Road signs in Belarus explained

Road signs in Belarus are regulated by the СТБ 1140-2013 standard.^[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]

Differences from Russian signs

Although road signs in Belarus are visually similar in design to modern road signs used in neighboring Russia and the standard СТБ 1140-2013 serves a similar role to the Russian standard ГОСТ Р 52290-2004, which came into effect since 1 January 2006, the standard СТБ 1140-2013 has independently developed and has many differences from its Russian counterpart. Here are some differences from road signs in Russia:

• 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 СТБ 1140-2013. Despite this, in 2015 there was a case where road signs in Russian instead of Belarusian were installed in Mogilev.^[5]
• In Belarus, the shape of the arrow on the direction indicators is different from the Russian ones.
• First aid and Hospital signs use a green cross instead of a red one, unlike most other post-Soviet states and European countries.^[6]
• 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.
• Unlike Russia, Belarus does not use the Speed bump special regulation sign, using a warning one instead. This is because this road sign was introduced in Russia in the ГОСТ Р 52290-2004 standard under the number 5.20. Despite this, a bump indication road sign in this form is found in some European countries.
• The number of categories of road signs. While Russia has 8 categories of road signs according to ГОСТ Р 52290-2004, Belarus has 7 categories. This is due to the fact that road signs in the Soviet Union were divided into 7 categories in accordance with ГОСТ 10807-78, and this division was preserved in most post-Soviet states after the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, namely the Commonwealth of Independent States countries and Ukraine (except for Armenia and Kyrgyzstan where road signs are entirely based on the Russian ГОСТ Р 52290-2004 standard with 8 categories of road signs);
• The presence of road signs specific for Belarus but not used in Russia.

Sign categories

Road signs are divided into 7 categories:

!#!Category name!Category name (in Russian)!Category name (in Belarusian)

1	Warning signs	Предупреждающие знаки	Папераджальныя знакі
2	Priority signs	Знаки приоритета	Знакі прыярытэту
3	Prohibitory signs	Запрещающие знаки	Забараняльныя знакі
4	Mandatory signs	Предписывающие знаки	Прадпісальныя знакі
5	Information signs	Информационно-указательные знаки	Інфармацыйна-ўказальныя знакі
6	Service signs	Знаки сервиса	Знакі сэрвісу
7	Additional panels	Знаки дополнительной информации (таблички)	Знакі дадатковай інфармацыі (таблічкі)

The official typeface of Belarusian road signs is based on ГОСТ 10807-78. However, Arial can also be used on Belarusian road signs instead of ГОСТ 10807-78, as in Russia.

See also

• Comparison of European traffic laws
• Comparison of European road signs
• Traffic signs in post-Soviet states
• Traffic sign
• Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals

Notes and References

1. Web site: СТБ 1140-2013 Технические средства организации дорожного движения. Знаки дорожные. Общие технические условия . 2023-03-27 . meganorm.ru . ru, be.
2. Web site: Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals - unece . 2018-07-12. United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) . UNITED NATIONS.
3. Web site: United Nations Treaty Collection . 2024-02-19 . treaties.un.org . EN.
4. Web site: КОНВЕНЦИЯ О ДОРОЖНОМ ДВИЖЕНИИ от 08.11.1968 Вена ATI.SU . 2023-11-24 . ati.su . ru.
5. Web site: 2015-12-15 . Russification of road signs starts in Mahilyou (photo) . Euroradio.fm.
6. Web site: Отличия в ПДД России и Беларуси — Автокадабра . 2023-07-30 . autokadabra.ru.