| Home : Driving : Signs & Signals : Page 3 |
| GERMAN TRAFFIC SIGNS, SIGNALS, & MARKINGS (con'd) |
|
Skip back to Page 1 of Signs | |
Parking signs
 |
 |
 |
 |
| No
stopping on roadway |
No
parking on roadway Prohibits stopping on the roadway for more than 3 minutes except for passenger boarding/discharging and loading/unloading. |
Parking
Control Zone Posted at entrances to city neighborhoods and indicates a general parking restriction on all streets in the area until the "End of Parking Control Zone" sign is reached. A supplemental sign will indicate the exact restriction such as requiring the use of a parking disc, voucher, or permit. |
End
of Parking Control Zone |
|
|
|
|||||||||
| No
stopping on roadway prior to (i.e. to the right of) this sign |
No
stopping on roadway in either direction from this sign |
No
stopping on roadway beyond (i.e. to the left of) this sign |
|
|
|
|||||||||
| No
parking on roadway prior to (i.e. to the right of) this sign |
No
parking on roadway in either direction from this sign |
No
parking on roadway beyond (i.e. to the left of) this sign |
 |
|
 |
 |
| No
stopping on shoulder |
No
parking on shoulder |
Taxi
stand This area is reserved for taxis only. Other vehicles may not stop here. |
Taxi
stand Up to five taxis are permitted to wait here. |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Parking
area This sign indicates that parking is permitted or gives directions to parking areas. |
Parking
only with a parking disc You must use a parking disc to park here and you may only park for the length of time indicated (2 hours). |
Handicapped
parking You may park here only if you have an official handicapped permit. |
Parking
garage Gives directions to a parking garage. |
 |
 |
 |
| Parking on sidewalk permitted | Hiker's
parking area Indicates an area where you may park and hike a circuit trail. |
Park
& Ride Indicates a facility where you may park your vehicle and transfer to public transportation. |
Service signs
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Gas station | Gas
station with unleaded fuel This sign is now obsolete as all gas stations have unleaded fuel. |
Restaurant | Snack bar | Hotel |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Restroom | Telephone The word "Notruf" may appear on this sign and indicates an emergency telephone. |
Police station | First aid station | Auto
mechanical service |
 |
 |
 |
| Tourist information | Traffic
Information Radio This sign shows the name and frequency of a radio station giving local traffic information. The letter at the bottom indicates the Traffic Reporting Region that the station covers. |
Campground |
Information and guide signs
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|||
| Entering
built-up area Posted at the entrance to a community and indicates that the 50 km/h speed limit and other urban traffic regulations begins. |
Leaving
built-up area This is actually the backside of the "Entering built-up area sign" and indicates the end of urban traffic regulations and the return to the 100 km/h speed limit. The distance to the next community is indicated on the top part. If this section is white, the next community is in the same township of the community that you are leaving. |
Place
name Marks small towns that do not require the "Entering built-up area" sign. This sign is also used to mark rivers and other places of interest. |
Tourist
attraction Used to give directions to tourist destinations. |
Tourist
direction Used to give directions to tourist destinations or to mark tourist routes. |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Federal Highway route number | Autobahn route number | European highway number | Autobahn interchange number |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Federal
highway direction sign Shows the direction and distance to major destinations. |
Secondary
road direction sign Shows the direction and distance to major destinations. |
Secondary
road direction sign Shows the direction to minor destinations. |
Local
direction sign Shows the direction to an important local destination. |
 |
 |
 |
| Federal
highway direction sign An alternate form of the federal highway direction sign above. |
Secondary
road direction sign An alternate form of the secondary road direction sign above. |
Street name sign |
   |
 
 |
 |
 |
| Routing
sign for certain vehicles Vehicles shown on the sign must turn here. |
Routing
sign for certain vehicles Vehicles shown on the sign must turn ahead. |
Expressway
exit Marks an exit ramp from an expressway. |
Direction
