
@@2lefThumbsYou could be right with your derivation from the Middle English word "trow".
"Trust" is "Vertrauen" in German, and "to trust someone" is "jemandem (ver)trauen".
Then there is "sich trauen" (a reflexive verb) meaning "to dare (to) do sth".
And the last one I can think of is "jemanden trauen" (notice that the only difference is the last letter of the first word, n instead of m -> indicating another case) and that means "to wed/ marry someone". (The part of a wedding where the vows are being spoken is called "Trauung")
So while the sentence is not actually correct since "ich trau" can't stand on its own, I guess one could kind of understand it anyways.
@@2lefThumbs "Rund und blau, tu's genau" so habe ich es in Erinnerung
When I arrived in Europe. I was really impressed by their signs. Simple, short and easy to understand. It also helps in language barrier
It's nice to see you visited the country known as Europe!
@@Godophugawa didn't say "Europe" was a country. I visited more that 2 countries in the continent.. so
@@UcheBuzz You arrived in the glorious EF
I've had my car theory exam today. Your short came up just before it started and it helped me with a few questions in the test. Thank you for helping me pass my exam!!
Congratulations!
Grats
Whereas in the US, our signs don't need to be studied and are fairly intuitive
@@youtubehandlesareridiculous Bro you need to have 20/20 vision and a fucking literature degree to understand US Roadsigns
while thats nice to hear im concerned by the fact you didnt know that before taking the exam
Literally no American is confused by pictograms. We have pictograms. The majority of our road signs are either pictograms or a mix of an image with accompanying text. Americans are confused because European symbols are different. A red diagonal slash is ubiquitously a "ban whatever is in the circle" in the states, so of course Americans are going to be confused when it means the complete opposite actoss the pond.
Exactly.
No, you don't get it, Europeans MUST proclaim superiority over literally every aspect in life.
The guy in the shorts is fine, but god, you'd think it's a parody of what Europeans think of Americans by how they act. The amount of Europeans that made a fuss about an electronic tape measure using imperial... for an AMERICAN product. Let me use a very useful statement for those people: The world doesn't revolve around you.
speak for yourself, words for me are easier and quicker to pick up on than symbols are colors
@@cardboard255As noted at the start, problems start with "limite de poids par essieu 5 tonnes", "vain polkupyöriä", "Überholverbot", or "закінчується заборона на обгін" signs. Hence, the need for signs that could work across language barriers.
Exactly what I was thinking.
“But… we also have pictograms?”
My instructor taught me that the shapes of the sign have meanings:
Triangle = warning
Circle = instruction
Rectangle = information
Octagon = stop
Upside down triangle = give way (aka yield 🇺🇸)
I recently went to Spain, coming from Germany. And I was instantly able to understand all the road signs over there because they are very similar and have very little text.
but the US has a hard time using the metric system, knife and fork, boy/girl & the definition of football .... a bit of compassion is not misplaced
Color is used extensively on american road signs, but it is used for categories. Green for wayfinding, white for regulations, yellow for cautions and hazards, red for high stakes commands (esp life safety issues), neon green for cautions about vulnerable road users (pedestrians crossing especially children; cyclists, etc.), purple for tolls and fees, blue for local information, brown for parks and recreational faciluties, blaze orange for roadwork and construction, magenta for emergency management...
In short: the issue is not the use of color on signs.
Well in Europe it's form first, then colour then layout then symbol.
4 vectors of meaning, or 5 if you count position as well.
But the big beef is in reality that society ist totally motorcentric, and that's even worse in the US.
@@gentsracer1845 I think road signs are generally serving people's needs in rural and wilderness America, but definitely there is work to be done in the cities and suburbs, which are more dangerous than necessary for everyone.
There is also a language of shapes in U.S. and Canadian signs. For example, a rectangle is considered moderate priority, but a rhombus or triangle is more caution, and a circle is usually the most caution. Stop signs are octagons, but that's mostly history... it does go well with the pattern though.
The danger signs happen to line up in terms of the seriousness of the danger: "WRONG WAY" signs are circles because there is a risk of head-on collision, stop signs are octagons because risk of T collision, and yield signs are generally reserved for situations where the primary collision risk is side-swipe (still dangerous but much less so) and they are triangles.
