Road command signs

Road Signs Road Signage

There is a division of the regulatory sign group as defined by the United Nations Economic and Social Council in the Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals of 1968, that is absolutely mandatory, and these are known as road command signs. These mandatory signs are often seen not just on their own, but used in conjunction with other signs, traffic lights and bollards as a form of visual shorthand within these objects. A good example of road command signs would be the sign you frequently see on a traffic bollard – a circular sign with a blue background and a white border and arrow pointing down and to the left indicating that it is mandatory to pass the bollard on the left hand side. Similar signs in continental Europe would have the arrow pointing down and to the right.

In some countries road command signs may also be depicted as a white circular sign with a red border. Mandatory road command signs can be used to allocate certain areas to specific types of vehicles - the Vienna Convention explicitly mentions footpaths, cycle paths and bridleways, but tramways, bus lanes, taxi lanes and HOV lanes can also be designated with road command signs. When a specific area of roadway is designated with a mandatory sign specifying a vehicle type, all traffic of this type must use this area if possible. If you would like any further information about South Africa’s leading road signs manufacturer or about any types of signage that we make, please contact us at +27 11 222 9800