sign to the Autobahn Shows the direction to the indicated Autobahn. |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Consolidated
directional sign Shows all directions from the intersection. |
Advance
directional sign Gives advance notice of directions at an upcoming intersection. |
Advance
directional sign Shows the lane configuration at the next intersection and advises that you should move into your lane early. In this example, there are three lanes at the next intersection: the left lane must turn left (toward Stuttgart), the right two lanes continue straight on B14 toward Nürnberg, and the far right lane can also turn right toward Uhlbach. |
Advance
directional sign Shows directions for Autobahn entrances ahead. |
 |
 |
|
|||||
| Autobahn
interchange initial approach sign Placed 1000 meters before Autobahn exits and 2000 meters before Autobahn junctions and shows the type, number, and name of the interchange. The symbol denotes the type of interchange:
|
Autobahn
interchange advance directional sign Located 500 meters before Autobahn exits and at both 1000 meters and 500 meters before Autobahn junctions. Shows a schematic of the interchange and lists additional destinations. |
Autobahn
interchange countdown markers Located at 300 meters (three stripes), 200 meters (two stripes), and 100 meters (one stripe) before the interchange. The interchange number sign is mounted above the 300 meter marker. |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Autobahn
exit This sign is placed just prior to the exit. It is sometimes placed in the median on the left side of the roadway. |
Autobahn
exit Marks an exit ramp from the Autobahn. |
Autobahn
distance sign Placed after most entrances. Lists the distance to major cities along the route. Distances to major destinations accessed via an intersecting Autobahn are listed at the bottom with the corresponding route number. |
Alternate
route Indicates a recommended alternate route on the Autobahn system for specific vehicles or destinations in order to avoid congestion. |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Detour
approach sign Indicates that a detour is about to start. |
Detour direction sign | End of detour | Numbered
detour Used where there are multiple detour routes in effect. Follow the same numbered detour. |
Emergency
detour route for Autobahn traffic These signs mark pre-posted detour routes for use in the event that an Autobahn must be closed. Follow the same number to return to the next Autobahn entrance. You may also use these routes to bypass Autobahn congestion. |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Emergency
Autobahn detour schematic Used to direct Autobahn traffic to the next emergency detour route when traffic cannot return to the Autobahn at the next entrance. |
Detour
route schematic sign Indicates that the road toward Stuttgart is closed ahead. To continue toward Stuttgart, turn left 80 meters ahead. Follow the road to ADorf, then to BDorf where you will return to the original route. |
Detour
route schematic sign Indicates that the specified vehicle type (in this case, vehicles with hazardous cargo) are prohibited ahead on the road going toward A-Stadt. To continue toward A-Stadt, there is a marked detour route for those vehicles starting 80 meters ahead to the left. |
Complicated
traffic route Used to show unusual or special directions. (This sign, for example, shows that traffic wishing to turn left two blocks ahead must instead turn right at the next intersection and then turn left twice.) |
 |
 |
|
 |
|||
| Dead end street | Dead
end street Children are allowed to play in the street. |
Water
Protection Area Posted in environmentally sensitive areas. Reminds drivers of vehicles carrying water-hazardous cargo to be extra careful. |
Pedestrian underpass or bridge |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Bus
or streetcar stop Parking or stopping within 15 meters of this sign is prohibited. Do not pass streetcars stopped on the street to board or discharge passengers. Yield to buses leaving the bus stop. |
School
bus stop Watch for children during the days and times shown. |
Streetlights
do not stay on all night Painted on street lamps that turn off during the night. The time that the light turns off may be indicated in the red area. If you park near this street lamp at night, you must leave your parking lights on. |
Customs post ahead | Speed
limit information board at international border crossings Indicates the various general speed limits. |
Miscellaneous signs
|
|
 |
|
|||||||||
| Guide
posts Posted every 50 meters along the roadside, left and right sides respectively. |