Well, in Europe (at least here in Germany) we also have way less colors than you just described. It simplify things because we mainly have blue, white and red with some yellow for places. There are some brown ones too but those are irrelevant for traffic. I think it's about to simplify the process of recognizing something while driving.
@@NeptuniaMorgan i don't really think the colors make the signs more complex, just makes the ones with similar purpose more similar to each other, and makes it easier to ignore signs that are not relevant to you (e.g. amenity signs when you don't need to stop for anything, way finding signs when you know exactly where you're going...).
Warning signs being yellow doesn't change the content of the sign, and making them white or red wouldn't make them any easier..
@@gentsracer1845Because every place in Europe is the exact same!
Unrelated, but I remember a guy reviewing a Lego set and thinking their was no age sign in it despite the age sign being written as "12"
In Sweden, if something is forbidden, it has a diagonal stripe over it.
Well, sometimes.
As far as I know, the no-U-turn sign is the only sign that has a diagonal line. All other diagonal stripes mean end-of-limit
@@galdavonalgerri2101 Yes, Germany doesn't have a diagonal line on their most of their prohibitory signs, but that doesn't mean Nordic countries must do the same.
In Sweden, Norway and Denmark, even Finland has a red diagonal line on their most prohibitory signs. For instance, 'no motor vehicles' has a red diagonal line.
Unlike Germany, all Nordic countries have 'no left turn' and 'no right turn' signs
@@galdavonalgerri2101 the "end-of-limit" strips have another orientation than those on prohibition signs
i'm european and meant to take my driving exam like next year so getting these absolute basics ironed out to me in this understandable format was an absolute gift thank you
Nice to see another European. Glory to the European Federation! Long live Brussels!
There's something around the way you break the fourth wall in a way that I don't really see other people do very much on this site is so charming. Like, aside from the fact that I have traveled internationally and I do enjoy learning about other cultures, I've never been to Europe and if I did go I probably wouldn't be the one driving, and I'm not planning to visit anytime soon so there's no immediate need for me to learn the things that you're teaching-but I just love the way you go about teaching them in the first place xD
I only think there's difficulty because the U.S. uses different road signs. I don't think I could recognize these road signs, but I do understand the logic behind them, and could probably learn them easily if I needed to.
It's pretty simple to be fair. Should you have to drive here, just spend a little time browsing a list of roadsigns, you'll quickly get the gist of it.
I'm not American, but every time I see a European no bikes allowed sign, my instinct is "that sign means bike path"
@@Drabkikker fun fact, I'm the one who harvests the red paint. It ain't much, but it's honest work
The thing is, the strike through thing is such a universal "not that" sign, that to not use it in that way is just a horrible idea. Yes it can cancel things, but the cancellation is just a form of "no [previous sign]"
Some countries do use a diagonal stripe though, and many people are educated about what a red circle means
I don't like the "this ends here" sign because it feels strangely odd like you would have to reference the previous sign you saw beforehand. It's easier to just put a new sign saying what is allowed going forward.
@@stealthis I mean you kinda have to keep the rules currently affecting you on your stretch of road in mind anyway.
@@Mimas2115 Eeeeh. Its not as self evident though. Like I'm pretty sure some alien from another planet could understand something being struck through and broken by a line. And i'm saying this coming from a country with just the circle.
It's especially aggravating since SOME signs (no left turn) use the strikethrough.
@@nemo-xya but that dosent really make sense considering on ramping etc etc. It's litterly is just easier to keep the signs to what is allowed instead of ignore previous sign about x thing.
In Sweden we do use a red diagonal stripe on some signs, like no motor vehicles, while on some we dont (when the stripe will make it harder to read the sign)
I have never in my entire life seen a minimum speed limit
They're mainly used in tunnels where they never want traffic to stop. The entrance to said tunnels are also usually light controlled or similar to prevent too much traffic entering at once.
In South Africa, we have one stripe for “no overtaking” and two stripes (X shape) for “no overtaking rule ends”
American signs use color and shape for all the standard road signs, but also include English words so that you can read it in addition to just recognizing the symbol.
The text-heavy signs are for any specialized purposes that aren't necessarily standardized.
