Road signs in Switzerland and Liechtenstein generally conform to the 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals.[1]

Example of Swiss motor-/expressway sign

Although Switzerland is not a member of the European Union, signs largely follow the general European conventions concerning the use of shape and color to indicate their function. This is just a general pattern, and there are several exceptions.

Switzerland signed the Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals on November 8, 1968 and ratified it on December 11, 1991.[2] On March 2, 2020 Liechtenstein acceded to the Convention.

Concepts

The Swiss road signs are defined in the Road Signs Act, which is based on several laws and ordinances. Liechtenstein largely follows the legislation of Switzerland.

The major laws are:

Swiss laws

Titles in three national languages
SR/RS No.Titledefritref
741.21Road Signs ActSignalisationsverordnung vom 5. September 1979 (SSV)Ordonnance du 5 septembre 1979 sur la signalisation routière (OSR)Ordinanza del 5 settembre 1979 sulla segnaletica stradale (OSStr)[3]
741.01Road Traffic ActStrassenverkehrsgesetz vom 19. Dezember 1958 (SVG)Loi fédérale du 19 décembre 1958 sur la circulation routière (LCR)Legge federale del 19 dicembre 1958 sulla circolazione stradale (LCStr)[4]
741.11Road Traffic Rules ActVerkehrsregelnverordnung vom 13. November 1962 (VRV)Ordonnance du 13 novembre 1962 sur les règles de la circulation routière (OCR)Ordinanza del 13 novembre 1962 sulle norme della circolazione stradale (ONC)[5]
725.111National Roads ActNationalstrassenverordnung vom 7. November 2007 (NSV)Ordonnance sur les routes nationales du 7 novembre 2007 (ORN)Ordinanza sulle strade nazionali del 7 novembre 2007 (OSN)[6]

Laws of Liechtenstein

No.Titlederef
741.21Road Signs ActStrassensignalisationsverordnung (SSV) vom 27. Dezember 1979, LGBl. 1978 Nr. 18
Road Traffic LawStrassenverkehrsgesetz (SVG) vom 30. Juni 1978, LGBl. 1978 Nr. 18
Road Traffic Rules ActVerkehrsregelnverordnung (VRV) vom 1. August 1978, LGBl. 1978 Nr. 19

Language

Each canton is responsible for management and placement of its road signs and complementary panels and uses one of the four official languages of Switzerland accordingly.

Metrics

Distances and other measurements are displayed in metric units.

Categorization and design

CategoryShapeNo.Character (Major) colour of Example(s)
borderbackgroundcontent
Warningtriangular1.01–1.32Conductingredwhiteblack
Regulatorycircular2.01–2.20Prohibitiveredwhiteblack
2.30–2.65Commandingwhite (thin)

red
blue

white
white

black




Priorityvarious3.01–3.25various



Indicationrectangular4.01–4.25Conductingwhite (thin)bluewhite & black
Routing



4.27–4.77.2
minor route
minor road
black (thin) white black
particular purpose
main route
main road
white (thin)bluewhite
motor-/expressway
4.60–4.73
white (thin)greenwhite
detour routeblack (thin)orangeblack
commercial directionblack (thin)greyblack
bicycle route,
mountain bike route,
vehicle-like transport means route
white (thin)falu redwhite
4.79–4.95Informationalwhite (thin)bluewhite
Complementary Panelsrectangular5.01–5.58Compulsoryblack (thin) white black
Road Markingsvarious6.01–6.31none- white
yellow
blue
red
Traffic Lightscircle
cross
arrows
-Commandingwhiteblackred
yellow
green
Police Instruction Signs-----

Starting 2003, the font ASTRA-Frutiger is replacing the previous SNV, which is still used in several European countries.[7][8]

Signs

Warning signs

Regulatory signs

Prohibitions

Mandatory Instructions

Priority signs

Indication signs

Conducting indication signs

Routing indication signs

... on main and minor roads
... numbering
... on motorways and expressways
... general

Informational signs

Complementary panels

General remarks:

  • All signs and complementary panels can be combined with complementary panels for particular kinds of transport means.
  • If accompanied with the words ausgenommen / Excepté / eccettuato (excluding) or gestattet / Autorisé / permesso (permitted), it means that the indicated kind of transport means are excluded from the regulation of the main sign.
  • The sign bicycles (5.31) also includes mopeds with a designed maximal speed of 20km/h.

Road markings

Traffic lights

General Remarks:

  • Working traffic light signals (not turned off or not flashing yellow) precede the priority signs, the road markings, and the general road rules.
  • A yellow flashing traffic light warns of special caution, and the general road rules, priority signs, and road markings have to be applied and followed (in particular stop signs (see 3.01) or give way signs (see 3.02) and all other priority signs, or direction indications (e.g. see 2.32–2.43, 2.46, 6.06, 6.10, 6.13), and others)!
  • White traffic lights are addressed to public transport only.

General rules

Specifically addressed

Police instruction signs

Blue Zone parking disc

When parking in a Blue Zone you should set and display a blue parking disc with the time of arrival according to the Blue Zone Rules. Parking in a blue zone space is limited to 1 hour unless otherwise indicated. When parking, make sure the whole vehicle, including bumpers, are within the marked parking space.

Blue disks are available in various places, such as the police station, hotels, tourist offices, newsstands, the local Gemeinde/Town hall, garages and gas stations.

Blue Zone Parking Rules

From Monday to Saturday:

Between 8:00-11:30 and 13:30-18:00 set the disc to the exact time or the next half-hour mark if the exact time is not printed on the disc. Parking is allowed for 1 hour from set time.

Between 11:00-13:30 set the disc to the exact time or the next half-hour mark if the exact time is not printed on the disc. Parking is allowed until 14:30.

Between 18:00-19:00 set the disc to the exact time or the next half-hour mark if the exact time is not printed on the disc. Parking is allowed until 09:00 the next morning.

Between 19:00-07:59 blue disc is not needed if you leave by 08:00.

From Saturday 18:00 until Monday 09:00 blue-zone parking is free. No need to set blue disc.

For Blue Zones marked with a 4 digit area code and you do not have the corresponding parking permit just follow regular Blue Zone parking rules. If you have a valid parking permit for the specific area code, parking is unlimited in these zones.

See also

References

  1. "Convention on Road Signs and Signals Vienna, 8 November 1968". United Nations. Retrieved 1 September 2012.
  2. "United Nations Treaty Collection". treaties.un.org. Retrieved 2023-11-18.
  3. "SR 741.21 Signalisationsverordnung vom 5. September 1979 (SSV)" (in German, French, and Italian). Berne, Switzerland: Swiss Federal Council. 15 January 2017. Retrieved 2017-08-07.
  4. "SR 741.01 Strassenverkehrsgesetz vom 19. Dezember 1958 (SVG)" (in German, French, and Italian). Berne, Switzerland: Swiss Federal Council. 1 October 2016. Retrieved 2017-08-31.
  5. "SR 741.11 Verkehrsregelnverordnung vom 13. November 1962 (VRV)" (in German, French, and Italian). Berne, Switzerland: Swiss Federal Council. 7 May 2017. Retrieved 2017-08-31.
  6. "SR 725.111 Nationalstrassenverordnung vom 7. November 2007 (NSV)" (in German, French, and Italian). Berne, Switzerland: Swiss Federal Council. 1 January 2016. Retrieved 2017-08-31.
  7. rel (20 January 2003). "«Frutiger» für die Strasse". NZZ (in German). Zurich, Switzerland. Retrieved 2017-06-28.
  8. "Frutiger honored with SOTA award". Microsoft Typography. Retrieved 1 September 2012.
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