Road signs in Minsk

Road signs in Belarus are regulated by the road sign standard STB 1140-2013.[1] Due to the country being a former Soviet Socialist Republic between 1920 and 1991, road signs are similar in design to those used in the Soviet Union before its dissolution in 1991, as well as in most other post-Soviet states, especially neighboring Russia and Ukraine. Like Russia and Ukraine, Belarus is a signatory to the Vienna Convention on Road Traffic and the Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals.[2] Belarus signed the Vienna Convention on 8 November 1968 and ratified it on 18 June 1974, when it was a Soviet Socialist Republic.[3] The Soviet Union itself was once a signatory to the Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals.[4]

Design

Although road signs in Belarus are visually similar in design to modern road signs used in neighboring Russia and the STB 1140-2013 standard serves a similar role to the Russian standard GOST R 52290-2004, the Belarusian standard has developed independently and has many differences from its Russian counterpart.

Inscriptions on road signs are written in Belarusian or Russian, including the names of settlements, most often in Belarusian. The use of the Belarusian language on road signs in Belarus is more preferable according to the Belarusian standard. Despite this, in 2015 there was a case where road signs in Russian instead of Belarusian were installed in Mogilev.[5] The official typeface of Belarusian road signs is based on the Soviet standard GOST 10807-78. However, Arial may also be seen on Belarusian road signs instead.

First aid and hospital signs use a green cross instead of a red one, unlike most other post-Soviet states and European countries.[6]

Differences from Russian signs

  • In Belarus, the shape of the arrow on the direction indicators is different from the Russian ones.
  • Signs with route numbers can be on a blue, green, red and white background (signs on a white background have a route number written in red, and arrows in red), while in Russia the background on route signs is only blue and green. Like most European countries, Belarus uses the European route signs on a green background, while Russia also uses a green background for motorway numbers, in particular the M-11 motorway between Moscow and St. Petersburg.
  • The word STOP on the "stop line" sign is written in Latin script but not СТОП in Cyrillic as in Russia, despite the fact that the Cyrillic script is used in Belarus' official languages.
  • Unlike Russia, the "direction of lanes sign" indicates the direction of movement for only two or three lanes. Since roads can have 4 or more lanes, two signs are installed to the right and left of the carriageway.

Warning signs

Priority signs

Prohibitory signs

Mandatory signs

Information signs

Service signs

Additional plates

See also

References

No tags for this post.