But actual symbols are rare. The only ones I can think of are the school zone ones
@@Mimas2115 school zone, railroad crossing, sharp turn, no turning, wavy road, falling rocks, deer, merge, don’t merge, those are all the ones I can think of off the top of my head
@@Isredbullkosherand I can even add some more of the top of my head. Uturn, construct ahead, bikes share, no uturn two way street “, construction , stop sign ahead , stop light ahead , ahead
I've seen signs in China that follow this pattern. As a Chinese-American I didn't know what the gray diagonal stripes meant but now I do. Btw, China also uses European shoe sizes. Great video!
Vienna Convention road signs is used all over the world not just Europe
@@Ellestra It is used across the world, yes. However the majority of nations are NOT party to the convention.
Yeah text is mostly used for exceptions and specifications, such as when parking fares are required, when a loading zone is in effect, or if certain vehicles are exempt from the rule; such as bus lanes also permitting taxi traffic.
Text is also used for additional info. For example, with the general danger sign (the exclamation mark) they might explain what you're supposed to be alert for if they don't have a specific sign.
In my city, you'll commonly see the exclamation mark with "watch out, bus" written below. The city is very hilly and narrow, so buses at the end of some lines turn around by backing up into a side street.
@@2712animefreak that was what I ment with exemptions etc. I just phrased it poorly.
The area where I grew up had a general prohibition towards through traffic, with a specification sigt of "certain traffic exempt" i.e. residents. Parking enforcement times is another common thing to see on such signs.
Honestly as someone studying Design its absolutely awesome how much thought has gone into these every day things.
Not just used in Europe, but also South America, Asia, the middle east and Africa.
Oh, so it's just America that wants to be ''special'' again.
@@InfiniteDeckhand yep
Calling it just the us is objectively wrong. Some relevant countries who also don’t follow it: Argentina, China, Japan, Australia, Canada
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vienna_Convention_on_Road_Signs_and_Signals
@@tallblondedude Japan and China also uses symbols. Other than English speaking countries that just want to be special, the only countries that don't use it is third world countries.
@@tallblondedude Just because a specific country doesn't follow the Vienna Convention doesn't mean its signs aren't inspired by them. Australia and Canada are the other real outliers and use standards closer to the US than Vienna Convention.
Really? Funny since every exit is marked ' Ausfart ' ( for example ).
As a non German speaking Belgian in Germany, I've got confused and frustrated more than once. Germany still uses quite a lot of written language where a symbol can be used.
When I first drove in Italy in 1965 I thought that all the USTICA signs on successive autostrad exit slip roads meant it must be a very big city.
The sign that Ausfahrt is written on is itself a symbol.
As long as there's a system to it, it shouldn't be too hard to learn for new drivers. Makes sense
The problems arise that it must be updated because symbols can change
@@haruhisuzumiya6650 Why would they change?
@@haruhisuzumiya6650 They also change it a bit, but still has the same meaning.
Sign: Axle Weight Limit 5 Tons
Me: 5 tons of force applied to the international space station
I love the idea of signs being slashed to show they are ending their zone. [speed] setting a limit and /[speed] ending the instruction just makes my brain happy.
I believe that a mix of pictograms and text is the best option. Having signs be instantly recognisable for those who are familiar is good, but having them literally say what they mean is also worth having for those who haven't encountered them before.
That’s what the driving theory test is for no?
@@masbox1391 I don't know where you're from, but where I live, the theory test doesn't cover every sign in the state, let alone the country. That, and you only take that once, whereas new signs are added fairly often. Even parking signs confuse a hell of a lot of people here.
@@MyHandleIsGood ah that’s not great I’m in the uk and theory test covers a bit too much in my opinion over here but I’d rather know too much than not enough. That’s insane that they just make new signs here and there like it won’t cause a problem. Must be carnage sometimes.
On this, the bikes disallowed and bikes allowed signs actually provide a grt example of how to very clearly illustrate smth to be understandable to even those who cant see any colour at all
The bikes disallowed sign not only has a smaller bike with a circle around it, which clearly is diff than a bike inside a circle; and the disallowed sign uses a black outline to rep the bike, whereas the allowed one uses a white outline.
So someone learnin traffic signs there just needs to know that if its inside a circle and white, its allowed; if its got a circle around it and its black, its disallowed
They dont even need to actually know what the symbol inside the circle is for that matter for it to provide that info; unlike needin to know what the word BIKE means to be able to decipher that meanin.
