Motorway signs

First approach signs

Australia - Mexico | Netherlands - Vietnam

Australia - New South Wales
Location: M 7 (Westlink - Western Sydney Orbital).
Directions for the exit, but pull-through information is limited to the road number. There is no exit numbering in NSW. Also note that NSW's style of numbering is slightly different compared to other Australian states, in that there is a border around the road number.
Photo: Sam Laybutt / Ozroads

Australia - Queensland
Location: Pacific Motorway (Brisbane - Sydney)
Note the numbered exit. At this moment, exit numbers are not used on all freeways in Queensland. The exits are numbered by the kilometer post. The hexagonal shield denotes a metroad, metropolitan through roads. The number on a blue shield is a state road. Like the other Australian states, Queensland is in the process of renumbering its roads.

Australia - Victoria
Location: M 1 (Princess Freeway, coastal road from Melbourne - Sydney)
All directions and the road number are given straight away. The services on the sign below are not necessarily at the exit itself, but merely services that are not too far from the exit itself.
Photo: Darren Hodges / Signspotters

Australia - Western Australia
Location: SR2 (Perth - Joondalup)
The name of the exit and the route number involved. The name of the next exit and the distance thereto is also indicated.
Photo: Paul Rands / Expressway

Austria
Location: A12 (Landeck - Rosenheim).
A fork sign showing the name of the exit and the control city. Sometimes you are also shown the next exit or an additional control city. Consistency is, after all, not the greatest thing in Austrian signposting. While exit numbering has been introduced in Austria quite some time ago, not all signs actually contain the number. This is one of many exits on the A12 not showing the exit number. Where it is shown, the exit number would be put on a separate sign on top of the sign on the right-hand side.

Belgium - Flanders
Location: E 19 (Antwerpen - Brussel).
Quite odd that the background colour of this shield is white. Apart from this type of signs, white is only in use in town. The number on a green background is the exit number. Exits in Belgium are numbered as a sequence.

Belgium - Wallonie
Location: E 429 (Tournai - Brussels)
The name of the exit and the exit number on a green background. Like in Flanders, exit in the Wallonie part of Belgium are numbered as a sequence.

Bulgaria
Location: A2 (Sofia - Varna)
All directions for the exit (which is often limited to one), the control city and the road number. There is no exit numbering in Bulgaria.
Photo: Mediar

Canada - Ontario
Location: Kings Highway 400 (Toronto - Parry Sound)
All directions for the exit can be found on the first approach sign. As seen more often, one of the "directions" is the name of a road. On top is the exit number. Exits in Ontario are mostly numbered by the nearest kilometer post.
Photo: Scott Steeves / Ont Highways

Chile
Location: Costanera Norte, Santiago de Chile
Exit number, distance and all destinations of the exit (which, in this case, is only one). Even though blue is the colour for motorways only, the blue colour of the approach sign does not indicate that the intersecting road is a motorway. Very much like Spain, really.
Photo: Wouter Jorritsma

China
Location: Airport Expressway, Beijing
All directions for the exit (or in this case, the name of the intersecting road) can be found on the first approach sign. The exit number is on the bottom left. All information in simplified Chinese characters and in Latin characters.

Croatia
Location: A 7 (Ljubljana - Rijeka)
Fork sign with all directions of the exit and two major pull-through directions. Yellow refers to a non-motorway.
Photo: Rien / Belgian Roads

Czech Republic
Location: D11 (Praha - Hradec Králové).
Exit number and distance to the exit. Exits in the Czech Republic are numbered by the nearest kilometer post.
Photo: Ceske Dalnice

Denmark
Location: E 45 (Flensburg - Arhus)
The name of the exit on a blue background and the next exit (and there distance thereto) in a green background. Green is the colour for motorways. Blue is used on motorways as a referral to non-motorways. Once you leave the motorway, the signs are white with red letters on them.
Photo: ABRob

Ethiopia
Location: Addis Abeba - Adama Expressway
The destination or destinations for the intersecting road and the message that the intersection is 'ahead'. This message is typically posted a kilometer ahead or so.
Photo: Vatse

Finland
Location: E 75 (Helsinki - Lahti)
Straightforward fork sign, giving all directions of the exit straight away. Exit number is at the bottom, using the standard European exit symbol. Exits in Finland are numbered as a sequence.
Photo: Ronan / Schweizer Autobahnen

France
Location: A77 (Paris - Nevers)
Simple sign, really. Just a fork showing that exit 22 is upon us. France uses the pictogram used for exits you see elsewhere in Europe, too. On some older signs, the word 'Sortie' is used. Exits are numbered as a sequence.

