Motorway signs

Last sign before exit

Australia - Macedonia | Netherlands - Vietnam

Australia - New South Wales
Location: Calga, NH 1 (Sydney - Brisbane).
The actual exit sign in NSW often goes overhead, but needs not be. The brown pentagonal denotes a tourist drive.
Photo: Sam Laybutt / Ozroads

Australia - Queensland
Location: Pacific Motorway (Brisbane - Sydney)
Quite the same as the (second) directions shield - this time with an arrow and the word "exit".

Australia - Victoria
Location: M 1 (Princess Fwy, coastal road from Melbourne - Sydney)
Not too much of a change from the AD signs. All three signs before the exit are more or less the same.
Photo: Darren Hodges / Signspotters

Australia - Western Australia
Location: SR2 (Perth - Joondalup)
Like the AD sign, this sign only shows the name of the exit, the word "EXIT" and the road number. The blue background of the road number designates that the intersecting road is a state route. So far, Western Australia has not joined the other Australian states in converting to a system where roads are given a prefix M, A, B, or C.
Photo: Paul Rands / Expressway

Austria
Location: A12 (Landeck - Rosenheim).
Only the major name of the exit on the sign. Where exit numbers are shown, it would be placed on top of the sign. In this case, you're shown an overhead pull-through sign as well with the control cities for the route and the name of the next exit plus the distance to the next exit. That information is not always available, though. Sometimes, you'll also see an intermediate form, where the name of the next exit and the distance thereto is placed on top of the sign showing the name of the exit.

Belgium - Flanders
Location: E19 (Rotterdam - Antwerpen).
Always an overhead sign at the exit in Flanders, but pull-through information is mostly absent. The green square at the bottom gives the exit number.

Belgium - Wallonie
Location: E429 (Tournai - Brussels)
Much the same as the directions sign, with all the directions of the exit listed. Exit number and intersecting road number are on top this time.

Bulgaria
Location: A1 (Sofia - Svilengrad - Istanbul).
The ID sign in Bulgaria tends to come overhead, with the focal point for the road ahead on the big green sign and the focals for the intersecting road on blue. No road number though on this sign.
Photo: Mediar

Canada - Ontario
Location: King's Highway 401 (Windsor - Montréal).
Directions and road numbers. On this particular sign, all directions are the names of roads. This is quite common in urban areas, but just as much you get to see names of towns or areas. Note the sign with "419" in the background, indicating the exit number.
Photo: Scott Steeves / Ont Highways

Chile
Location: Costanera Norte, Santiago de Chile
Exit name and number. Unlike the AD signs, the ID sign does show that the intersecting road is a non-motorway, by using the green background. It's pretty much like in Spain, where the AD signs are in blue and only the ID sign shows what class of road the intersecting road is. Exit numbers in Chile are kilometer-based, by the way.
Photo: Wouter Jorritsma

Croatia
Location: A 7 (Ljubljana - Rijeka)
Most exit signs in Croatia are overhead. Same directions as the earlier signs, this time clearly showing the relevant road numbers though.
Photo: Rien / Belgian Roads

Czech Republic
Location: D 1 (Praha - Brno).
The last sign before the exit is overhead in most cases, like it is here. In this case, the directions for the exit are both local ones, hence the white background. The pull-through sign just features the control city and the road numbers.
Photo: Ceske Dalnice

Denmark
Location: E 45 (Flensburg - Arhus)
Basically, a repeat of the directions sign. The numbering shield "481" is specifically linked to the destinations "Tinglev" and "Grasten" and is therefore placed this low.
Photo: ABRob

Finland
Location: E 75 (Helsinki - Lahti)
All directions of the exit, seperated by colour code. The exit number is on top this time. The askew right-hand side at these last signs before the exit is an interesting common feature of the Nordic countries. Denmark, Sweden and Norway all use them.
Photo: Ronan / Schweizer Autobahnen

France
Location: A 1 (Autoroute du Nord, Paris - Lille).
Exit signs are always overhead. The green background of "Douai-Centre" shows that this direction a major destination (grande direction) and that this intersection is the primary road to it. Directions on a white background are local ones.

Germany
Location: A 61 (Ludwigshafen - Venlo).
Between the German provinces, there are slight differences in the lay-out and positioning of this exit sign. This sign is in Rheinland-Pfalz, where exit signs usually are positioned next to the road, with the arrow being placed below the directions. Other provinces place the arrow next to the directions, with the sign being placed overhead instead of next to the road. The sign on the top left denotes that there is a police station on this exit, while the sign adjecent thereto signposts a permanent deviation to the next exit, which could be used in the event of traffic jams or road closures.