Someone who sees that sign with a bike depicted on it and then sees someone on a bike will be able to put two and two together. Someone who sees a sign that says "BIKE LANE" and nothin else cant possibly decipher what that means even if they see a bike in the lane, unless they know what those symbols mean when writ in that order
@razberrycuddles22 Bcuz thats not the way most bike lane signs in USA have historically been shown. They usually include words like Bike Lane; which is what makes them confusin, esp when they dontve pics of bikes
@razberrycuddles22 everythin if one doesnt know english
@razberrycuddles22Words like lane are not words you learn if you go on holiday, neither is bike unless you go somewhere where they're really common or if you plan on cycling. Bike lane might be easy for you because you speak English but fietspad would be way harder for someone who doesn't speak Dutch. Also consider the fact that some words are way too alike to easily remember/distinguish (fietspad vs voetpad). Symbols are way easier to remember and very intuitive because they follow clear patterns
If you live somewhere you'll learn the words eventually, even without actively studying, but these are not words you learn for a week long holiday. That is if you can even read the letters or read at all, it would be way harder for me to read Greek road signs because I'm not familiar with the alphabet (or not familiar enough), not even getting started on languages I have no experience with.
@razberrycuddles22 Now try driving with all of the US signs being in French, or Spanish, or German, or Swedish, or Italian, or whatever else other than English. Good luck!
@razberrycuddles22 What if i don't go there? And Bike path next right is not a part of the standard dictionary that a tourist would understand. And have you ever been to a country not speaking English before?
And here in North America we only have three primary languages in an equivalent area but our road signs are generally mutually intelligible. Since we can’t drive from here to there, there’s no reason for our road signs to look like your own road signs. It’s not just the absence of words, it’s that we use different symbologies AND yours don’t add words for clarification.
Ours do add words occasionally, but only as an extra condition, like a "give way" (yield) sign may have a white and black rectangular sign below it stating how far ahead till you reach the point you're supposed to give way at.
Or a "no stopping" sign may have "except busses" stated below it.
The one thing about the UK is that our road signs are really good! When I learned to drive I realised how excellent they are! For example, the octagonal stop sign is recognisable even if its completely covered in ice or vandalised with paint, the triangle vs circle signs, the use of colour... The UK did a good job designing a really coherent system!
The diagonal stripe is used in Finland and Sweden. Also, here the signs have yellow background instead of white because it makes it easier to read in winter.
Same in India, where you can't put signs in one language
I’d like to know which US signs are so mind boggling to Europeans.
The ones with text
@@Fillster why, do you guys have to take time to sound out words to read?
@@Fillster Are Europeans illiterate?
Reading comp so low you gotta turn on v.a.t.s. to figure out what the sign says.
@@voltagedoesit1136 because who in their right mind thinks text is good idea for the sign?
It's not that bad, but as a person who lives in Czech republic
WE HAVE WAY TOO MANY SIGNS EVERYWHERE LIKE HOLY SHIT MAN, THERES TOO MANY
Same in Poland there are way too many signs
Same in Germany...
People: **We need road signs**
Also people: **Too many road signs**
So people now want all road signs removed, even the important one should be removed?
@@automation7295 "man theres so many wires here"
"oh yeah? so you want to ger rid of ALL THE WIRES?!"
mate do you even hear yourself? you do realize just how ridiculous you sound?
this is literally like saying that someone who enjoys waffles hates pancakes
what the actual fuck did you try to do there?
just because i said that there are too many road signs, doesnt mean i want them ALL be removed, maybe think a little bit mate.
Bonus: shape matters.
Rectangles (in normal orientation): informational.
Circles: Instructions (do this / don't do this, based on color as described in the video)
Triangles (pointing up): warnings.
Then there are 3 special signs that have a shape unique to them:
Square rotated 45 degrees (which is yellow with white rim from the front side, but it does not matter because it is the only sign like this): main road (you have right of way)
Triangle pointing down (white with red rim, but again, it's the only one with this shape): Yield
Octagon (red with word STOP, but again, it's the only octagon): STOP
The added value of this is that you can recognize the shape also from back/side, so even in the complicated intersections, you see what the other drivers are instructed to do.