Germany
Location: A61 (Ludwigshafen - Venlo).
Just the name and number of the exit on the first approach sign in Germany. Exits are numbered as a sequence.

Greece
Location: A8 (Patras - Athens)
Greek characters in yellow and white for Roman characters. Apart from the name of the exit and the distance thereto, there is the exit number along with the standard European exit symbol. Exit numbering is in progress in Greece, with exits being numbered as a sequence.
Photo: E. Gavic / autosnelwegen.net

Hungary
Location: M7 (Budapest - Zagreb).
Complete fork sign with a few destinations for the road ahead and all the destinations of the exit. Incidentally, those exit destinations are listed below and above the arrow. Exit number (numbered by nearest kilometer post) and national and European road number are also featured.
Photo: Falusi

Indonesia
Location: Jakarta Ring Road
All exit destinations are given right away, plus a pull-through sign providing you with major destinations ahead. The pull-through sign will be blue if you are driving on a toll road.
Photo: Gibranal NN

Iran
Location: Motorway 1 (Tehran - Rasht)
The intersecting road number and the distance to the exit. All in Arab and Roman characters, mostly positioned over each other.
Photo: Vatse

Ireland
Location: M6 (Kilbeggan - Athlone)
All destinations of the exit, the control city and the road numbers.
Photo: Wouter Jorritsma

Israel
Location: Hwy 1 (Tel Aviv - Jerusalem).
Name of the exit and the word "Interchange" in three languages. No exit number on this sign. Apparently, some Israeli motorways do feature exit numbers. The distance to the exit goes on a yellow background without any addition highlighting that the distance is in meters.
Photo: Marcel Monterie

Italy
Location: A1 (Napoli - Milano)
Fork sign with the control city and the name of the exit. The sign is typically all green, but additional destinations on these signs other than the name of the exit (e.g. provincial capitals, police stations, airports) will have their usual background colour, which is blue for place names and white for most objects. No exit numbers on most motorways in Italy. Some ring roads are an exception.

Jamaica
Location: T 1 (Kingston - Ocho Rios)
The directions of the exit on a fork sign.
Photo: Dwarf

Japan
Location: Chuo Expressway (Tokyo - Nagoya)
A first approach sign is commonly placed at two kilometers from the exit. On an intercity motorway, that is, as on an urban route there wouldn't be space for it (and the Japanese therefore change the signposting style). It's merely the exit number, the name of the exit and the distance.

Korea
Location: NH 1 (Seoul - Busan)
All the destinations of the exit and the related route numbers. Exit number on a separate sign at the top. Unlike many other nations employing signs in two sets of characters, Korea opts for placing the language version next to one another rather than above one another.

Latvia
Location: A8 (Joniškis - Riga)
Smallish fork sign with the control city, the road number and the directions of the exit. Even though this road also bears the European number E77, the sole road number appearing on the sign is the national road number A8.
Photo: RipleyLV

Lithuania
Location: A1 (Klaipeda - Vilnius)
The obvious difference with the sign from Latvia is of course the green colour, with green being used as the motorway colour. Maybe that has to do with the fact that Latvia does not yet have any formal motorways (as far as I'm aware at least). Control city for the road ahead, the destinations for the exit and that's about it. No exit numbering in Lithuania.
Photo: RipleyLV

Luxembourg
Location: A13 (Saarbrücken - Bettembourg - Esch)
All destinations of the exit plus road number and exit number. Exits in Luxembourg are numbered as a sequence.

Macedonia
Location: E75 (Skopje - Athens)
Very much like other former Yugoslav countries, the control city and road number for the road ahead and the name of the exit. Focal points in cyrillic and roman alphabet.
Photo: Bojan / Build.com.mk

Malaysia
Location: E1 (Kuala Lumpur - Ipoh)
The name of the exit in Malay and the exit number on the white background. Then the destinations of the exit, including the one that forms the name of the exit, on a green background.
Photo: Kekgi

Mexico
Location: MEX-180d (Cancún - Merida)
A lane allocation sign is the first sign you'll encounter for an exit. It's not true lane allocation though, merely an indication that traffic for the two exit destinations should slowly but surely move right. The destinations indicated are the two exit destinations (one for the MEX-295 in a northerly direction and for for the southerly direction) and the control city of the road ahead.

