2005/07/09

Road Signs

These are some road signs here in Al Ain. Some of these are very similar to the US, some are quite different. Of course as a group, the biggest difference is that if a sign has writing on it, it is in both Arabic and English, so I'm ignoring that difference.

This a street sign. The biggest difference is that it lists a community and a district. This is because each community has a 1st Street, 2nd Street, etc. But the color and shape is basically the same, so it looks a lot like home.



This is a stop sign (obviously). Again, the color and shape are the same as the US.



Now, in America, we call this a yield sign (cause it has 'yield' written on it), but still, same shape, same color, same purpose.



This "Do Not Enter" sign is exactly like the US



These three signs are pretty clear in their meaning even without words, and in the US their counterparts wouldn't have words either, but the signs would be diamond shaped and yellow.



OK this one:



means:



The roads have lots of speed bumps to encourage drivers to slow down.

OK, a keep right sign, different color and shape, but very clear



Another obvious one, even if it didn't have the writing:



This might be the most ignored sign I have seen, especially by the taxi drivers who seem to regard speed limits as mild suggestions.



Since 'X' represents the unknown in Algebra, this sign seems really appropriate to me. I have know idea what this sign means. Can someone tell me? I see these everywhere. Is it a don't stop here sign? Something like that? Thanks for any help.

3 comments:

Keef said...

Yes, that last one means 'no waiting / stopping'. A lot of these signs are borrowed from Britain, with some local additions - notice the character crossing the road is not wearing trousers!

Bu3askoor said...

Keefiboy is right, to test your knowledge on signs: http://www2.dubaipolice.gov.ae/tsigne/

Since police departments are operated differently across the emirates, i hope they all mean the same lol

More links to explain signs:
http://www.dxbtraffic.gov.ae/en/display.asp?url=940
http://www.dxbtraffic.gov.ae/en/display.asp?url=935

Good luck

Brn said...

Thanks for answering this you two. And thanks for the link to the signs. It only took me two tries to pass the sign test! Don't tell the police, they might take my license.