The diamond shape can be different. In the UK, diamond signs are specifically for trams (and, weirdly, speed limits for trams are given in KPH and not MPH like the rest of them)
We know we have priority from the lack of markings and signs telling us to give way.
And it makes much more sense too. Human brain always provider visuals faster then text. Thus memorising each sing is easier
i get why europeans thinks american signs are too word, but we don’t really read all the words every time. we don’t read “speed limit: 50 mph” every time, we recognize the style and just read the numbers. you learn to differentiate the signs quickly and just take the parts that are important to you.
What happens if you don't read the sign properly and it actually says "min speed 50mph"?
@@rewboss good question! minimum and maximum speeds are posted on the same sign (or two signs on the same pole, if the minimum was added later). the maximum speed is at the height speed limits are usually posted and the minimum speed is below it and usually a little smaller. your eye is naturally drawn to the max limit first.
posting the minimum speed at all is rare in the US though. i moved to a state that uses minimums on highways and it took a few days for my brain to automatically know number below speed limit = minimum speed, but you adjust. now i don’t notice that part of the sign at all unless the number is different (it’s always 40)
@rewboss Because even with words at the end of the day the signs are recognizable just with a glance. The comment above explained the speed limit issue, but I recommend actually trying to drive in the US before you knock it!
@@fdfd4739I tried riding shotgun with someone, who lived in the USA (and had for decades) and trying to stay up to date with the signs relevant to us - it was a hassle.
But since I don’t want to visit the USA again for several reasons, I don’t really have to care about signs there anymore 1 only about US Americans, who think they can drive and end up being a menace on German roads.
No one in American history has ever said their signs are confusing. Never met them. Never heard of them.
Well that's fun. Maybe airports should give out this info in documents to international travelers.
We shall bow down for the Americans
I believe most car rental places will have pamphlets available, but also governments will have the info available online, for example the UK gov has all the highway code available online including all the signs and what they mean, while you can also buy a copy of the highway code in pretty much every bookstore.
That’s…pretty interesting actually as a American i could see why we struggle with understanding why Europe has different signs but this explains it pretty well
When in Poland I noticed they put slashes on signs showing you were leaving a town. This is a nice idea that we don't have in the UK.
It has another meaning as well: it means urban driving rules end, rural driving rules begin.
@@rewboss Not in Poland, there are separate signs for urban rules beginning and the end, similar to pictogram presenting buildings in your 393 Informationstafel an Grenzübergangsstellen sign.
I mean the obscurity argument fails when road authorities can make the dash thinner or superimpose the image on top of the prohibited 🚫 sign.
There are ways to make sign reading easier
The diagonal stripe is actually used both for bans and cancelations
Back when I was studying for my livence exam I vividly remember being impressed at how well-thought the whole system was. Of course, taking the US as a benchmark is kind of an easy win lol
It's adorable I was sent this. As American, over 40 & epileptic, I can assure you Americans cannot read the signs on our roads.
The diagonal line thing would confuse the heck out of me, cuz it's ingrained in me to think the diagonal line means "no"
I live in Brazil and we also use signs somewhat like these
its almost like having international standards works better or something
Norwegian here. Never seen a minimum speed limit sign here, we might not have them, and I don't entirely see the point
I‘ve only Seen them put in Place for the left and middle lane on motorways/Autobahn and only uphill.
The Point is that Heavy Trucks/Slow vehicles Stay in the Right lane and Traffic an Flow in the Others.
Greetings from germany
It would usually be in unusual circumstances, not something that would be widespread. Usually minimum speed is applicable to highways, which have a default minimum speed (70 km/h here in Belgium), but I can imagine things like ice roads where if you drive too slowly you're putting pressure on the same spot of ice for too long?
Highways
At least here in the US, minimum speed signs are almost exclusively used on rural highways, because a large part of keeping those highways safe is to have everyone traveling at similar speeds to limit the amount of braking, swerving, etc. that occurs. At highway speeds, going 20 mph slower than everyone else is just as dangerous as going 20 mph faster, especially at night when these roads aren’t super well lit
@@dojelnotmyrealname4018 While minimum speed limits are usually applicable to highways. But here in Denmark, I've only seen minimum speed signs on residential streets, the ones I've seen say 20.