Motorway signs
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	Australia - New South Wales Location: M 7 (Westlink - Western Sydney Orbital). Directions for the exit, but pull-through information is limited to the road number. There is no exit numbering in NSW. Also note that NSW's style of numbering is slightly different compared to other Australian states, in that there is a border around the road number. Photo: Sam Laybutt / Ozroads
Australia - Queensland Location: Pacific Motorway (Brisbane - Sydney) Note the numbered exit. At this moment, exit numbers are not used on all freeways in Queensland. The exits are numbered by the kilometer post. The hexagonal shield denotes a metroad, metropolitan through roads. The number on a blue shield is a state road. Like the other Australian states, Queensland is in the process of renumbering its roads.
	Australia - Victoria Location: M 1 (Princess Freeway, coastal road from Melbourne - Sydney) All directions and the road number are given straight away. The services on the sign below are not necessarily at the exit itself, but merely services that are not too far from the exit itself. Photo: Darren Hodges / Signspotters
Australia - Western Australia Location: SR2 (Perth - Joondalup) The name of the exit and the route number involved. The name of the next exit and the distance thereto is also indicated. Photo: Paul Rands / Expressway
	Austria Location: A12 (Landeck - Rosenheim). A fork sign showing the name of the exit and the control city. Sometimes you are also shown the next exit or an additional control city. Consistency is, after all, not the greatest thing in Austrian signposting. While exit numbering has been introduced in Austria quite some time ago, not all signs actually contain the number. This is one of many exits on the A12 not showing the exit number. Where it is shown, the exit number would be put on a separate sign on top of the sign on the right-hand side.
Belgium - Flanders Location: E 19 (Antwerpen - Brussel). Quite odd that the background colour of this shield is white. Apart from this type of signs, white is only in use in town. The number on a green background is the exit number. Exits in Belgium are numbered as a sequence.
	Belgium - Wallonie Location: E 429 (Tournai - Brussels) The name of the exit and the exit number on a green background. Like in Flanders, exit in the Wallonie part of Belgium are numbered as a sequence.
Bulgaria Location: A2 (Sofia - Varna) All directions for the exit (which is often limited to one), the control city and the road number. There is no exit numbering in Bulgaria. Photo: Mediar
	Canada - Ontario Location: Kings Highway 400 (Toronto - Parry Sound) All directions for the exit can be found on the first approach sign. As seen more often, one of the "directions" is the name of a road. On top is the exit number. Exits in Ontario are mostly numbered by the nearest kilometer post. Photo: Scott Steeves / Ont Highways
Chile Location: Costanera Norte, Santiago de Chile Exit number, distance and all destinations of the exit (which, in this case, is only one). Even though blue is the colour for motorways only, the blue colour of the approach sign does not indicate that the intersecting road is a motorway. Very much like Spain, really. Photo: Wouter Jorritsma
	China Location: Airport Expressway, Beijing All directions for the exit (or in this case, the name of the intersecting road) can be found on the first approach sign. The exit number is on the bottom left. All information in simplified Chinese characters and in Latin characters.
Croatia Location: A 7 (Ljubljana - Rijeka) Fork sign with all directions of the exit and two major pull-through directions. Yellow refers to a non-motorway. Photo: Rien / Belgian Roads
	Czech Republic Location: D11 (Praha - Hradec Králové). Exit number and distance to the exit. Exits in the Czech Republic are numbered by the nearest kilometer post. Photo: Ceske Dalnice
Denmark Location: E 45 (Flensburg - Arhus) The name of the exit on a blue background and the next exit (and there distance thereto) in a green background. Green is the colour for motorways. Blue is used on motorways as a referral to non-motorways. Once you leave the motorway, the signs are white with red letters on them. Photo: ABRob
	Ethiopia Location: Addis Abeba - Adama Expressway The destination or destinations for the intersecting road and the message that the intersection is 'ahead'. This message is typically posted a kilometer ahead or so. Photo: Vatse
Finland Location: E 75 (Helsinki - Lahti) Straightforward fork sign, giving all directions of the exit straight away. Exit number is at the bottom, using the standard European exit symbol. Exits in Finland are numbered as a sequence. Photo: Ronan / Schweizer Autobahnen
