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
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.
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
Let's see, you are mixing up some concepts, here's a summary of priority signs: ◇ Yellow diamond: you have priority at intersections. ◇ Slashed yellow diamond: you stop having priority at intersections, expect "stop" or "give way" signs soon. △ Warning sign with intersection symbols (╂┠ ┨ etc.): there is a dangerous intersection where *you have priority.* △ Warning sign with X symbol: there is a dangerous intersection *without established priorities,* you must apply the general rule for unmarked intersections (give way to anyone approaching from your right)
9:03 One rule also you interpret a pole with multiple signs from top to bottom. In this example there are different prioritys dependend on the direktion you want to go. The turn to the right grands you the highest priority, however if you want to drive ahead onto the lower priority street you have to yield to the cars that come from the right. So they are 3 lvls of priority 1: staying on the priority road, 2: leaving the priority road, 3: driving onto the priority road.
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.
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)
Lol, Nordic signs aren't better or more advanced, they just have a yellow background instead of white to be more visible in the frequent snowy conditions of the region. This wouldn't make sense in the rest of the continent where snow is scarcer. Everything else is the same.
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
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
Always wondered why Sweden have signs are red and Yellow when the rest of the world has red and white. The street color line is white in Sweden sand yellow when we work on then. In Europe sand other places first lines is yellow but white when they work on them.
Vienna convention road signs are understandable primarily to car drivers from European countries. I'm from Russia, one of the countries that uses the Vienna convention road signs. Vienna convention signs are far more symbol oriented than US signs that are mostly text-only and without knowledge of English it is impossible to understand what the text on a road sign means. Plus speed limit signs in the US are for the most part only in mph, so the use of km/h speed limit signs is extremely rare, not to count Belize and Guyana where road signs have the same design as in the US
Yes, good points. I have also seen US-style signage (MUTCD as it's called) recently in Japan, which I mentioned in my most recent video ruclips.net/video/IDfB7wOejZA/видео.html
As an Australian I find the red circle prohibition signs counter-intuitive as I expect a prohibition sign to include a diagonal bar through the circle like the classic no smoking symbol 🚭
@@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
You could include two critical differences. 1. In most of the world, the line separating incoming traffic and oncoming traffic is white, just like any other road marking. I found this extremely dangerous as when you drive on a multi-lane street, you might not understand which lane is for which direction. Similarly, and this happens often, people drive in a wrong way because of this, cause there is no easy way to tell if you’re in a one-way or not. 2. The stop sign is treated differently in Europe. There’s no ‘first comes first served’ rule. You’re always supposed to yield to the car to your right, no matter who’s first in the intersection.
Thanks for watching! On your first point, I made an entirely separate video for this exact reason. See here and let me know what you think: ruclips.net/video/XQnsB0_beBk/видео.html For your second point, good point. It wasn't sign-specific which is why it wasn't covered here, but it is a good call out!
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.
Note that the signs of the Vienna convention are being modernized as we go. Like for example the prohibited for motor vehicles (Vienna Convention road sign C3a-V1-1) shows the front of a car in black on a white circle with red border. If you Google the different versions of this sign you find that some countries have modernized the for of the car to make it match a modern car better than the original from 1968. The same goes for other signs. The warning for trains is still a steam locomotive, but there are modern style icons for tram and light rail, depending where you are and when the sign was put up.
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.
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?
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.
As an Australian I find the red circle prohibition signs counter-intuitive as I expect a prohibition sign to include a diagonal bar through the circle like the classic no smoking symbol 🚭
**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
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
Let's see, you are mixing up some concepts, here's a summary of priority signs:
◇ Yellow diamond: you have priority at intersections.
◇ Slashed yellow diamond: you stop having priority at intersections, expect "stop" or "give way" signs soon.