Its so cool to travel trough europe and never have to worry about traffic signs because you jist know them from your home country ♥️
This is the first I'm seeing of this, and I love these designs! I wish we had more of this in the US!
Most of the world would get confused because most countries have a stripe.
Implying "European" == "International" is so iconically European. Imagine people who have never needed to drive in Europe with a different cultural background not immediately understanding your choice of abstract symbolism. It's almost like you also had to learn it. In school. As a child. Other countries don't teach your road signs. Wow!
Thanks for the explanation though, I did actually wonder about the lack of a 🚫 (you don't have to draw the cross on top of the other symbols) but the alternative use of it makes sense.
Europe does adopt the Vienna Convention, which other countries also adapt use. There might be some variations, but overall the same. Imagine trying to read the following:
• limite de poids par essieu 5 tonnes
• vain polkupyöriä
• Überholverbot
• закінчується заборона на обгін
The vienna convention Road signs or signage very close to it is also used in Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Latin america. China and Japan don't follow it, but apart from that, the only big outliers are anglophone countries.
Implying an international standard used everywhere except for America is uniquely "European" is such a US American thing to do lol. Same with calling metric a "quirky things the Europeans do"
@@gamermapper They aren't used "everywhere except America"... they aren't even used in the majority of countries.
@@purplebrick131 71/193 is a minority. The majority of the world does not follow the convention.
Interesting. Here in the Philippines, we also often use pictographic signs, but I feel like they're usually more in the vain of American ones? So, like, the blue circular sign with a white bike would still be the symbol for a bike lane here, but the sign for no bicycles allowed would be a white circle with a red outline, a red diagonal line, and a black bike behind the diagonal line.
Note that we do use words as well sometimes. Usually, they're stuff like "under construction", "slow down", or "school crossing"...
That seems really stupid. In North America, we also have lots of different languages but using a slash to mean “not allowed” is much more simple.
He explained that it can make signs much more difficult to read at times. Also north America is mostly made up of 5 or so main languages and this is even more specifically talking about how US road signs are worse. I don't think this is stupid at all
American Sign:"Good day fair Sir or lady, from the position of this sign onward, untill instructed otherwise by following road signs, you are prohibited from operating vehicles that exceed a maximum axial load of 5 tons at the point of contact with the ground."
Europan sign: "NO HEAVY SH*T"
Europe is even more precise. It's just a round sign with red border and "5t" written on it ;)
@acmenipponair soooo in other words : no heavy shit!
Have you ever been to America?
@@IsredbullkosherApparently not, lol.
Found the person who has never driven in America
"We use pictograms because they're simple and instantly understood"
Also
"I don't have enough time to explain the pictograms in this video"
Thats why you get driving school. And better than Always have to Stop in Front of a sign to read it
"You're signage system is stupid because you can't give a comprehensive talk through in 60 seconds."
You are aware that it takes the average person 60 _hours_ to drive to the standard needed to get a licence (UK averages), right?
I kinda like the Japan approach of Using the Vienna signs for Limits and Bans, and the American style for warnings. It gives the country's signage more character and also not wordy. Most American signs do have visual differences in shape, so you don't need the text, but having the text as well is nice. Like I prefer the US one way signs over the Canadian ones
is the text in japanese? if so that shows the flaw of a text based system because how tf should i understand all the warnings if i cant read kanji?
That's a weakness, though. I don't know what放射能立入禁止区域: 今すぐ方向転換を means and that could kill me or just warn me that the bridge coming up can't support more than 6 tons
Me, who doesn't know how to drive: "Wait... you guys have a MINIMUM speed limit?"
Not only Americans are curious about European road signs. Thanks for the clarification.
I have never once had trouble understanding a street sign in United States.
If proficient in the English language, sure. Problems start with unfamiliar languages:
• limite de poids par essieu 5 tonnes
• vain polkupyöriä
• Überholverbot
• закінчується заборона на обгін
As an American, many of us have a hard time with OUR road signs...
Why don't you write to MUTCD and tell them to change their signs?
Skill issue
I think you might just be dumb.
Unfortunately Americans can’t read our own signs either. “Stay right except to pass, what the hell does that mean? Do I just pick the lane I’m most comfortable in?” “Lane ends merge left, does that mean merge now with no blinker because the lane goes off a cliff?” “Double turn, so if I’m on the inside I can turn to the outside midway through the intersection?”
