All the roads in Hungary have extensive traffic signs, that can help you navigate on the bigger roads as well as smaller streets.Even if you are a new driving, you need to keep an eye on the traffic boards,which can be quite overwhelming as well as confusing for some. The reason of follow traffic signs in Hungary is important as in some areas around the city center of Budapest and other cities,it is not a good idea to go with car.
There are certain areas which have restricted entry for cars and others not entitled to enter can be fined heavily. These restricted streets for non residents are not even identified by google maps,and you may be fined heavily.
Hungarian traffic signs on roads
Common Hungary traffic signs that you find on bigger roads are the blue boards mentioning that which lanes will go straight and which ones can be used to turn left or right.
In the above streets sign, the right most lane is reserved for cycles,while the central two lanes are for traffic to go straight. However, on the extreme left lane, you can either make a u-turn or turn left. Such Hungarian streets signs are visible on 3 lane roads.
Sometime, there are white traffic signs in Hungary,which are not very common but are visible on bigger roads. These have a white background with black and white color combination. One of them is shown below which depicts the fact that you can go straight as well as turn left to go to the parking garage.
However, you cannot go left and keep moving forward,i.e. the white circle with red boundary means the road on the left turn is forbidden for normal vehicles,and only BKK vehicles/construction vehicles can enter that road. (Kiveve Eng. BKK. EP.FORG.)
Temporary traffic signs in Hungary
If any traffic lane in Hungary is closed due to some event or road construction work in Hungary, this is normally accomplished by displaying new road signs with yellow background and black lines. Therefore,if you see yellow background traffic signboards, you should follow those on that road,instead of the one with blue and white color combination.
The default color of traffic lanes as well as text written on roads and motorways in Hungary is white. Traffic lanes in Hungary are defined by white colored lines in broken or unbroken format. If there is any change done on the road temporary, the new text or lane is defined by yellowish orange color,and when the temporary setting is removed, the white colored text is back.
Budapest traffic signs for Bus lanes
Another important sign you must be aware of while driving in Budapest are the bus lanes. You will find these in the traffic boards displayed on the right side of the big roads.
Sometimes it happens that on a 3 lane road of Budapest,when there is traffic jam on the left two lanes, you may be tempted to go to the right most lane as it is empty,but most probably its a bus lane,that is why you will not see much traffic on it aside from the taxis or buses.
In Budapest,there are some two lane roads,where the bus lane changes after a certain junction from right to left side, in such cases you need to ensure that you are changing your lane as the bus lane changed.
Speed limit traffic signs Budapest
Another traffic sign that you should keep an eye when driving in Hungary are the speed limit boards which are displayed right at the start of the road. The smaller streets in Budapest explicitly display such boards and typical max speed in 30kph.
Small Street traffic signs in Budapest
Hungarian street signs are typically displayed at the start as well as any junction,where two streets are crossing. Common traffic signs in central Budapest smaller streets have the white arrow with blue background,telling about the direction where the traffic flows.
In the above figure,based upon the sign board on the right side,which is at a junction,depicts that a car can go straight as well as turn left,whereas a bicycle can go in any 3 directions. Keep in mind that although you can turn left,but if a vehicle is coming from an opposite direction,that will have the right of way,and you have to wait for it to cross.
If you see the arrow sign on the left,it means, the traffic can flow in the direction of the arrow.
Similarly the white arrow with blue background sign is a pretty common type of road sign you will find in smaller streets of Budapest.It points to the one way road in Hungary. It is telling about the flow and direction of traffic on that road. These sign boards in some streets of Budapest can be found rotated from the pole and may cause confusion for a new driver in that area,hence,it is recommended to use the WAZE app so that you are able to follow the right direction.
There are many tricky roads in Hungary where a road splits into two directions and can be confusing for many drivers,how to proceed. In such cases,one of those road signs in Hungary is put on the split point of the road to tell that road is now split into multiple directions.
Red Circle with white minus sign
You will find a lot of traffic signboards in Budapest with red circle and white minus sign in it. These are referring to one way traffic.These signs are telling about not to go in that street by car as its a one way street for all, except for the bicycle riders.
Just beneath the red circle there is another signboard with bicycle and Kiveve written on top, it refers to the fact that only cycles are allowed to go in this direction.
These traffic signs in Budapest appear quite frequently in district V,VI,VII,VIII,IX and XIII.
As you go out of the central Budapest,where people live in houses, many smaller streets are used for two way traffic in those areas.
Yellow diamond with white boundary
Some roads in the city center of Budapest have yellow diamond with a white boundary, pointing to the right of use of the vehicle driving in that road,i.e. vehicles coming from other direction(right of left) should wait for the right time to cross or enter this road.