Obstruction
marker This sign is posted on the edge of an object in or adjacent to the roadway. The stripes slope down to the side on which you should pass the object. |
Obstruction
marker This sign is posted on the edge of an object in the roadway. You may pass by the object on either side. |
Chevron
markers on curves The arrows indicate the direction to travel. |
|
 |
|
|
|||||||||||
| Mobile
lane closure board Used in construction areas to temporarily close lanes. Pass by on the side indicated. |
Parking
warning marking Mounted on the back of vehicles and trailers that may suddenly stop on roadways (i.e. maintenance vehicles). |
Church
services Posted at the entrances to a town and lists scheduled Sunday church services. The gold church denotes Catholic Masses; the purple church denotes Protestant services. |
Military
weight limit Posted near bridges and viaducts. Used by military planners and engineers to determine the maximum load limit of the bridge. |
|
|||||
| Construction
information These signs are posted at the beginning of major construction zones and give information about the project. |
Additional sign symbols
Below are some additional symbols that you may see on signs in Germany:
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Airport | Train station |
Ferry | Church | Industrial area |
Hospital | Emergency phone |
Stadium | Sports park |
Restroom for disabled |
Additional sign information
In the past decade or so, lots of electronic signs have been installed on Autobahns and expressways. These signs are capable of displaying facsimiles of official traffic signs and carry the same authority as their static counterparts. Common ones include speed limits and congestion warnings. When mounted overhead, these signs have added flexibility. They can be used to assign speed limits to specific lanes or to display lane control information. See the "Electronic signs" page for more details and examples.
In cities and towns, you will frequently come across convex mirrors mounted on high posts or on the sides of buildings next to the road. These mirrors are provided to help drivers at tight corners where the visibility is blocked by a building or other obstacle.
As mentioned earlier, Germany has been overhauling its traffic signs during the last decade. To see some of the changes that been made, see the "Old signs" page.
Words are sometimes used on traffic signs, especially on supplemental signs. Here is a rather complete list of vocabulary used on German traffic signs.
| Abblendlicht
- Dipped (low-beam) headlights Abstand halten - Maintain following distance Achtung - Attention Allee - Avenue an geraden Tagen - on "even" days (Tue., Thur.) an ungeraden Tagen - on "odd" days (Mon., Wed., Fri.) an Sonn- und Feiertagen - on Sundays and holidays Anfang - Start, begin Anlieger frei - Residents and local traffic allowed Anlieger bis Baustelle frei - Residents and local traffic allowed as far as construction site Anlieger oder Parken frei - Residents, local traffic and parking allowed Anwohner frei - Residents allowed auch - also auf dem Seitenstreifen - on the shoulder Ausfahrt - Exit Ausfahrt freihalten - Keep driveway exit clear Autobahn - Freeway, superhighway Autobahndreieck - Autobahn "triangle" ("T"-junction) Autobahnkreuz - Autobahn crossing (junction) Autohof - Truck stop Bahnhof - Railway
station Di - Tuesday Einbahnstraße - One
way street Fährbenutzer frei -
Ferry users allowed Gasse - Alley, lane h - abbreviation for
o'clock (i.e. "8-16 h" = "8am - 4pm") Industriegebiet; Schienenfahrzeuge haben Vorrang - Industrial area; rail vehicles have right-of-way kein/keine - no (i.e.
"Keine Mofas" = "no mopeds") Landwirtschaftlicher Verkehr
frei - Agricultural vehicles allowed |
Mi -
Wednesday mit Ausweis Nr. - with permit number mit Parkausweis Nr. - with parking permit number mit Parkschein - with parking voucher Mo - Monday Mofas - Mopeds Nebel - Fog Ölspur - Watch for oil on lane P + M - Carpool parking Radfahrer absteigen -
Bicyclists dismount Sa - Saturday Tankstelle - Gas
station überholen - overtake,
pass verboten - prohibited Wasserschutzgebiet -
Water protection area Zentrum - Downtown |
|
Skip back to Page 1 of Signs | |
Home : Driving in Germany : Signs & Signals
© This page and all of its contents are Copyright 2002 by Brian K. Purcell
NOTICE: The information contained on this site is provided "as-is". Although I make reasonable efforts to keep it updated, I make no guarantee regarding accuracy and assume no responsibility for inconveniences or other issues arising from its use. All opinions expressed are strictly my own.
