Common Road Signs in Ontario and What They Mean

If you’re planning on taking a road trip any time soon you must be aware of the most common road signs in Ontario and what they mean. Being knowledgeable of road signs will help you understand what to look for when trying to get to a place you’ve never been before.

Let’s take a look.

Emergency Detour Route Sign

Ontario is a big province! As a result, you’re likely going to take a provincial highway when you need to get somewhere. Unfortunately, though, accidents do happen, which means a highway may be temporarily closed.

When this happens, you need to look for the road signs known as emergency detour route or EDR signs. These road signs are clearly labelled with the title “Emergency Detour Route,” and are placed along back routes that you can use to get around an accident and then return to the highway.

Animal Warning Sign

Another type of road sign you need to be aware of is the animal warning sign. These road signs tend to be yellow with a picture of the animal (for example, a moose) that you need to look out for.

Animals often tend to be active at dawn or dusk, making them hard to see, and they can do some serious damage to your car if you hit them. So, if you see one of the animal warning road signs, you should slow down and keep a careful eye on the road in front of you and the area surrounding the road.

Road Narrows Sign

Another one of the Ontario road signs you should be aware of is a road narrows sign. This sign is yellow and shows two black lines that start out wide apart and then get narrower.

As with many Ontario road signs, the purpose of this sign is to warn you about upcoming road conditions. When a road narrows, this doesn’t mean you’ll lose a lane, but rather that you may be about to go around a sharp curve, or you no longer have a shoulder on the road. The vital thing to do is to understand what this road sign means and be prepared for road conditions to change.

High Occupancy Vehicle Sign

The purpose of high occupancy lanes is to encourage people to carpool by setting aside a specific lane for them. Buses are always allowed to use this lane, and cars or other vehicles with two or more people can also use it.

To identify this Ontario road sign, look for a sign with a diamond on it and a picture of a bus or car. The wording on the road sign will indicate how many people must be in a vehicle for it to be allowed in the high occupancy lane.

Construction Road Sign

There’s a common joke in Ontario that we have two seasons: winter and construction! All joking aside, it’s important to know what to look for when it comes to construction road signs.

Construction road signs are orange and can indicate a variety of things such as the following:

• How far ahead the construction zone is.
• What kind of construction is taking place (usually indicated by a picture on the sign).
• A lane is closed for construction. This is indicated by a black arrow or flashing arrow.

Always watch for construction road signs, and change lanes or slow down as necessary!

How can New Style Signs help me with road signs?

At New Style Signs, we have experience with all different kinds of signage, including road signs. We have over 50 years of experience creating all kinds of signs, including pylon signs, school signs, vinyl signs, and road signs!

Road signs generally tend to be in bold colours with simple lettering or pictures. Road signs aim to attract a motorist’s attention and inform them of vital information, whether that’s the speed limit or that road conditions will change ahead.

We’ve created road signs for several municipalities in the GTA and can put together custom-designed road signs that suit your needs. If you’re unsure where to start regarding road signs, we’ll review our portfolio with you to give you some ideas!

With New Style Signs, you can rest assured that your road signs will be effective while also complying with all municipal and provincial guidelines.

Common Ontario Road Signs

Common Ontario road signs exist for one purpose: to provide you, the motorist, with information! Whether there’s construction up ahead or you need to look out for animals crossing the road, it’s vital to understand and respect what road signs are telling you.

Road signs can do everything from letting you know what the speed limit is to tell you how to find an effective detour if the highway is unexpectedly closed. If you’re in the market for creating road signs, we can help you at New Style Signs. We know how to design road signs that will be simple but eye-catching, and relay vital information to motorists quickly and effectively.

Contact Us to Learn More About How We Can Help You With Road Signs

If you’re interested in learning more about how we can help you with road signs, or any other kinds of signage we offer, we’d love to hear from you. You can call New Style Signs at 866-594-8354 or contact us online to get started!