	France Location: A77 (Paris - Nevers) Simple sign, really. Just a fork showing that exit 22 is upon us. France uses the pictogram used for exits you see elsewhere in Europe, too. On some older signs, the word 'Sortie' is used. Exits are numbered as a sequence.
Germany Location: A61 (Ludwigshafen - Venlo). Just the name and number of the exit on the first approach sign in Germany. Exits are numbered as a sequence.
	Greece Location: A8 (Patras - Athens) Greek characters in yellow and white for Roman characters. Apart from the name of the exit and the distance thereto, there is the exit number along with the standard European exit symbol. Exit numbering is in progress in Greece, with exits being numbered as a sequence. Photo: E. Gavic / autosnelwegen.net
Hungary Location: M7 (Budapest - Zagreb). Complete fork sign with a few destinations for the road ahead and all the destinations of the exit. Incidentally, those exit destinations are listed below and above the arrow. Exit number (numbered by nearest kilometer post) and national and European road number are also featured. Photo: Falusi
	Indonesia Location: Jakarta Ring Road All exit destinations are given right away, plus a pull-through sign providing you with major destinations ahead. The pull-through sign will be blue if you are driving on a toll road. Photo: Gibranal NN
Iran Location: Motorway 1 (Tehran - Rasht) The intersecting road number and the distance to the exit. All in Arab and Roman characters, mostly positioned over each other. Photo: Vatse
	Ireland Location: M6 (Kilbeggan - Athlone) All destinations of the exit, the control city and the road numbers. Photo: Wouter Jorritsma
Israel Location: Hwy 1 (Tel Aviv - Jerusalem). Name of the exit and the word "Interchange" in three languages. No exit number on this sign. Apparently, some Israeli motorways do feature exit numbers. The distance to the exit goes on a yellow background without any addition highlighting that the distance is in meters. Photo: Marcel Monterie
	Italy Location: A1 (Napoli - Milano) Fork sign with the control city and the name of the exit. The sign is typically all green, but additional destinations on these signs other than the name of the exit (e.g. provincial capitals, police stations, airports) will have their usual background colour, which is blue for place names and white for most objects. No exit numbers on most motorways in Italy. Some ring roads are an exception.
Jamaica Location: T 1 (Kingston - Ocho Rios) The directions of the exit on a fork sign. Photo: Dwarf
	Japan Location: Chuo Expressway (Tokyo - Nagoya) A first approach sign is commonly placed at two kilometers from the exit. On an intercity motorway, that is, as on an urban route there wouldn't be space for it (and the Japanese therefore change the signposting style). It's merely the exit number, the name of the exit and the distance.
Korea Location: NH 1 (Seoul - Busan) All the destinations of the exit and the related route numbers. Exit number on a separate sign at the top. Unlike many other nations employing signs in two sets of characters, Korea opts for placing the language version next to one another rather than above one another.
	Latvia Location: A8 (Joniškis - Riga) Smallish fork sign with the control city, the road number and the directions of the exit. Even though this road also bears the European number E77, the sole road number appearing on the sign is the national road number A8. Photo: RipleyLV
Lithuania Location: A1 (Klaipeda - Vilnius) The obvious difference with the sign from Latvia is of course the green colour, with green being used as the motorway colour. Maybe that has to do with the fact that Latvia does not yet have any formal motorways (as far as I'm aware at least). Control city for the road ahead, the destinations for the exit and that's about it. No exit numbering in Lithuania. Photo: RipleyLV
	Luxembourg Location: A13 (Saarbrücken - Bettembourg - Esch) All destinations of the exit plus road number and exit number. Exits in Luxembourg are numbered as a sequence.
Macedonia Location: E75 (Skopje - Athens) Very much like other former Yugoslav countries, the control city and road number for the road ahead and the name of the exit. Focal points in cyrillic and roman alphabet. Photo: Bojan / Build.com.mk
	Malaysia Location: E1 (Kuala Lumpur - Ipoh) The name of the exit in Malay and the exit number on the white background. Then the destinations of the exit, including the one that forms the name of the exit, on a green background. Photo: Kekgi
Mexico Location: MEX-180d (Cancún - Merida) A lane allocation sign is the first sign you'll encounter for an exit. It's not true lane allocation though, merely an indication that traffic for the two exit destinations should slowly but surely move right. The destinations indicated are the two exit destinations (one for the MEX-295 in a northerly direction and for for the southerly direction) and the control city of the road ahead.