Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals

12 United Nations — Treaty Series • Nations Unies — Recueil des Traités 1978 Article 12. MANDATORY SIGNS Section B of Annex 4 to this Convention describes the mandatory signs and gives their meaning. Article 13. PROVISIONS APPLYING GENERALLY TO THE SIGNS DESCRIBED IN ANNEX 4 TO THIS CONVENTION 1. Prohibitory, restrictive and mandatory signs shall be placed in the imme diate vicinity of the point where the obligation, restriction or prohibition begins and may be repeated if the competent authorities consider it necessary. Nevertheless, if the competent authorities consider it advisable for reasons of visibility or in order to give users advance warning, these signs may be placed at a suitable distance in ad vance of the point where the obligation, restriction or prohibition applies. An addi tional panel conforming to model 1 of Annex 7 shall be placed under signs set up in advance of the point where the obligation, restriction or prohibition applies. 2. Regulatory signs placed level with or shortly after a sign giving the name of a built-up area shall mean that the rule applies throughout the built-up area, unless a different rule is notified by other signs on certain sections of the road in the built-up area. Informative Signs Other than Parking Signs Article 14 1. Annex 5 to this Convention describes the signs, other than parking signs, which convey useful information to road-users, or gives examples of such signs; it also gives some instructions for their use. 2. The inscription of words on informative signs (i) to (v) of Article 5, para graph 1 (c), in countries not using the Latin alphabet shall be both in the national language and in the form of a transliteration into the Latin alphabet reproducing as closely as possible the pronunciation in the national language. 3. In countries not using the Latin alphabet, the words in Latin characters may be entered either on the same sign as the words in the national language or on a repeat sign. 4. A sign shall not bear inscriptions in more than two languages. Article 15. ADVANCE DIRECTION SIGNS Advance direction signs shall be placed at such distance from the intersection as will make them most effective both by day and by night, having regard to road and traffic conditions, including the normal speed of vehicles and the distance at which the sign is visible; this distance need not exceed about 50 metres (55 yards) in built-up areas but shall be not less than 500 metres (550 yards) on motorways and other roads carrying fast traffic. The signs may be repeated. An additional panel placed below the sign may show the distance between the sign and the intersection; this distance may also be shown on the lower part of the sign itself. Article 16. DIRECTION SIGNS 1. One direction sign may bear the names of several places; the names shall then appear one below the other on the sign. The letters used for one place name may be larger than those used for the others only if the place in question is the largest of them. Vol. 1091,1-16743 14 United Nations — Treaty Series • Nations Unies — Recueil des Traités 1978 Standing and Parking Signs Article 22 Annex 6 to this Convention describes in section A the signs prohibiting or restricting standing or parking and in section B the other signs giving useful informa tion on parking; the meaning of the signs is explained and some instructions for their use are given. CHAPTER m. TRAFFIC LIGHT SIGNALS Article 23. SIGNALS FOR VEHICULAR TRAFFIC 1. Subject to the provisions of paragraph 12 of this Article, the only lights which may be used as light signals for regulating vehicle traffic, other than those in tended solely for public transport vehicles, are the following, which shall have the meanings here assigned to them: (a) Non-flashing lights: (i) a green light shall mean that traffic may proceed; however, a green light for controlling traffic at an intersection shall not authorize drivers to proceed if traffic is so congested in the direction in which