Road signs in Sweden are regulated in the Traffic Sign Ordinance (2007:90) (VMF, ).
Most signs are based on pictograms, with some exceptions like the prohibition-sign for stop at customs and signal and speed limit signs. If the sign includes text, the text is written in Swedish, except the stop sign, which is written in English ("STOP").
Swedish road signs depict people with realistic (as opposed to stylized) silhouettes.
All signs have a reflective layer added on selected parts of the sign as is custom in European countries; most larger signs also have their own illumination.
The typeface used on Swedish road signs is Tratex.
Major differences between Swedish and general European signs Like other countries in Europe, Swedish signs follow the Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals. Whereas European signs usually have white background on warning and prohibition signs, the Swedish signs have a yellow/orange colour. This is for the purpose of enhancing the visibility of the sign during the winter, as white signs would be hard to see in the snow. The prohibition signs have a red line across them if there is a symbol on them, not if it is a numeric value. General European prohibition signs do not usually have such a red line. Traffic signs in Iceland and Finland are quite similar.
History
Around 1930 some warning signs and prohibitory signs looking like today's signs with yellow background were introduced. The direction indication signs were however yellow with black text. Around 1960, there was a reform where the colour of those were changed to dark blue with white text, together with a major road number reform. Around 1978, Sweden followed the Vienna convention rule that motorways should have a different colour, so green was introduced for them, and medium blue for ordinary roads.
Private road direction sign
A road defined as private (Swedish legal word: "enskild") in Sweden, is a road that is not maintained by the state or a municipality, but by a private person or private association. An owner of a private road in Sweden can prohibit cars (but not people) from using the road. The background of the sign is yellow, indicating that the quality is often poorer, and warning signs might be missing. Signs indicating roads owned by companies or leading to companies usually have white background instead.
Warning signs Warning signs are triangular in shape and have red borders, but in contrast with those of most other countries that use triangular warning signs, Swedish signs have yellow backgrounds, rather than white. More types of warning signs for animals are used than in most European countries, such as moose, deer, wild boar, reindeer, sheep, horse, and cow appearing alongside roads.
Priority signs The pedestrian and bicycle crossing signs are priority signs in Sweden, whereas the pedestrian crossing sign is regarded as a special regulation sign in the Vienna convention on road signs and signals. A sign for bicycle crossing is not yet implemented in the Vienna convention.
Prohibitory signs Prohibitory signs are circular in shape with yellow backgrounds and red borders, except the international standard stop sign that is an octagon with red background and white border and the no parking and no standing signs that have a blue background instead of yellow.
Stop at customs The sign "Stop at customs" ("") is multilingual and exists in four variants.
Mandatory signs Mandatory signs are always circular in shape with blue signs with white border.
Special regulation signs
Signs giving information
Other signs
Additional panels
A Supreme Court case has clarified that if there are multiple individually framed additional panels for a road sign, they add information to the road sign, not to each other. The two panels in the case was (fee) and the other 4 hours 9–18, which means that there is mandatory fee anytime and maximum 4 hours 9 am-6 pm.HÖGSTA DOMSTOLENS DOM meddelad i Stockholm den 18 augusti 2017 Mål nr T 3174-16 (in Swedish)
Traffic light signals Note: tip-down triangles indicates blinking/flashing light.
Road markings
Signals by police officers
Historic signs
1931 road signs
1937 road signs
1951 road signs Warning signs
Prohibitory signs
Indicative signs
1955 addition
References
External links Swedish Transport Agency