Polish bicycles signs

The design of road signs in Poland is regulated by Regulation of the Ministers of Infrastructure and Interior Affairs and Administration on road signs and signals.[1] The Annex 1 to the regulation describes conditions related to usage of the road signs – size, visibility, colors and light reflections, typeface and text, criteria of choosing the type of foil to signs faces, colorful specimens and schematics.

Road signs are divided into two categories – "vertical" (znaki pionowe) and "horizontal" (znaki poziome). The "vertical" signs (triangular, circular or rectangular) are placed on the side of the road or over the road. The "horizontal" ones are simply road markings painted on the carriageway, usually with white paint. Yellow paint is used in temporary situations, mostly during road work. It has higher priority than white paint.

Road signs in Poland follow the Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals and, therefore, are more or less identical to those in other European countries. Warning signs have yellow background rather than the more common black-on-white design, and therefore are similar to the road signs in Greece.

Polish road signs depict people with stylized (as opposed to naturalistic) silhouettes.

Meaning of the traffic signals and their usage is described in another regulation. Traffic signals are placed on the right side of the road, on the left side or over the carriageway. There are three types of traffic signals:

Poland signed the Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals on November 8, 1968 and ratified it on August 23, 1984.[2]

Vertical signs

There are seven types of "vertical signs":

  1. Warning signs (znaki ostrzegawcze; type A) – triangular with the tip pointed upwards (with exception of sign A-7, where its tip is pointed downwards – it provides clear meaning of the sign even during the reduced readability or when looking on it from behind), with red border. The symbols are black on yellow background, with exception of sign A-29 which presents a three-colored traffic signals
  2. Prohibition signs (znaki zakazu; type B) – circular with red border. Black (in some cases colorful) symbol on white background (exceptions: sign B-20 "STOP", which has an octagonal shape – it also provides clear meaning even during reduced readability or when looking on it from behind; signs B-39, B-40 and B-44 are rectangular). In case of the signs that cancel specific restrictions the symbol is grey and crossed out by thick black diagonal line.
  3. Mandatory signs (znaki nakazu; type C) – circular, with a white symbol on blue background. The exception is C-17 sign (mandatory direction for vehicles carrying dangerous materials) which is placed on white rectangular board.
  4. Information signs (znaki informacyjne; type D) – rectangular, blue (or with a white square on blue background) with a white, black or colorful symbol. There are few exceptions: D-1 and D-2 signs which are yellow on white background; additionally one of tips is pointed upwards to give the clear meaning like with A-7 and B-20 signs. D-42 to D-47 signs are big white rectangles.
  5. Directional signs (znaki kierunku i miejscowości; type E) – these signs have different shapes and colors, depending on the situation and placement.
  6. Complementary signs (znaki uzupełniające; type F) – big rectangular or square signs with blue or yellow background. These signs mostly inform about traffic order or approaching restrictions and dangers.
  7. Complementary plates (tabliczki do znaków drogowych; type T) – small rectangular signs, mostly with white or yellow background, with black text or symbol. These are placed under main sign, extending its meaning.

Depending on road type there are five groups of size:

The most used size of road signs in Poland, defined in Regulation as medium, is in case of circular with diameter of 80 centimetres (31 in); in case of triangular the length of one of edges has 90 centimetres (35 in); in case of square or rectangular one of square edges or shorter edge of rectangle has 60 centimetres (24 in).

Dimensions of directional signs are depending on size of letters, type and size of symbols and also by length and number of locality names.

To provide proper visibility and readability of road signs, the faces are made with reflective materials. Type of used material is dependent on road category.

Warning signs

Prohibitory signs

To eliminate some of vehicle types from entering a specific road, two or exceptionally three symbols can be put on the sign, e.g.:

Mandatory signs

Combined signs C-13 and C-16 mean a way that is designated only for pedestrians and bicycles. Below are possible variants of the sign:

Information signs

Directional signs

Complementary signs

Complementary plates

Additional signs

Additional signs before level crossing

Additional signs for tram drivers

Additional signs for bicycle routes

Additional signs for military vehicles drivers

Road markings

Traffic signals

Traffic signals for drivers and pedestrians

Traffic signals for drivers of public transport vehicles on regular routes

Traffic safety devices

References

  1. ^ Rozporządzenie Ministrów Infrastruktury oraz Spraw Wewnętrznych i Administracji w sprawie znaków i sygnałów drogowych [Regulation of the Ministers of Infrastructure and Interior Affairs and Administration on road signs and signals], Dz. U. z 2019 r. poz. 2310
  2. ^ "United Nations Treaty Collection". treaties.un.org. Retrieved 2023-12-09.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g "Priority signs | Traffic signs: Poland". traffic-rules.com. Retrieved 2019-05-19.
  4. ^ a b c Rozporządzenie Ministra Infrastruktury z dnia 8 marca 2021 r. zmieniające rozporządzenie w sprawie szczegółowych warunków technicznych dla znaków i sygnałów drogowych oraz urządzeń bezpieczeństwa ruchu drogowego i warunków ich umieszczania na drogach [Ordinance of the Minister of Infrastructure of 8 March 2021 amending the regulation on detailed technical conditions for road signs and signals and road safety devices and the conditions for their placement on roads], Dz. U. z 2021 r. poz. 438
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h Rozporządzenie Ministrów Infrastruktury oraz Spraw Wewnętrznych i Administracji z dnia 12 października 2021 r. zmieniające rozporządzenie w sprawie znaków i sygnałów drogowych [Regulation of the Ministers of Infrastructure and Interior and Administration of October 12, 2021 amending the regulation on road signs and signals], Dz. U. z 2021 r. poz. 2065
  6. ^ a b c Rozporządzenie Ministra Infrastruktury z dnia 12 lipca 2019 r. zmieniające rozporządzenie w sprawie szczegółowych warunków technicznych dla znaków i sygnałów drogowych oraz urządzeń bezpieczeństwa ruchu drogowego i warunków ich umieszczania na drogach [Ordinance of the Minister of Infrastructure of July 12, 2019 amending the regulation on detailed technical conditions for road signs and signals and road safety devices and the conditions for their placement on roads], Dz. U. z 2019 r. poz. 1417
  7. ^ a b Rozporządzenie Ministra Infrastruktury z dnia 14 sierpnia 2018 r. zmieniające rozporządzenie w sprawie szczegółowych warunków technicznych dla znaków i sygnałów drogowych oraz urządzeń bezpieczeństwa ruchu drogowego i warunków ich umieszczania na drogach [Ordinance of the Minister of Infrastructure of August 14, 2018 amending the regulation on detailed technical conditions for road signs and signals and road safety devices and the conditions for their placement on roads], Dz. U. z 2018 r. poz. 1657

External links

Traffic signs
Road signs in Europe
Category