Tags
Guardrails #guardrail
91 clues · 52 countries.
Tags
91 clues · 52 countries.
Showing 91 clues across 52 countries.
These flat and wide guardrail endings that bend away from the road can often be found in Albania.
NOTE: The same endings are found in Italy.
Albania only has a few divided highways covered on Street View. All of these and how to differentiate them will be covered in the tips below.
The most easily recognisable divided highway is the A1 between Fushë Milot and Thumanë, which is the only one with a triple guardrail.
Most of the SH4 between Durrës and Fier is divided by a basic double guardrail. The road does not go through any mountains.
The E851 is the only divided road with a basic double guardrail that goes directly through mountains.
NOTE: A section of the A3 goes through the mountains but is either divided by a double guardrail with a fence above, or with concrete blocks.
The A2 north of Vlorë can be recognised by the fairly flat surroundings combined with the double guardrail with an extra tall fence dividing the highway.
The single-lane bridge, connecting the islands of Manu’a and Olosega, can be easily recognized by the thin wire guardrail, with the two islands on either side of the bridge.
Andorra uses yellow reflectors on its guardrails.
NOTE: Within Europe, yellow reflectors are only found in Andorra, Spain and Belgium. For a good overview of European guardrails, see this infographic.
Yellow and red rectangular reflectors can often be seen on Argentinian guardrails.
NOTE: Within South America, they can also be found in Uruguay. However, Uruguayan guardrails can be differentiated from Argentinian guardrails by the shape of their support.
This guardrail ending, featuring a black dash on a yellow background, is almost exclusive to New South Wales and the ACT.
In the city of Barishal there can also be a guard at the side of the car visible, not to be confused with the Sylhet guard.
NOTE: The same man can rarely be found elsewhere on trekker coverage.
Belgium uses A-type guardrails with yellow reflectors.
NOTE: In Europe, only Spain, Andorra, and Belgium use these reflectors. For a good overview of European guardrails, see this infographic.
Bhutan commonly uses these stone blocks as safety barriers on winding rural roads. These blocks are very common and often one of the best ways to recognize rural Bhutan rounds.
Guardrails, on the other hand, are rare.
Guardrails sometimes feature yellow and black markings. These markings always have the yellow stripes on the outside.
NOTE: Peru has similar markings. However, in Peru, the markings have the inverse colour scheme: the black stripes are always on the outside.
Curbs and guardrails are usually striped. Possible colour schemes are black-and-yellow, red-and-white, and black-and-white.
Québec has unique bollards that are always attached to guardrails. They are long, thin white poles with a red or green reflector at the top.
In Ontario, you will often see these types of guardrails. They consist of cylindrical wooden posts, held together by precisely three metal wires. Some posts are marked by a reflective white band.
British Columbia predominantly uses concrete barriers instead of guardrails.
This guardrail, with small poles connected by three or four metal wires, can rarely be found on major highways in Alberta.
In Newfoundland and Labrador, most wooden posts on guardrails have this pyramid shaped top. Occasionally, you can spot them on standalone posts and signposts as well.
Croatia has square (B-type) guardrails.
NOTE: Croatia is one of the few European countries that use B-type guardrails. For a good overview of European guardrails, see this infographic.
The Queen Juliana Bridge is a wide four lane bridge in Willemstad. It can be recognized by the yellow and blue guardrails, and the view over the city.
Czechia and Slovakia both use a special kind of type B guardrail, which is wider than the normal type. No other European countries use the same kind.
NOTE: While Slovakia occasionally uses other types of guardrails, Czechia is fairly consistent. For a good overview of European guardrails, see this infographic.
Denmark has square (normal B-type) guardrails, with no reflectors.
NOTE: Denmark is one of only a very few European countries with this type of guardrail. For a good overview of European guardrails, see this infographic.
Double guardrails are very commonly used. This is much less common in other South American countries.
Guardrails in Guayas province are often painted black-and-yellow, as opposed to the generic silver or solid yellow versions.