Similarly,a yellow diamond with white boundary and a black cross line is depicting that your road is no more having the right of way. Hence, you have to be careful when crossing the road after this sign. Such road signs in Hungary are commonly display when there are two roads intersecting each other.
Many 2 to 3 lane roads as well as smaller streets also display a board that turning to left or right is forbidden. Such sign boards have an arrow with a curve of 45 degrees and a cross line to highlight that turning in a certain direction is not allowed.
If you are driving on Hungarian roads inside the city, make sure your vehicle is not standing on yellow lines on certain junctions,when the light is red. These areas are reserved for ambulances to move in case of a traffic jam,and if you are found standing on those yellow lined areas, you will be fined heavily.
White triangle with red boundary
When you are crossing a street in your vehicle and there is no board, you always have to give the right of way to the vehicles coming from the right. On the other hand, sometimes in smaller roads,where there is no traffic signal, you will find a white line with a big STOP written just before the line on the road to imply that you have to stop and observe the traffic on the road that you want to cross.
Sometimes,in Hungary, there are triangular signs with white color and red boundary to imply that you have to observe and cross the road with care,as you do not have the right of way.
Dead end street sign Hungary
When driving in Hungary,in certain streets you will find a blue square sign board with T shaped character with red and white color. This sign means that the road is closed on the other side. Hence, if you enter this road, you may have to come back if you were thinking to cross this road.
Most Tricky traffic sign in Hungary
If there is one sign that drivers in Hungary should be aware of it is the empty white circle with red boundary. This circle sign is tricky because it is sort of a no entry for many types of vehicles,depending upon the text written beneath it.
As a visitor coming by car,if you see any road with such sign, the general rule is to avoid going into that street,as the fines may go up to 50000 HUF if you are caught by the authorities.
No turn traffic signs in Hungary
If you are driving in smaller streets or even bigger roads in Hungary, it is pretty important to know that you cannot turn left or right blindly. Although the start of streets do have signs that you can drive straight,but before the turn, it is essential to see the road sides which do mention that which direction you can turn.
In many cases, there are traffic signs in Hungary that explicitly mention that you cannot turn in a certain direction. For example the sign below depicts the rule that on this road, although there is another crossing road, you cannot turn left on the very next road.
The octagon shape sign (red and white color) with STOP written on it is also an important traffic sign in Hungary as it means that you have to stop you vehicle,look around and then cross the road.
Hungary parking signs
Parking in Hungary can be identified with various methods,discussed in Budapest Parking post.The easiest way to check for parking is with the Big white P with a blue background. As the street parking rules as well as parking boards in Budapest have been updated, you will find different kinds of parking signs in Hungary.
The most tricky parking spots in Hungary are the parking spots for disabled people. The parking signs for special people have various kinds of parking signs,as some parking boards have wheelchair sign on the same board where big P is,while in some cases, the wheelchair board is a smaller board just beneath the Parking board.
In below picture, you should not park in the first 2 parking spots next to the parking sign (unless you have a certificate of disability).
At the end of many roads you will find a parking zona board with a cross black line,which means,it is not allowed to park your car on the street after this board.
Low emission zone in Budapest
In the year 2024, there is no low emission zone in Budapest. However, in order to reduce the traffic entering the inner city of Budapest, there are certain street patches which are forbidden to enter by car,unless you are a resident of that district.
Budapest inner city is divided among different districts,however, important “car no entry signs” are displayed in 7th district of Budapest.
7th District of Budapest is also called Erzsebetvaros or Elizabeth district in Budapest. There is a small portion of Erzsebetvaros called BelsoErzsebetVaros which means Inner Elizabeth district.
There are at least 4 streets in the the 7th district of Budapest,which have signs displayed, saying in Hungarian,that only residents of inner district are allowed to enter. This info on internet is mostly available in Hungarian language websites. I am only aware of it because being a resident. You can check details about it here.
These no entry signs are on Kiraly Street,Wesselenyi Street,Dob Street,Nagy Diofa and Kis Diofa street in Erzsebetvaros district in Budapest. Hence, as a visitor, its better to use either the Andrassy Avenue or Rakoczi street to move with a car and do not use the inner streets mentioned. The traffic signs in Budapest BelsoErzsebetVaros have written Hungarian as “KIVEVE ENGEDELLYEL ES LAKOSSAGI VARAKOZASSI HOZZAJARULASSAL”.
Another issue with these no entry zones in Erzsebetvaros is that google maps does not understand such limitations and will show these streets to be a valid path passing through the city center. Hence, you will be misguided when passing inside the Jewish district(also called 7th district) of Budapest. Google maps will show these forbidden junctions to be valid paths.
If you are caught crossing these junctions in Budapest Jewish district by car,without valid permit, you can be fined upto 100 Euros and they may deduct points from your driving license.
