Guide signs & motorway signage
Orientation – and a few key rules
Guide signs: more than directions
Guide signs are mostly rectangular and help you find your way. But many also contain rules: the town sign sets the 50 km/h limit, the Autobahn sign defines who may drive there, the traffic‑calmed area requires walking speed, the tunnel sign requires dipped headlights. So read them as carefully as prohibition signs.
Town sign: start and end
Sign 310 (yellow)
- Start of the built‑up area
- From here: 50 km/h
- In‑town rules apply – wherever the houses start
Sign 311 (reverse side)
- End of the built‑up area
- From here: 100 km/h outside towns
- Out‑of‑town rules apply, e.g. for parking and horn use
Traffic‑calmed area (sign 325.1)
- Walking speed for all vehicles
- Pedestrians may use the whole street, children may play anywhere
- Drivers must not endanger or hinder pedestrians – wait if necessary
- Pedestrians must not needlessly obstruct vehicles
- Parking only in marked spaces
- When leaving (325.2): give way to everyone else
Places, areas and notices
Sign 310: Town entry sign
Sign 311: Town exit sign
Sign 325.1: Start of traffic-calmed area
Sign 325.2: End of traffic-calmed area
Sign 327: Tunnel
Sign 328: Emergency lay-by
Sign 357: Dead end
Sign 357-50: Dead end except for pedestrians and cyclists
Sign 354: Water protection area
Sign 356: School crossing patrol
Sign 350-10: Pedestrian crossing
Sign 394: Lamp-post ringParking
Autobahn and expressway
Sign 330.1: Motorway
Sign 330.2: End of motorway
Sign 331.1: Expressway (motor road)
Sign 331.2: End of expressway
Sign 405: Motorway number
Sign 406-50: Motorway junction number
Sign 410: European route number
Sign 448: Motorway exit announcement
Sign 450-52: Countdown marker (300 m)
Sign 453: Distance sign
Sign 332: Motorway exit sign
Sign 333: Motorway exit arrowReading direction signs
- Blue: Autobahn and signs leading to it
- Yellow: signs to destinations outside the town
- White: signs to destinations within the town
- Green sign with “E”: European route
- Countdown markers: 300, 200 and 100 m before the exit
- Distance panel after the on‑ramp: kilometres to the next destinations
Direction and diversion signs
Sign 415-20: Direction sign on federal roads
Sign 418-20: Direction sign on other main roads
Sign 432-20: Direction sign to local destinations
Sign 430-20: Direction sign to the motorway
Sign 440: Advance direction sign to the motorway
Sign 438: Advance direction sign
Sign 454-10: Diversion sign (pointing left)
Sign 457.1: Diversion ahead
Sign 460-10: Motorway alternative route (pointing left)Services and facilities
In a tunnel (sign 327)
In tunnels, dipped headlights are compulsory and U‑turns are forbidden. Stop only in an emergency, ideally in a breakdown bay. Switch on the radio – warnings are broadcast there. In a jam: keep your distance, engine off. In a fire: pull over, engine off, leave the key in and walk to the nearest emergency exit.
What applies in a traffic‑calmed area?
- Walking speed for all vehicles
- Children may play anywhere
- Parking is allowed wherever there is space
Check answer
Walking speed for all vehicles
Children may play anywhere
Walking speed and consideration for pedestrians and playing children. Parking only in marked spaces.
From where does the 50 km/h limit apply in a town?
- From the yellow town sign
- From the first houses
- Only from a “50” sign
Check answer
From the yellow town sign
The town sign (sign 310) defines where the built‑up area begins – not the buildings.