Greece
Location: A 8 (Patras - Athens)
Almost always a gantry sign in Greece, with pull through directions (including a European road number) for the road ahead, and a green exit sign. The latter is odd, because signs for non-motorways in Greece are blue in Greece. Not only in this respect, the Greek signs very much resemble German motorway signage.
Photo: E. Gavic / autosnelwegen.net

Hungary
Location: M7 (Budapest - Zagreb)
The focals for the exit below eachother. The "150" on top is the exit number. Exits in Hungary are numbered by the nearest kilometer post.
Photo: Falusi

Ireland
Location: M6 (Kilbeggan - Athlone)
Focals for the exit and the exit number. All signs in Ireland are bilingual, Gaelic is printed in Italics, English in plain typefont.
Photo: Wouter Jorritsma

Israel
Location: Hwy 1 (Tel Aviv - Jerusalem)
A repeat of the previous signs with all directions of the exit: all focals and, where applicable, road numbers of the intersecting road. No pull-through information.
Photo: Marcel Monterie

Italy
Location: A1 (Napoli - Milano)
The exit sign is always overhead and fairly straightforward: the name of the exit on the right-hand sign and the control city for the road ahead. For some strange reason, the national road number is hardly ever shown on the pull-through sign, but European road numbers are. This is odd in a way, since Italians mostly refer to A-numbers and from non-motorways, you will always be pointed to a national road number.

Jamaica
Location: T 1 (Kingston - Ocho Rios)
The directions for the exit are repeated, but this time the fork sign also contains pull-through information and the road number.
Photo: Dwarf

Latvia
Location: A2 (Riga - Veclaicene)
The focals of the exit and the distances to these towns. No indication that you're crossing the A1 here. And the sign itself is easy to overlook. Maybe Latvia's signs will grow together with its motorway network.
Photo: RipleyLV

Lithuania
Location: A1 (Klaipeda - Vilnius)
In a way like the Latvian sign, but at least this sign is placed at the start of the exit lane. Focals of the exit, no road numbers and a neat little arrow. the LV shows that Riga is in Latvia. Something you ought to know when travelling in this area.
Photo: RipleyLV

Luxembourg
Location: A13 (Luxembourg - Brussels)
The last sign before the exit is always overhead. Couple of cities ahead and all directions of the exit.

Macedonia
Location: E75 (Skopje - Athens)
Control city as a pull-through sign and the name of the exit for the intersecting road. No road numbers.
Photo: Bojan / Build.com.mk

Malaysia
Location: E1 (Kuala Lumpur - Ipoh)
Overhead sign with a few directions for the road ahead and the focals of the exit.
Photo: Kekgi

Mexico
Location: MEX-180d (Cancún - Merida)
Sign on an antenna on the actual intersection. Because this is a cloverleaf, you'll see only one of the focals turning off here. The other focal of the cloverleaf is still ahead - you can actually see it turning off in the background.

