# Better overhead road signs... US vs. EU



## N.J. (Jul 16, 2013)

Which has overall better looking / nicer and more easier overhead road signs on highways?


----------



## N.J. (Jul 16, 2013)

*USA*




























*Canada*


----------



## Verso (Jun 5, 2006)

There are 28 countries in the EU with different overhead road signs each. Some of them are better than in the US, some of them are worse.


----------



## ChrisZwolle (May 7, 2006)

2 of 4 of those signs posted are not overhead signs either. Random googled pics are not really impressive as well.


----------



## N.J. (Jul 16, 2013)

Verso said:


> There are 28 countries in the EU with different overhead road signs each. Some of them are better than in the US, some of them are worse.


Show pictures


----------



## riiga (Nov 2, 2009)

Overhead signage on the E4 in Stockholm, Sweden.




































Very clear and easy to follow, except for the exit numbers which were only introduced 10 years ago or so.


----------



## N.J. (Jul 16, 2013)

^^ True.... But that does not make it nicer than US/Canada. I do not like big letter on cities.
It should say 1 km, not 1000 m. Use km on roads too. Anything less than 1 km could be m.


----------



## Koesj (Dec 27, 2006)

N.J. said:


> Show pictures


There's a whooole forum here for you to check out if you want to see road sign pictures from other countries


----------



## volodaaaa (Apr 9, 2013)

It seems you came here to tell us about how American overhead signs are better than European. I gotta tell you - it is a matter of habit. 

In my opinion, bigger letters are better. Austrian and Hungarian I like most.


----------



## ChrisZwolle (May 7, 2006)

It's nonsense to compare "US vs. EU". As others have noted, the EU does not have one single signage system, but rather 28 different systems. Some have good systems, others have bad systems. Some have green signs, others have blue signs, and yellow signs and white signs are also used. The font color can be white, black, blue, red or yellow. Some countries use ALL CAPS, others use regular lettering. There are possibly over 20 different fonts used within the EU. Some systems rely on route numbers a lot, others less. Some systems sign E-routes, others don't. Some systems have exit numbering, some don't.


----------



## Glodenox (Mar 26, 2007)

The only difference that I think can be seen between America and most of Europe would be that America tends to use more textual messages whereas Europe uses symbols for those (as visible on the exit numbering signs in the previous pictures). It's a practical solution to the many languages in Europe. I doubt it's possible to say that one is better than the other.


----------



## ScraperDude (Sep 15, 2002)

I really don't like the BGS (big green signs) here in the US. The green makes them look so dated and when they fade they resemble the faded green of a tennis court.


----------



## Tom 958 (Apr 24, 2007)

Here's what annoys me about European signage: the same destination repeated multiple times on the same installation. What a retarded idea! And even counties with otherwise good signage (the Netherlands, for instance) do it.


----------



## Verso (Jun 5, 2006)

^^ Beware Austria:


bogdymol said:


>


----------



## flierfy (Mar 4, 2008)

Tom 958 said:


> Here's what annoys me about European signage: the same destination repeated multiple times on the same installation. What a retarded idea! And even counties with otherwise good signage (the Netherlands, for instance) do it.


Where do you see a repeated destination in that picture? All that is repeated are the road numbers.


----------



## Nils de Gothia (Mar 11, 2013)

Tom 958 said:


> Here's what annoys me about European signage: the same destination repeated multiple times on the same installation. What a retarded idea! And even counties with otherwise good signage (the Netherlands, for instance) do it.


Some countries have nicer gantry signage than other. I find US signage very nice, but you can find good and bad examples in every country. IMO, Germany is a country where gantry signage is almost always excellent, autobahn signage is in general excellent. Even if bad examples occur. Once off the autobahn, the sign design is a lot worse. As a contrast, Sweden has quite excellent signage, but on motorways the signage, especially on gantry signs, is ugly. 

The European solution of putting the road number between arrows/on top of the arrows is not confusing, putting the road number somewhere between the destinations would be. But don't do it like the Swedes, the picture above is a good example of useless signage. 3x the road number, no destination. Practically means: the road goes on. Wow. What a surprise.
Pretty European signage:
http://www.omnibuss.se/forum/index.php?topic=48330.0
http://foto.ceskedalnice.cz/nase-foto/provoz/d1/slides/d1f69.jpg


----------



## essendon bombers (Apr 27, 2008)

I don't really have strong opionions of either side. What about variations in overhead signage between American states?

I don't like too much clutter of information. The swedish and austrian signage in the pics above are cluttered. Not necessary to have road number over each lane when it is all the one road. I'm not a big fan of spanish signs either based on pics I have seen on this forum.


----------



## N.J. (Jul 16, 2013)

Verso said:


> ^^ Beware Austria:


I'm not fan of blue signs and _italic_ text


----------



## x-type (Aug 19, 2005)

N.J. said:


> I'm not fan of blue signs and _italic_ text


actually, italic is there with purpose: italic destinations are local, inside the city.


----------



## Tom 958 (Apr 24, 2007)

flierfy said:


> Where do you see a repeated destination in that picture? All that is repeated are the road numbers.


Touche, it's just the route numbers, not the destinations. It's still a bad practice, IMO. The less a motorist has to digest, the better.


----------



## Suburbanist (Dec 25, 2009)

My biggest scuff with American signage is over-reliance on texts instead of pictograms. Pictures are much easier to read and associate with a set of information than walls of texts such as "Right Lanes MUST Turn Right". 

My biggest scuff with (most) European signage is lack of yellow lines to separate traffic going in opposite directions.


----------



## riiga (Nov 2, 2009)

Suburbanist said:


> My biggest scuff with American signage is over-reliance on texts instead of pictograms. Pictures are much easier to read and associate with a set of information than walls of texts such as "Right Lanes MUST Turn Right".


Or "EXIT ONLY" which makes no sense even. It serves no function whatsoever from what I can tell.

EDIT: Examples

In German:









In Swedish:











Suburbanist said:


> My biggest scuff with (most) European signage is lack of yellow lines to separate traffic going in opposite directions.


That has nothing to do with signage. Try the "white vs yellow divider line" thread.


----------



## volodaaaa (Apr 9, 2013)

Suburbanist said:


> My biggest scuff with American signage is over-reliance on texts instead of pictograms. Pictures are much easier to read and associate with a set of information than walls of texts such as "Right Lanes MUST Turn Right".
> 
> My biggest scuff with (most) European signage is lack of yellow lines to separate traffic going in opposite directions.


To be honest, I think, white line is better in night. But I would not like to start an offtopic


----------



## Verso (Jun 5, 2006)

Suburbanist said:


> My biggest scuff with American signage is over-reliance on texts instead of pictograms. Pictures are much easier to read and associate with a set of information than walls of texts such as "Right Lanes MUST Turn Right".


I found that quite annoying when I drove across Australia. Instead of recognizing a sign from afar you have to get close enough to be able to read it and then read it every time, because you don't know what it says until you read it. That means reading the same few texts thousands of times in your life.


----------



## brewerfan386 (Apr 24, 2009)

Oh yay, another us vs them thread in the Highway & Autobahns section.[/sarcasm] :eyeroll:


----------



## TrentSteele (Jul 25, 2013)

US vs EU is obviously ridiculous, but overhead signs are interesting. Removing the poll and changing the title could make it into a general overhead sign thread.


----------