△ Warning sign with intersection symbols (╂┠ ┨ etc.): there is a dangerous intersection where *you have priority.*
△ Warning sign with X symbol: there is a dangerous intersection *without established priorities,* you must apply the general rule for unmarked intersections (give way to anyone approaching from your right)
9:03 One rule also you interpret a pole with multiple signs from top to bottom. In this example there are different prioritys dependend on the direktion you want to go. The turn to the right grands you the highest priority, however if you want to drive ahead onto the lower priority street you have to yield to the cars that come from the right. So they are 3 lvls of priority 1: staying on the priority road, 2: leaving the priority road, 3: driving onto the priority road.
Good point, thanks for sharing that!
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
Sounds like the League of Nations
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
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)
@@d0rban almost every European country uses the yellow background for temporary signs, it's a pretty standard thing
Lol, Nordic signs aren't better or more advanced, they just have a yellow background instead of white to be more visible in the frequent snowy conditions of the region. This wouldn't make sense in the rest of the continent where snow is scarcer.
Everything else is the same.
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!!
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!
Always wondered why Sweden have signs are red and Yellow when the rest of the world has red and white.
The street color line is white in Sweden sand yellow when we work on then. In Europe sand other places first lines is yellow but white when they work on them.
Interesting. I didn’t know this about Sweden but I just looked it up and it’s for better visibility in snowy conditions. Interesting!!
Vienna convention road signs are understandable primarily to car drivers from European countries. I'm from Russia, one of the countries that uses the Vienna convention road signs. Vienna convention signs are far more symbol oriented than US signs that are mostly text-only and without knowledge of English it is impossible to understand what the text on a road sign means. Plus speed limit signs in the US are for the most part only in mph, so the use of km/h speed limit signs is extremely rare, not to count Belize and Guyana where road signs have the same design as in the US
Yes, good points. I have also seen US-style signage (MUTCD as it's called) recently in Japan, which I mentioned in my most recent video ruclips.net/video/IDfB7wOejZA/видео.html
As an Australian I find the red circle prohibition signs counter-intuitive as I expect a prohibition sign to include a diagonal bar through the circle like the classic no smoking symbol 🚭
I agree!
I'm Australian about to do some driving in Germany. I'll update as many of those signs as I can so they make more sense 👍
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
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!
You could include two critical differences.
1. In most of the world, the line separating incoming traffic and oncoming traffic is white, just like any other road marking. I found this extremely dangerous as when you drive on a multi-lane street, you might not understand which lane is for which direction. Similarly, and this happens often, people drive in a wrong way because of this, cause there is no easy way to tell if you’re in a one-way or not.
2. The stop sign is treated differently in Europe. There’s no ‘first comes first served’ rule. You’re always supposed to yield to the car to your right, no matter who’s first in the intersection.
Thanks for watching! On your first point, I made an entirely separate video for this exact reason. See here and let me know what you think: ruclips.net/video/XQnsB0_beBk/видео.html
For your second point, good point. It wasn't sign-specific which is why it wasn't covered here, but it is a good call out!
Both of your points are exactly why I make these videos, so thank you for reassuring my doubts :)
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!
Lmao 🤣 the Vienna correction
🙃
i like the european ones much more, they look modern visually. the american ones aesthetically look ugly and old
Yeah good point!
Note that the signs of the Vienna convention are being modernized as we go. Like for example the prohibited for motor vehicles (Vienna Convention road sign C3a-V1-1) shows the front of a car in black on a white circle with red border. If you Google the different versions of this sign you find that some countries have modernized the for of the car to make it match a modern car better than the original from 1968. The same goes for other signs. The warning for trains is still a steam locomotive, but there are modern style icons for tram and light rail, depending where you are and when the sign was put up.
In China traffic signs follow the Greek standard
Interesting
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.
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
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.
Priority signs in China
Stop🟥⬜️ Hexagon
Yield🟥🟧 Triangle
Yield to oncoming🟥⬜️⬛️ Circle
Priority over oncoming🟦⬜️🟥 Square
Colors and shape:
Wow, didn't know, thanks!
As an Australian I find the red circle prohibition signs counter-intuitive as I expect a prohibition sign to include a diagonal bar through the circle like the classic no smoking symbol 🚭
Good point, I agree that would be easier but maybe also difficult to see what some symbols are