Don't fall for it!

Don't fall for it!

I like cycling in Geneva city centre, but I find that the signage is sometimes unclear. For example, in a street perpendicular to one of the quays bordering the Rhône, there is a "no cycling" sign, but there is no reminder of this sign at the intersection with the quay. Does the law require a ban to be displayed at every intersection, or should we assume that the ban on cycling applies to the whole area around the quay?

O, Geneva

The Ordinance on Road Signs and Signals (OSR) explains that prescription signs announce an obligation or a prohibition, generally in the form of a disc with a red border and a black symbol on a white background. This is typically the case with the "no cycling" sign to which you refer, which features the image of a black bicycle in the centre of a white disc with a red border.

Subject to a few exceptions that do not appear to apply here, the announced prescription is valid at or from the point where the signal is placed and is valid only until the end of the next intersection; at this point, the signal will be repeated if its validity is to extend further.

Certain signals, particularly among the prescription and parking signals, may appear as zone signals: this requires the installation of a specific sign bearing the word "zone" in full. The rights and obligations indicated by a zone sign apply from the start of the sign until the sign marking its end. The best known is the "zone 30" sign, but it is not the only one in existence.

For all learner drivers and those wishing to brush up on their knowledge of the signs and markings found on Swiss roads, the OSR is of course available on the internet (www.fedlex.admin.ch) and its Appendix 2 contains visual representations of more than 250 signs, not only the prescription signs discussed here, but also danger, priority and indication signs, with a reminder of their meaning. The zone sign is numbered 2.59. Browsing through this document is both instructive and amusing, and reveals a number of signs that we come across less frequently, such as the traffic bans for sledges and skiers, or the "no traffic for vehicles" sign depicting a roller skate... The danger sign (a white triangular sign surrounded by red) warning road users of a level crossing without barriers is quite picturesque, featuring a steam locomotive. As for the pedestrians adorning all the signs about them, they seem to be dressed in the same period, still proudly wearing their headgear!