Soft or dangerous verges
Warning signs

Soft or dangerous verges

The road edge or verge may be soft, low or unsafe to drive on.

Keep your wheels on the firm part of the carriageway and take care when passing or pulling over. A soft or lowered shoulder can affect control if a wheel leaves the road.

The United States’ W8-17R specifically warns of a shoulder drop-off using a black symbol on a yellow diamond. France’s AK14 is a general temporary danger sign, which can be accompanied by a panel identifying the verge hazard.

How it looks in each country

Official sign in each country; the code is its number in the national rules. Signs that come in two directions show the left and the right version.

  • Soft or dangerous verges (Vienna Convention model)
    Vienna Convention modelCode A,8
  • Soft or dangerous verges (Bangladesh)
    BangladeshCode B41
  • Soft or dangerous verges (Belgium)
    BelgiumCode A8
  • Soft or dangerous verges (Bulgaria)
    BulgariaCode А14
  • Soft or dangerous verges (Canada)
    CanadaCode TC-048
  • Soft or dangerous verges (Chile)
    ChileCode PE-9a
  • Soft or dangerous verges (Croatia)
    CroatiaCode A19
  • Soft or dangerous verges (Czechia)
    CzechiaCode A 28
  • Soft or dangerous verges (Denmark)
    DenmarkCode A35
  • Soft or dangerous verges (Estonia)
    EstoniaCode 157a
  • Soft or dangerous verges (Finland)
    FinlandCode A14
  • Soft or dangerous verges (Greece)
    GreeceCode K-38d
  • Soft or dangerous verges (Hungary)
    Hungary
  • Soft or dangerous verges (India)
    IndiaCode II-51
  • Soft or dangerous verges (Indonesia)
    IndonesiaCode 3b
  • Soft or dangerous verges (Ireland)
    IrelandCode W-135
  • Soft or dangerous verges (Italy)
    Italy
  • Soft or dangerous verges (Latvia)
    LatviaCode 119
  • Soft or dangerous verges (Lithuania)
    LithuaniaCode 122
  • Soft or dangerous verges (Malaysia)
    MalaysiaCode WD12
  • Soft or dangerous verges (Norway)
    NorwayCode 117
  • Soft or dangerous verges (Poland)
    PolandCode A-31
  • Soft or dangerous verges (Portugal)
    PortugalCode A7a
  • Soft or dangerous verges (Romania)
    RomaniaCode A12
  • Soft or dangerous verges (Russia)
    RussiaCode 1.19
  • Soft or dangerous verges (Saudi Arabia)
    Saudi Arabia
  • Soft or dangerous verges (Serbia)
    SerbiaCode I-37
  • Soft or dangerous verges (Slovakia)
    SlovakiaCode 116
  • Soft or dangerous verges (South Africa)
    South AfricaCode TW342
  • Soft or dangerous verges (Spain)
    SpainCode p30
  • Soft or dangerous verges (Sweden)
    SwedenCode A27
  • Soft or dangerous verges (Türkiye)
    TürkiyeCode T-36
  • Soft or dangerous verges (Ukraine)
    UkraineCode 1.15
  • Soft or dangerous verges (United Arab Emirates)
    United Arab EmiratesCode 445
  • Soft or dangerous verges (United Kingdom)
    United KingdomCode 556.1
  • Soft or dangerous verges (United States)
    United StatesCode W8-17R
  • Soft or dangerous verges (Vietnam)
    VietnamCode W.222b
Image credits

Sign images from Wikimedia Commons, used under their licences.