A highway location marker is the modern-day equivalent of a milestone. Unlike traditional milestones, however, which were originally carved from stone and sited at one-mile intervals, modern highway location markers are made from a variety of materials and are almost invariably spaced at intervals of a kilometre or a fraction thereof. In some countries they may be known as driver location signs, milestones or kilometre stones.
Hectometer plate with speed limit in the Netherlands
A route marker identifying both the (Belgian) A2 and the European E314
A milestone is a numbered marker placed on a route such as a road, railway line, canal or boundary. They can indicate the distance to towns, cities, and other places or landmarks like mileage signs; or they can give their position on the route relative to some datum location. On roads they are typically located at the side or in a median or central reservation. They are alternatively known as mile markers, mileposts or mile posts. A "kilometric point" is a term used in metricated areas, where distances are commonly measured in kilometres instead of miles. "Distance marker" is a generic unit-agnostic term.
A mile marker on the U.S. National Road giving distances from many places
Slate milestone near Bangor, Wales
Roman milestone XXIX on Via Romana XVIII – the road linking the Iberian cities of Bracara Augusta and Asturica Augusta
Roman milestone on the former A66 between Kirkby Thore and Temple Sowerby (no inscription)