Sign to direct traffic at an entrance to the AL-12 road in Almería

Road signs in Spain are regulated in Normas y señales reguladores de la circulación vial.[1] They conform to the general pattern of those used in most other European countries. Spain is an original signatory to the 1968 Vienna Convention of Road Signs and Signals.[2] Spain signed this convention on November 8, 1968, but has yet to fully ratify it.

Typeface

In Spain, according to standard 8.1-I.C, two typefaces must be used that are attached sized with the standard. For signage on highways, highways and automobile roads, the alphabet called Autopista will be used; while for conventional roads, the urban environment and the rest of the roads, the Conventional Highway alphabet will be used.

From 1969 (Order of February 4, 1969 of the Ministry of the Interior on traffic rules and signs) until approximately 1991, the Autopista typography was used for highways, French typography and modified Helvetica for the rest of the roads, and a typography with a denomination Commercial Traffic Type Luxembourg to indicate various points, such as railway stations, airports, etc. Order of February 4, 1969 of the Ministry of the Interior on traffic rules and signs Signs in 1962. From 1991 to 2000, the date of publication of the new order, regulatory work was carried out in view of said order, changing the old signs for others; However, there are still a few signs from the 1969 order, perhaps made in the late 1980s and not changed due to their condition.

On April 5, 2014, the new standard 8.1-IC was published in the BOE, which, in relation to typography, establishes that only the "conventional road" alphabet will be used, replacing the "highway" alphabet in the new panels installed since then.[3]

There are commercial versions of both typefaces. The version of the Highway alphabet comes from the typeface known as Highway Gothic, which is a collection of typefaces created by different commissions in the United States. The Interstate commercial typeface, the work of Tobias Frere-Jones, is derived from the Highway Gothic, and the Conventional Highway is an adaptation of Transport.

However, on certain roads such as the AP-7 toll motorway, the Helvetica typeface has been used in various sections within Catalonia.

Language

In Spain, the Catalan (Catalonia and Balearic Islands), Valencian (Valencian Community), Basque (Basque Country and part of Navarre) and Galician (Galicia) speaking regions are officially bilingual.

According to standard 8.1-IC[4] of vertical signage (edited by the General Directorate of Highways (Dirección General de Carreteras)), the proper names of towns, provinces, characteristic points, etc. They will always be written in the official place name.

In the event that there is no official place name, the place name is first written in the regional language followed by a slash (/) and the place name in Spanish. If they are found on two lines, the name in the local language will be placed first, followed by a horizontal line and, finally, the place name in Spanish. No distinction is made in typography between both languages.

In the event that the official place name differs greatly from its Spanish version and the latter appears on the Official Road Map, both are written.

Warning signs

Below is a detailed and specific list of the signs adopted by regulations on public roads in Spain. The danger warning traffic signs approved and in common use in Spain since 1991 are the following:

Regulatory signs

Priority signs

Priority signs force other vehicles to give way in various situations. Due to their importance, these signs have different shapes than all the others. The Stop sign (R-2) is octagonal in shape and is red. The Yield sign (R-1) is shaped like an equilateral triangle with one vertex facing downwards and is white with a red border.

Entry prohibition signs

Prohibition signs prohibit behavior that may cause danger. These signs have a circular shape and their pictogram is black on a white background, edges and band (descending transversal from left to right crossing the pictogram at 45° with respect to the horizontal) red (the red must cover, at least, 35 percent of the sign surface).

No entry signs are those that restrict access to a road. These signs are circular and white with a red border. Due to its importance, the "no entry" sign (R-101) has a red background with a white stripe.

Restriction signs

Other prohibition or restriction signs

Mandatory signs

De-restriction signs

De-restriction signs inform that the prohibition or limitation section has ended. These signs are round and white with one or more diagonal black lines (one in France, three in the Netherlands, five in Spain and Germany).

Indication signs

Indication signs inform the driver about something of interest. These signs are square or rectangular, blue with white elements and border. The signs are listed below along with their reference and corresponding legend as described in the General Traffic Regulations (Reglamento General de la Circulación).[5]

General indication signs

Lane signs

Lane signs indicate the purpose of the lanes or the passage from one to several, etc.

Service signs

Service signs indicate the location of a roadside service.

Oritentation signs

Pre-signaling signs

The signs indicate the location of an intersection at an adequate distance for it to be effective, being a minimum of 500 m on highways and highways, and can be reduced to 50 m in towns and repeated several times at another distance. Sometimes they can be seen in different colors to differentiate them.

Direction signs

Route number signs

Route number signs are intended to identify the roads by their number, made up of figures, letters or a combination of both, or by their name. They are made up of this number or this name framed in a rectangle or a shield.

Location signs

Location signs are used to indicate:

  • The border between two regions;
  • The limit between two administrative divisions of the same region;
  • The name of a town, a river, a port, a place or other circumstance of an analogous nature.

Confirmation signs

Signs for specific use in the town

Additional panels

Other signs

Construction signs

The construction traffic signs in Spain are signs, generally similar to the rest, with a yellow background used to signal detours or temporary changes due to works on the road.[6]

The different works signs are listed below, accompanied by their reference and a legend. Temporary signs shown below differ from permanent ones in that they have a yellow background instead of white.

Warning signs

Regulation and priority signs

Speed limit signs

De-restriction signs

Indication signs

Reflective marking signs

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Road signs in Spain.
  1. ↑ "Normas y señales reguladoras de la circulación vial - DGT" (PDF). sede.dgt.gob.es. 2020.
  2. ↑ "United Nations Treaty Collection". treaties.un.org. Retrieved 2023-11-08.
  3. ↑ "Disposición 3654 del BOE núm. 83 de 2014" (PDF). www.boe.es (in Spanish). 2014-04-05.
  4. ↑ "BOE 025 de 29/01/2000 Sec 1 Pag 4049 a 4106" (PDF). boe.es (in Spanish). 2000-01-29.
  5. ↑ Ministerio de la Presidencia (2003-12-23), Real Decreto 1428/2003, de 21 de noviembre, por el que se aprueba el Reglamento General de Circulación para la aplicación y desarrollo del texto articulado de la Ley sobre tráfico, circulación de vehículos a motor y seguridad vial, aprobado por el Real Decreto Legislativo 339/1990, de 2 de marzo (in Spanish), pp. 45684–45772, retrieved 2023-11-17
  6. ↑ "Instrucción 8.3-IC. Señalización, balizamiento, defensa, limpieza y terminación de obras fijas fuera de poblado (Orden de 31 de agosto de 1987)" (PDF) (in Spanish). ORDEN MINISTERIAL. 1987-08-31.
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