Motorway signs (c) M.M. Roelofs, Amsterdam, NL
All Rights Reserved

	Australia - New South Wales Location: Calga, NH 1 (Sydney - Brisbane). The actual exit sign in NSW often goes overhead, but needs not be. The brown pentagonal denotes a tourist drive. Photo: Sam Laybutt / Ozroads
Australia - Queensland Location: Pacific Motorway (Brisbane - Sydney) Quite the same as the (second) directions shield - this time with an arrow and the word "exit".
	Australia - Victoria Location: M 1 (Princess Fwy, coastal road from Melbourne - Sydney) Not too much of a change from the AD signs. All three signs before the exit are more or less the same. Photo: Darren Hodges / Signspotters
Australia - Western Australia Location: SR2 (Perth - Joondalup) Like the AD sign, this sign only shows the name of the exit, the word "EXIT" and the road number. The blue background of the road number designates that the intersecting road is a state route. So far, Western Australia has not joined the other Australian states in converting to a system where roads are given a prefix M, A, B, or C. Photo: Paul Rands / Expressway
	Austria Location: A12 (Landeck - Rosenheim). Only the major name of the exit on the sign. Where exit numbers are shown, it would be placed on top of the sign. In this case, you're shown an overhead pull-through sign as well with the control cities for the route and the name of the next exit plus the distance to the next exit. That information is not always available, though. Sometimes, you'll also see an intermediate form, where the name of the next exit and the distance thereto is placed on top of the sign showing the name of the exit.
Belgium - Flanders Location: E19 (Rotterdam - Antwerpen). Always an overhead sign at the exit in Flanders, but pull-through information is mostly absent. The green square at the bottom gives the exit number.
	Belgium - Wallonie Location: E429 (Tournai - Brussels) Much the same as the directions sign, with all the directions of the exit listed. Exit number and intersecting road number are on top this time.
Bulgaria Location: A1 (Sofia - Svilengrad - Istanbul). The ID sign in Bulgaria tends to come overhead, with the focal point for the road ahead on the big green sign and the focals for the intersecting road on blue. No road number though on this sign. Photo: Mediar
	Canada - Ontario Location: King's Highway 401 (Windsor - Montréal). Directions and road numbers. On this particular sign, all directions are the names of roads. This is quite common in urban areas, but just as much you get to see names of towns or areas. Note the sign with "419" in the background, indicating the exit number. Photo: Scott Steeves / Ont Highways
Chile Location: Costanera Norte, Santiago de Chile Exit name and number. Unlike the AD signs, the ID sign does show that the intersecting road is a non-motorway, by using the green background. It's pretty much like in Spain, where the AD signs are in blue and only the ID sign shows what class of road the intersecting road is. Exit numbers in Chile are kilometer-based, by the way. Photo: Wouter Jorritsma
	Croatia Location: A 7 (Ljubljana - Rijeka) Most exit signs in Croatia are overhead. Same directions as the earlier signs, this time clearly showing the relevant road numbers though. Photo: Rien / Belgian Roads
Czech Republic Location: D 1 (Praha - Brno). The last sign before the exit is overhead in most cases, like it is here. In this case, the directions for the exit are both local ones, hence the white background. The pull-through sign just features the control city and the road numbers. Photo: Ceske Dalnice
	Denmark Location: E 45 (Flensburg - Arhus) Basically, a repeat of the directions sign. The numbering shield "481" is specifically linked to the destinations "Tinglev" and "Grasten" and is therefore placed this low. Photo: ABRob
Finland Location: E 75 (Helsinki - Lahti) All directions of the exit, seperated by colour code. The exit number is on top this time. The askew right-hand side at these last signs before the exit is an interesting common feature of the Nordic countries. Denmark, Sweden and Norway all use them. Photo: Ronan / Schweizer Autobahnen
	France Location: A 1 (Autoroute du Nord, Paris - Lille). Exit signs are always overhead. The green background of "Douai-Centre" shows that this direction a major destination (grande direction) and that this intersection is the primary road to it. Directions on a white background are local ones.
Germany Location: A 61 (Ludwigshafen - Venlo). Between the German provinces, there are slight differences in the lay-out and positioning of this exit sign. This sign is in Rheinland-Pfalz, where exit signs usually are positioned next to the road, with the arrow being placed below the directions. Other provinces place the arrow next to the directions, with the sign being placed overhead instead of next to the road. The sign on the top left denotes that there is a police station on this exit, while the sign adjecent thereto signposts a permanent deviation to the next exit, which could be used in the event of traffic jams or road closures.
	Greece Location: A 8 (Patras - Athens) Almost always a gantry sign in Greece, with pull through directions (including a European road number) for the road ahead, and a green exit sign. The latter is odd, because signs for non-motorways in Greece are blue in Greece. Not only in this respect, the Greek signs very much resemble German motorway signage. Photo: E. Gavic / autosnelwegen.net
Hungary Location: M7 (Budapest - Zagreb) The focals for the exit below eachother. The "150" on top is the exit number. Exits in Hungary are numbered by the nearest kilometer post. Photo: Falusi
	Ireland Location: M6 (Kilbeggan - Athlone) Focals for the exit and the exit number. All signs in Ireland are bilingual, Gaelic is printed in Italics, English in plain typefont. Photo: Wouter Jorritsma
Israel Location: Hwy 1 (Tel Aviv - Jerusalem) A repeat of the previous signs with all directions of the exit: all focals and, where applicable, road numbers of the intersecting road. No pull-through information. Photo: Marcel Monterie
	Italy Location: A1 (Napoli - Milano) The exit sign is always overhead and fairly straightforward: the name of the exit on the right-hand sign and the control city for the road ahead. For some strange reason, the national road number is hardly ever shown on the pull-through sign, but European road numbers are. This is odd in a way, since Italians mostly refer to A-numbers and from non-motorways, you will always be pointed to a national road number.
Jamaica Location: T 1 (Kingston - Ocho Rios) The directions for the exit are repeated, but this time the fork sign also contains pull-through information and the road number. Photo: Dwarf
	Latvia Location: A2 (Riga - Veclaicene) The focals of the exit and the distances to these towns. No indication that you're crossing the A1 here. And the sign itself is easy to overlook. Maybe Latvia's signs will grow together with its motorway network. Photo: RipleyLV
Lithuania Location: A1 (Klaipeda - Vilnius) In a way like the Latvian sign, but at least this sign is placed at the start of the exit lane. Focals of the exit, no road numbers and a neat little arrow. the LV shows that Riga is in Latvia. Something you ought to know when travelling in this area. Photo: RipleyLV
	Luxembourg Location: A13 (Luxembourg - Brussels) The last sign before the exit is always overhead. Couple of cities ahead and all directions of the exit.
Macedonia Location: E75 (Skopje - Athens) Control city as a pull-through sign and the name of the exit for the intersecting road. No road numbers. Photo: Bojan / Build.com.mk
	Malaysia Location: E1 (Kuala Lumpur - Ipoh) Overhead sign with a few directions for the road ahead and the focals of the exit. Photo: Kekgi
Mexico Location: MEX-180d (Cancún - Merida) Sign on an antenna on the actual intersection. Because this is a cloverleaf, you'll see only one of the focals turning off here. The other focal of the cloverleaf is still ahead - you can actually see it turning off in the background.