Road signs in the Southern African Development Community

A harmonised system of road signs has been adopted by a number of member states of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) – Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe. They are regulated in the Southern African Development Community Road Traffic Signs Manual.[1]

Non-SADC member Rwanda has adopted its own road sign system which resembles the SADC design.[2]

Background

Ten SADC member states entered into a Protocol Agreement to develop cooperation in infrastructure and services in June 1995. The intention to harmonise traffic signs among member states was part of this agreement. South Africa offered to take care of the harmonisation process, developing the Road Traffic Signs Manual based on two existing manuals – the Southern Africa Transport and Communications Commission Road Traffic Signs Manual, published in November 1990, and the South African Road Traffic Signs Manual, published in January 1993 – both of which were very similar and based on European traffic signing strategies.[3]

As of 2025, not all SADC member states make use of this system – Comoros, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Madagascar, Mauritius and Seychelles all make use of their own systems, whereas Angola is transitioning to the SADC design.[4]

The typeface used on SADC road signs is DIN 1451.

National variants

The Road Traffic Signs Manual notes that complete uniformity is unachievable due to differing needs across its member states, such as language and the side of the road on which traffic travels:[3]

  • Most SADC member states drive on the left, but Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Comoros, Madagascar and non-SADC member Rwanda drive on the right.
  • Most SADC member states speak English as an official language, but Portuguese is the only official language in Angola and Mozambique.

The manual therefore prescribes 'national variants' to cater for these needs, included in sections at the end of each applicable chapter, indicating the permitted text and mirrored variants.

Permanent road signs

Regulatory signs

Control signs

Command signs

Prohibition signs

Reservation signs

Parking signs

Comprehensive signs

Selective restriction signs

De-restriction signs

Warning signs

Information signs

Combo signs

Temporary road signs

Temporary road signs are largely the same as permanent ones, with the main exception that they feature a yellow background rather than white.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Transport and Traffic Technology Africa (May 2012). Southern African Development Community Road Traffic Signs Manual (3rd ed.). Department of Transport (South Africa).
  2. ↑ Road Transport Development Agency (December 2014). Road Geometric Design Manual. Retrieved 15 June 2025 – via Scribd.
  3. 1 2 "Chapter 1 – General Principles". Southern African Development Community Road Traffic Signs Manual (PDF). Vol. 1 (3rd ed.). May 2012. Preface. Retrieved 15 June 2025.
  4. ↑ "Decreto Presidencial n.º 209/17 de 25 de setembro". Lex.AO (in Portuguese). Retrieved 14 June 2025.
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