Honestly as an American I can say we need more license evaluations and tests to renew. This post COVID “just do it online” has ruined the roads.
There’s this YT channel called yovo68, which is just videos of trucks getting stuck, or otherwise damaged by a very clearly signposted low bridge.
@@matt92hunThere was a new video today and it is a good one after a long time. 😀
gonna be real those signs arn’t exactly complicated and if you are having issues perhaps shouldn’t be driving without a bit of studying first
@@tallblondedude right. I’m talking as if I was one of those people.
@@tallblondedudei agree. tbh, it feels more like a retardism problem than anything if this is how people think about that.
okay I would definitely need to be taught some of these but I'm pretty sure I would now recognize all of the ones you showed. very informative.
I recently was travelling through Denmark and Sweden (as a German) for a few days and even though the colors used on roadsigns are a little different in each country, the graphics are more or less the same, so it was absolute no problem understanding the rules.
It was a crash course for my american companion though :D
In fairness, most US drivers ignore shape/color signs as often as they ignore text signs and general road safety.
Top Gear talked about a similar issue with American cars. All other cars from all over the world have pictograms and symbols for all the basic function buttons, the US made cars have an English word on every. single. button.
Totally non-intuitive as to what means “bikes prohibited”, “bikes allowed”, and “bikes only”. I would have no clue unless I had lived in that culture for a while and gradually learned the non-obvious meanings assigned to some of these symbols and backgrounds. Using the slash to mean “no” or “forbidden” would be much more intuitive to newcomers.
I'd agree, in Ireland prohibited signs all have the red diagonal. Far more intuitive than minor details like colour. And no such thing as minimum speed signs either which just seem strange.
If I'm planning on driving in another continent, which I have btw, I do a pretty comprehensive review of the traffic laws and learn to understand them, when to follow them, and when to disregard them entirely.
In North Africa for example it's:
"Disregard all laws and follow your common sense. When approached by a police officer, bribe them an appropriate amount and carry on. Be very friendly to the corrupt officials with firearms. If necessary give them all your money."
Man I love your vids and I really wish they were in my feed more
Yea the more you explain it the worse it get. Sure, im obviously biased as an american, obviously the signs I am used to make more sense... but still I feel like even conceptually the european signs are bad imo. Like, a big red diagonal line has always just ment "no" or "don't" ive never in my entire life even considered it being used as a revocation of a previous order. A big red cross-out over... say a square for example wouldn't ever mean "squares are now ok" it would just mean "no squares"
I feel like, while the european signs have a structured and logical language to them, it's all built upon its own seperate logic rather than just being based on "normal" logic.
what are u saying? a big red diagonal line on a sign literally means no. for example if u see a speed sign with the number crossed out it means no speed limitation
@@h0llow1716 nobody would think that.
@@Naev0w0you would if you took the time to learn the rules, and evidently people do because there aren't constant crashes outside of America
@@Naev0w0 why does it work then?
not if there was a sing before that says drive 55, and then the crossed out sign says the limit is no longer 55
Well there is an international agreement about road signs. They are pretty similar all over the world - with that ... exception: USA
No they are not. The Vienna convention is largely only followed in Europe. Outside of Europe, it is actually more common to have American-style signs (usually worse than actual American signs) because that's where a lot of the signs were invented.
The Vienna convention is Europe doing its own thing, and outside Europe there is not much use of true Vienna convention signage (though some places use the style).
Many Asian and African countries also follow the Vienna Convention, although some more strictly than others. Several of these countries are actually signatories to the convention.
US-style yellow diamond warning signs are found in the Americas, Australasia, a few Asian countries, Liberia and Ireland.
@@rewboss Japan appears to have a mix... also horizontal three-color traffic lights are in the opposite direction that they usually are in America. Taiwan has an American-leaning mix of styles, as does the Philippines.
It's all a bit of a mess, it would be nice if more places adopted either MUTCD signs or Vienna convention signs, and took it seriously.
@@microcolonel The biggest difference between American and European signs are the shape and colour of warning signs and frankly, that's the only thing I'd call traffic signs "American styled". Other then that, text heavy (mandatory) signs are primarily found in the US, Canada and Australia whereas almost every other country, Vienna Convention or otherwise, use symbols instead.
