Road signs in Iceland are visual communication devices placed along roads throughout the country to provide information, warnings, and guidance to motorists and pedestrians. Iceland never ratified the Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals, but road signs in Iceland conform to the general pattern of those used in most other European countries, with certain design elements borrowed from Danish and Swedish practice. Given the low volume of traffic in most rural areas, signs tend to be more sparsely employed there than in other European countries.
Most road signs in Iceland are not retroreflective, making them harder to see at night.
Design Distances and other measurements are displayed in metric units. All text within the main signs and on auxiliary signs is exclusively in Icelandic with very few exceptions.
Colours and shapes Icelandic road signs most closely resemble their Swedish counterparts, with rounded corners and yellow backgrounds. However, there are many differences in detail, especially in the silhouettes used.
Shape and colour are used to indicate the function of signs: Type of sign Shape Colours Border Background Text/Symbols Warning Triangular Red Yellow Black Prohibition Circular Red Yellow Black Mandatory instructions Circular White Blue WhiteSupplementary Rectangular White Blue White Red YellowBlack Directions, sometimes Rectangular Black Yellow Black Information Rectangular White Blue White
Typeface A version of the Transport typeface employed on road signs in the UK – modified to include accented letters and the Icelandic letters æ, ð (eth) and þ (thorn) – is used on Icelandic road signs.
Gallery Warning signs
Priority signs
Prohibitory signs
Mandatory signs
Special regulation signs
Information signs
Route and direction signs Directional signs within the urban Capital Region of Iceland (including Reykjavík and its surrounding areas) have a blue on white design. Outside the Capital Region, signs are generally black on yellow.
Service signs
Additional signs
Historic signs 1939 road signs
1956 road signs Warning signs
Prohibitory signs
Mandatory signs
Information signs
1968 addition
References
External links Regulation 250/2024 covering road signs and their meaning. (Icelandic)