# Countries with nicest highways



## -Valentino- (Feb 13, 2015)

What countries have the nicest highway/motorway system in the world overall, including overhead signs, fonts, painting, etc.?

Canada, USA, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Turkey are among my favorites.


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## Penn's Woods (Apr 8, 2010)

Uh-oh.

You're new here - and welcome - so you don't know that there was a long-running US vs. EU thread that was shut down. These discussions, unfortunately, tend to turn negative. ("I like my country's highways - or for that matter someone else's - because the pavement is good" or whatever is one thing; "I like my country's highways because that country's suck" is another....)


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## -Valentino- (Feb 13, 2015)

Penn's Woods said:


> Uh-oh.
> 
> You're new here - and welcome - so you don't know that there was a long-running US vs. EU thread that was shut down. These discussions, unfortunately, tend to turn negative. ("I like my country's highways - or for that matter someone else's - because the pavement is good" or whatever is one thing; "I like my country's highways because that country's suck" is another....)


Thanks!
This is not about X vs. X... Well we all have our own opinions, that's why we have forums to discuss.


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## Kanadzie (Jan 3, 2014)

It's Toronto it's always Toronto 

But I love the Polish autostrady, nice signs, nice layout, nice quality of road and highest speed limit (140) and no problems... aside from toll gate (but even then, the price, it's okay)


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## JuaanAcosta (Sep 28, 2014)

I'm really obsessed with the Japanese roads (especially motorways/expressways/tollways etc...). Their urban expressways look so high-tech, like something came out of the expectations of how the cities would look like in the future... All so white, so clean, with such organic shapes... I mean, look at this! 





































These expressways are like monsters extending their tentacles all the way trough the city... Yes, they may be atrocities to the skyline, to the urban development, to the city life, etc. But I just find them spectacular, stunning and beautiful.


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## sponge_bob (Aug 11, 2013)

American Motorways have a wonderful fat lazy hot quality to them...they are very wide and stately of speed. Only Americans understand cruising as distinct from driving. 

Chinese Motorways have a lovely 'theres a mountain lets go through it' quality to them ....they are often built in very high places and can be very very long. 

Japanese Motorways in Cities have a sculptural quality to them....they are very fluid looking. 

European Motorways are simply safe. I like safe motorways.


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## aswnl (Jun 6, 2004)

-Valentino- said:


> What countries have the nicest highway/motorway system in the world overall, including overhead signs, fonts, painting, etc.?


Do you know any country that paints it's pavement purple, the signs pink, and the roadmarkin gs and fonts a mere white light-yellow ? My daughter would certainly love it... :cheers:


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## Towersville (May 26, 2007)

USA!!!


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## CNGL (Jun 10, 2010)

I personally think every country has nice roads and also damn ugly roads. And just plain boring roads.


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## snowdog (Mar 27, 2011)

Having no speed limit trumps all other reasons.

Germany by far. Being able to drive at higher speeds than in the 1970's without fearing for fines or cops is a godsend. 

Having to watch your speedo while driving is something that shouldn't happen, it ruins the driving, you should drive the speed you can safely do for the conditions, not because of some stupid number. Hell, I'd be for banning speedometers on motorways...


Aestetics wise, definitely Japanese highways , love multi layered infrastructure.


> they may be atrocities to the skyline,


No, they look awesome for the skyline .


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## Innsertnamehere (Jun 8, 2010)

Canadian roads can be such a mixed bag. Ontario's freeways are some of the best on the planet, with extremely high design standards and really good maintenance. Its full of multi lane freeways with 4 stack interchanges, wide curves, high speed interchanges, large, safe arterial interchanges, etc. I think it has a lot to do with the provinces focus on strong highway maintenence, they are constantly rebuilding interchanges to modern standards and ensuring a high level of maintenance for the highways. The province has the lowest accident rate on the continent to show for it, too.

Manitoba's and BCs highways are some of the worst in the developed world however.. full of at grade crossings and stoplights. 

Personally, I like different features of different countries networks.
The US just for its scale, the ability to get on the highway and never get off.. just go on the open road, its incredible. There isn't quite anything like crossing the border and getting on the interstate.
I like the colours used in Polands highways, though those sound barriers get to me.
Netherlands have a dense network of highways full of large pieces of infrastructure, its very different than North America.
Etc, Etc.


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## Autoputevi kao hobi (Jan 8, 2014)

Italy,Austria and Slovenia have nicest motorways,but that's my opinion.


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## Castellar89 (Feb 1, 2015)

The highways in Japan are beautiful! They look really futuristic.


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## -Valentino- (Feb 13, 2015)

Japan is amazing..


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## JuaanAcosta (Sep 28, 2014)

Autoputevi kao hobi said:


> Italy,Austria and Slovenia have nicest motorways,but that's my opinion.


