Glossary of road transport terms
Terminology related to road transport—the transport of passengers or goods on paved routes between places—is diverse, with variation between dialects of English. There may also be regional differences within a single country, and some terms differ based on the side of the road traffic drives on. This glossary is an alphabetical listing of road transport terms.
Botts' dots along a road in California
Floodway on Great Northern Highway, Western Australia
Hook turn sign in Melbourne, Australia
A trumpet interchange in Ottawa
Traffic signs or road signs are signs erected at the side of or above roads to give instructions or provide information to road users. The earliest signs were simple wooden or stone milestones. Later, signs with directional arms were introduced, for example the fingerposts in the United Kingdom and their wooden counterparts in Saxony.
Fingerposts and other road signage in the English village of Sturminster Marshall, near Poole
Road sign for roundabout leading to highways 1, 2 and 3 in Mariehamn, Åland
Sign in Australia reminding drivers to carry adequate supplies before entering remote areas
Sign warning of cattle crossing in a rural road of Madeira Island, Portugal