Vehicles on Road Signs

Although this is a sequel blog to my Animals on Road Signs blog I made in August (2022), it isn't the beginning of a series, unless you call two blogs a series, obviously. I was just thinking about what to write about next and decided to scroll through previous writings for inspiration. I also drove passed a sign with a helicopter on it the other day and it occurred to me that perhaps there were more modes of transport on signs as well as the obvious ones.

Since "Modes of Transport on Road Signs" was a little long for a title, in my opinion, I decided to use the word "vehicles" instead. I know that when someone mentions a vehicle we almost always think of a road vehicle, indeed Google's definition is "a thing used for transporting people or goods, especially on land", however, it also described a helicopter as a "flying vehicle". So, Vehicle it is then!

The humble car features on many signs around the world. Some prohibit, some allow, some warn. The designs vary from continent to continent, but like the animal signs there are two distinct types, the Triangular European style, and the diamond shape US style. There are also circular signs that prohibit.

There are various design differences in the pictures on the signs as well, and the reasons are sometimes not just on a whim of the guy (or gal) with the crayons in the design department.

Some other signs featuring cars, are more of a warning, most are very specific warnings or prohibitions.

As we can see, cars feature on many different road signs. The designs of the vehicles are all slightly different, maybe this reflects the countries car industry, although they don't appear to be specific models, rather just a designers view of what a car looks like. The UK image, in my opinion, looks like a 1950's Ford Anglia 100E, but maybe that's just me. What do you think? Here's a comparison...

Very similar I think, I wonder if the designer of the road sign drove one of these, And I wonder if any other countries designs reflect one of their most popular cars.

Anyway, we shall move on to other vehicles....

As you may imagine, trucks and buses feature on signs as well. Due to the nature of roads in every country in the world, some are unsuitable for larger vehicles especially lorries, tight bends or steep hills, as well as dangerous surfaces and overhanging buildings, would cause major disruption if the wrong type of vehicle got stuck. 

A few examples of other commercial road vehicles are as follows...

Of course, cars, lorries, and buses are not the only road users depicted on signs. Other vehicles exist and they are featured on several road signs. 

There are too many variations of these to show on this short blog, these are just a small selection.

Strangely vehicles that do not use the roads are also featured on road signs. These are almost exclusively warning signs and are used near to places where there may be an incidence of encountering these modes of transport. Once again, the designs vary according to country so please don't think these are the only signs, they are just an example.

I have tried to show examples of different forms of transport on different signs from around the world. No doubt I have missed many local variations. Below this summary I will have an "Updates" section where I can add pictures of signs I happen upon, similar to the section at the end of the "Animals" blog.

Once again, if you have found an interesting sign in your country and there is a photo of it online please leave a comment and include a link if you can and I will add it to the blog. Obviously, I need to consider copyright, but I should be able to add it with an attribution.

Hopefully, you have enjoyed reading this short blog and I look forward to your comments.