Austrian Autobahns are absolutely stunning. German quality, Italian fluidity and "Swiss Alps" kind of views  

For example, the Brennerautobahn:


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## Penn's Woods (Apr 8, 2010)

^^Pity about the signage.... :troll:


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## grykaerugoves (Jun 25, 2013)

Albania


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## Autobahn-mann (Mar 1, 2013)

Penn's Woods said:


> ^^Pity about the signage.... :troll:


Why?


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## riiga (Nov 2, 2009)

Autobahn-mann said:


> Why?


Austrian signage is hardly known for being elegant and easy to navigate. Case in point:


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## Exethalion (Dec 23, 2008)

For the roads themselves, Japan and their hotwheels style Shuto expressways in Tokyo.

For signage, every country has at least a few elements I dislike. Germany's layout is nice but I hate how their font uses different sizing depending on the length of the word (similar to the images of Austria above). UK's transport font is my favourite typeface, but the sign layout is lacking and inconsistent. I could go on for hours. Perhaps I should design my own "perfect" motorway signage system.


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## -Valentino- (Feb 13, 2015)

Exethalion said:


> For the roads themselves, Japan and their hotwheels style Shuto expressways in Tokyo.
> 
> For signage, every country has at least a few elements I dislike. Germany's layout is nice but I hate how their font uses different sizing depending on the length of the word (similar to the images of Austria above). UK's transport font is my favourite typeface, but the sign layout is lacking and inconsistent. I could go on for hours. Perhaps I should design my own "perfect" motorway signage system.


I'm not fan of any European signage except Norways, Denmark, somewhat Sweden's (Should not use upper-case only though) and may have missed one or two other countries. Green background looks better too.


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## Autobahn-mann (Mar 1, 2013)

riiga said:


> Austrian signage is hardly known for being elegant and easy to navigate. Case in point:


You have take the case of Autobahn near and around Wien... Maybe the problem is that the Austrians sign's system isn't proper for complex situation, but for the generic cases I think there isn't so much problems.

I've travelled on Sued-Autobahn (A2) in Styria and Canrinthia, and on A12 and A13 in Tyrol and there I didn't have particular problems.


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## aswnl (Jun 6, 2004)

-Valentino- said:


> Green background looks better too.


Pink or orange even better. No, wait ! Let's have brown as a background colour...

I don't like roadsigns in Canada. They don't use the Comic Sans font. :cheers:


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## -Valentino- (Feb 13, 2015)

aswnl said:


> I don't like roadsigns in Canada. They don't use the Comic Sans font. :cheers:


This is not clear and nice enough for you? Canada uses same as the U.S.


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## bigic (Aug 29, 2014)

^^ aswnl is just joking.


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## Xpressway (Dec 2, 2006)

Driving in the U.S is pretty unique IMHO. Cheap gas, car culture, massive highways, very wide lanes and highway network (even in urban areas!) and the incredible of traffic make it a really interesting country. Would love to drive there again. 

I'm in Madrid right now and while the highways are acceptable overall (some have very narrow sides and short ramps), it does not feel the same.


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## Exethalion (Dec 23, 2008)

Huge highways but no lane discipline at all. Gives British drivers a heart attack.


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## Penn's Woods (Apr 8, 2010)

There's "no lane discipline at all" and there's realizing that when there are four lanes in each direction, you don't actually need to all sit in the right lane like obedient little Germans. I think that the latter would be a more accurate description of the way Americans drive.

(Seriously, we've done this to death. Like the metric system. If Europeans find people who don't do things exactly the way they do so disturbing, they always have the option of staying home....)


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## -Valentino- (Feb 13, 2015)

Exethalion said:


> Huge highways but no lane discipline at all. Gives British drivers a heart attack.


True, but in some places drivers are better than others.


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## aswnl (Jun 6, 2004)

Penn's Woods said:


> There's "no lane discipline at all" and there's realizing that when there are four lanes in each direction, you don't actually need to all sit in the right lane like obedient little Germans. I think that the latter would be a more accurate description of the way Americans drive.
> 
> (Seriously, we've done this to death. Like the metric system. If Europeans find people who don't do things exactly the way they do so disturbing, they always have the option of staying home....)


Yeah. Just pick the lane that is painted pink and follow the signs with the nicest placenames written on them in Comic Sans. 

_(These discussions on "the country with the best/nicest/etcetera" only lead to useless quarrels and flamewars)_


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## Penn's Woods (Apr 8, 2010)

^^Endonyms or exonyms?


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## Ale92Milano_SpA (May 31, 2015)

I have been in a lot of European countries and Russia, and in the countries I have been this will be my rank:

1) Germany
2) Netherlands
3) Italy
4) Switzerland
5) UK
6) Spain
7) Belgium
8) Portugal
10) Russia


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