Road signs in Israel

A stop sign in Israel

Road signs in Israel are decided by the Ministry of Transportation in the Division of Transportation Planning, most recently set forth in June 2011.[1]

They generally use the same pattern of colours, shapes, and symbols as used in most countries of Europe and the Middle East and set out in the Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals.

Language

Signs employ three scripts – Hebrew, Arabic, and Latin – and are written in Hebrew and Arabic, the two official languages of the country, and in English. However, signs in Arabic and English are often spelt wrong.[2]

The stop sign, however, instead of displaying words in three languages, conveys its meaning through the depiction of a raised hand.

Signs giving warnings

Signs warning of hazardous conditions or dangerous situations (e.g. "Intersection" or "Steep incline ahead" bear a black-on-white symbol inside a red-bordered triangle (point uppermost).

Signs giving orders

With the exception of the special shapes used for "Stop" and "Yield" signs (respectively, an octagon and a downward-pointing triangle), signs giving orders are circular and are of two kinds:

Signs giving information

Signs giving information are generally rectangular (sometimes pointed at one end in the case of direction signage).

Highways in Israel are classified as national (single-digit number), inter-city (two digits), regional (three digits), or local (four digits), and route-marker signs are also colour-coded (respectively: blue, red, green, and brown) according to these classes.

Most directional signs to towns and cities are white-on-blue (motorways), white-on-green (other main roads), black-on-white (local destinations), or white-on-brown (tourist destinations: landmarks, historical sites, nature reserves, etc.).

The sign for permitted parking features a white-on-blue "P" for "parking" enclosed by the Hebrew letter Het ("ח") for "hanaya" (Hebrew: חניה‎), which also means "parking").

The sign informing users that they are on a priority road is a white-edged yellow "diamond" (i.e. a square turned through 45°).

Erroneous traffic sign in Road 443, near Jerusalem. The correct sign is depicted on the lower-right corner.

References

  1. ↑ Traffic Sign Sheet, Ministry of Transportation, July 2012
  2. ↑ http://www.economist.com/news/middle-east-and-africa/21594353-avigdor-liebermans-radical-ideas-population-transfers-are-gaining-ground-might An Arab-Israeli dilemma: Might they want to join Palestine?
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