Road signs in Mexico

Road signs in Mexico are regulated by Secretaría de Infraestructura, Comunicaciones y Transportes's Directorate-General for Roads (Dirección General de Carreteras), and uniformized under a NOM standard and the Manual de Señalización y Dispositivos para el Control del Tránsito en Calles y Carreteras,[1] which serves as a similar role to the MUTCD developed by the Federal Highway Administration in the United States. The signs share many similarities with those used in the United States, Canada. Like Canada but unlike the United States, Mexico has a heavier reliance on symbols than text legends.[2]

Prior to the introduction of the 2023 Manual of Signage and Traffic Control Devices, signage designs were spread across several standards and technical manuals, such as the Manual de Señalamiento Turístico y de Servicios[3] and the Manual de Calles;[4] in addition, several states had their own, slightly diverging local standards for signs.[note 1]

Signs compliant with the 2023 manual use a bespoke typeface, simply called México, which is a slightly updated version of the 2016 Mexico City "Calles" typeface by Sergio Núñez.[5] Previous standards used characters based on Highway Gothic and Univers.[3]

This country drives to the right.

Vertical signage

Regulatory signs

Warning signs

Tourism and services

Tourist signs

Service signs

Guide signs

Other

Retired signs

These signs have been superseded in 2023 but can still be seen in many places, since the NOM-034-SCT2/SEDATU-2022 standard contemplates their replacement being gradual, as individual signs deteriorate.[6]

Notes

  1. ^ Compare the Jalisco, Nuevo León and Mexico City signage manuals, for example: these two states diverge from the national standard in defining circular, instead of square, mandatory signs.

References

  1. ^ Secretariat of Agrarian, Land, and Urban Development and Secretariat of Infrastructure, Communications and Transportation (2023). Manual de Señalización y Dispositivos para el Control del Tránsito en Calles y Carreteras [Manual of Signage and Traffic Control Devices for Streets and Highways] (PDF) (in Spanish).{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  2. ^ "Road and Traffic Signs in Mexico - What You Need to Know". www.rhinocarhire.com. Retrieved 2022-10-28.
  3. ^ a b Secretariat of Communications and Transportation (1992). Manual de Señalamiento Turístico y de Servicios [Tourist and Service Signage Manual] (PDF) (in Spanish).
  4. ^ Secretariat of Agrarian, Land, and Urban Development (2019). Manual de Calles. Diseño vial para ciudades mexicanas [Street Manual. Road Design for Mexican Cities] (PDF) (in Spanish).{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  5. ^ "Calles CDMX". Tipografías a la medida MX. Retrieved 9 February 2024.
  6. ^ "Norma Oficial Mexicana NOM-034-SCT2/SEDATU-2022, Señalización y dispositivos viales para calles y carreteras" [Official Mexican Standard NOM-034-SCT2/SEDATU-2022, Signage and Devices for Streets and Roads]. Diario Oficial de la Federación (in Spanish). 2023-09-19. La señalización existente, horizontal y vertical, así como los dispositivos viales que no se ajusten a las disposiciones indicadas en esta Norma, deben ser corregidos por la autoridad responsable de conservar la calle o carretera respectiva, o en el caso de que sea concesionada, por el concesionario correspondiente, durante los trabajos de conservación y reposición de la señalización [Existing horizontal and vertical signage, as well as road devices that do not comply with the provisions set forth in this Standard, must be corrected by the authority responsible for maintaining the respective street or highway, or in the case of a concession, by the corresponding concessionaire, during signage maintenance and replacement work.]