@@rewboss unfortunately there are discrepancies outside europe. even in countries that ratified the convention there are some signs that are outright confusing for europeans (e.g. chilean "turn left only").
on the other hand there are contries that didn't sign the convention but de-facto mostly follow european signs(e.g. israel)
I just see scary shape and go, "no"
triangles are scary
@@NoviTall Triangles are scary, no shapes are scary.
Oh this is actually very clever, I like how much thought went into it.
Now I see where our beautiful signs come from, Im from South America, Suriname
another important thing is that recognising symbols is alot faster than fucking reading
This is actually great, but it would take so much effort to reteach all of America
It wouldn’t tho, it’s near instant
@@ploppyjr2373 you're asking people to not just learn a new system but to ignore the one that already have drilled into their skull. If it was that easy, we'd all be multilingual
@@msjkramey if you think knowing what a couple of signs means is just as difficult as learning a language we have a whole different issue.
@ploppyjr2373 you have to think about it on a national scale. People of all backgrounds, most ages, and most cognitive abilities, plus all the easily frustrated and stubborn people. People just stuck in their ways. There are 240 million drivers in the United States. That's A LOT of people to teach an entirely new system all at once. There will be accidents and it will cost money and it will probably cost lives. I still remember when we got our first traffic circle/roundabout that replaced a terrible stoplight intersection (it had 5 roads leading into it instead of 4; it should have always been a traffic circle). There was at least one accident a week for months. It's been years now, and some people still panic in that junction because traffic circles are so uncommon around here
@@msjkramey yep, many people, different languages all of that. Do let’s take language out of the equation and use internationally recognized signs to make everyone’s life easier
The US tried this in the 70s. It didn't work
Why, what happened?
@@HeadsFullOfEyeballs People refused to learn new things. ALso dumb.
@@HeadsFullOfEyeballs American drivers didn't understood the Vienna Convention's symbols, they confused when symbols mean;
- Many American motorists were bewildered by the Vienna Convention's symbol sign with two children on it, they even later replaced ti with an adult and a child.
- When they saw signs for Road Narrows, they were confused and was criticized as baffling to U.S. drivers who saw a "big milk bottle"
American drivers just prefer words over symbols.
Thank you! I always found it so confusing but it makes total sense now.
You've got minimum speed limit signs?! Australia needs those!
I don't know why Americans care. Most never leave the country anyway.
Because they're the ones who have to put up with written signs as opposed to the rest of the world. 😉
I mean it's always a good idea to take a look around how other people do something, best case you learn something, worst case you get confirmation that you are already doing it better than those around you.
@@vhack0 If you never bother to look chances are the best case scenario is the most likely.
What Americans are you talking about? Lol
@@vhack0Or to prepare for a road trip in an unfamiliar country.
Americans have difficulties with a lot of internationally used stuff 😂
Americans? Most if the world uses a stripe.
Not the point of my comment, but which countries use diagonal stripes in their roadsigns? I couldn't really find any
@@jfhehfuh US, Canada, Mexico, UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, China, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Indonesia, Argentina, Brazil and so on…
Just those alone make up more than half the worlds population
"Whaaat? They do it different from the US? How stupid! It must be, because it's not how we do it!" - Americans...
No, nowhere even close.
Go on, explain how having entire lines of text on a sign is not worse than having quick to understand symbols.
I know Americans like to think that the rest of the world hates on them just cuz but it’s quite rare for the hate to be incorrect
@@jeremyrandolph8337 hits very close home
Americans get mad at people for using celsius and military time because
Lmao it’s literally the other way around. Americans are just living their lives and Europeans love to talk about how much better they are than everyone else.
Words on signs work here because people can read and we have a different system of symbols that work even through they’re not European.
@@Isredbullkosher I think it's just your insecurity speaking when you think people saying pretty much "hey we do signs differently" means "im so much better than you"
The former Portuguese territory of Macao (Macau) still uses "Vienna" signs even under Chinese rule. For example, stop signs are in English instead of Chinese-Portuguese mix.
That's actually pretty interesting. Thank you for this video
Cuz them Murricans need to read at least roadsigns, since they do not read books 😆
An ignorant comment from an uninformed parochial