Estonia has normal A-type guardrails with no reflectors.
NOTE: The other two Baltic countries can have reflectors on their guardrails. For a good overview of European guardrails, see this infographic.
The MR3 from Manzini to the South African border is divided by metal and stone guardrails, making it recognisable.
NOTE: This road is the only divided highway found in Eswatini.
Guardrails on the Faroes have yellow reflectors.
NOTE: Yellow reflectors are not found on guardrails in any other northern European countries.
France uses A-type guardrails, usually without reflectors. On rare occasions, you can find thin B-type, the standard guardrail in Czechia and Slovakia.
NOTE: Spanish, Andorran and Belgian guardrails use yellow reflectors.
Thin B type guardrail, typical for Czechia and Slovakia, is sometimes found on highways in the northern half of the country, often coming from Le Mans, Tours, Paris, Reims and Metz.
NOTE: On the highlighted sections, thin B can be the minority guardrail, and short sections of any highway will have no guardrails at all. It is also more common on smaller roads in the North, but less consistent as a clue.
While most of Germany uses B-Type guardrails, A-type guardrails are common in the northwest, as well as in Rhineland-Palatinate and parts of Bavaria.
NOTE: There will always be rare exceptions. For a good overview of European guardrails, see this infographic.
In Hong Kong, you will almost never see striped kerbs, which are extremely common in Singapore. In addition, grey pedestrian guardrails are also common.
The Tsing Ma Bridge can be recognized by being the only major suspension bridge in Hong Kong. The bridge has two ladder-like support towers, and yellow and red guardrails.
While similar to the Ting Kau Bridge, the cable-stayed Stonecutters Bridge can be identified by the lack of yellow paint, and its box beam guardrail design, as opposed to the cable design seen on the other two bridges.
The Lugard Road trekker around Victoria Peak can be recognized by the distinct black guardrail, view of the skyline and tourists walking along the path.
Both A-type and B-type guardrails are common.
NOTE: The only other Middle Eastern country where B-type guardrails are common is Turkey.
It is very common to find double guardrails in Italy.
Italian guardrails feature red front reflectors.
NOTE: This is most useful to distinguish Italy from Spain, which uses yellow reflectors. For a good overview of European guardrails, see this infographic.
Italian guardrails commonly end in this distinct shape. The guardrail gets flatter, wider, and it bends away from the road.
Japan generally uses these simple, white guardrails.
You can learn more about the exceptions in the region guessing section.
Some bollards on the island of Shikoku can have a black stripe just under the reflector. They can be found normally, attached to guardrails or walls.
Green bands on guardrails are most commonly found in Oita and Miyazaki, but can be found on all of Kyushu.
These distinctive yellow guardrails can be found in the Yamaguchi Prefecture.
You can find these chevron-like stickers, or more rarely orange ones, on guardrails in Hokkaido.
On the end or side of a guardrail.
Stuck to metal posts between wire fences, which are often found in Hokkaido.
On railings, which are often found on bridges, underneath the inside of the railing.
Guardrail endings with these red and yellow striped stickers can commonly be found across Chugoku, except in Yamaguchi. They can also rarely be found in Niigata.
The mountains here can be characterised by steep rocky cliffs that can have a slight purple or red tint to them. Not much vegetation grows on these mountains - only some grass and shrubs. A small river also runs alongside the road. You can also spot these brown metallic electricity pylons and curved concrete guardrails on the sides of this road.
NOTE: This section of road features the Black Dot Mirror.
Going further west, you will encounter a very hilly landscape. The landscape features a lot of vegetation - tall grass, trees, bushes. This road uses these concrete barriers as guardrails, notice the cement above the gaps.
The general southeast to northwest driving direction on this road is also worth noting.
Latvia has normal A-type guardrails with white or red reflectors.
NOTE: Estonia has no reflectors. Lithuania has orange reflectors. For a good overview of European guardrails, see this infographic.
Liechtenstein uses black-and-white cylindrical bollards with a white or grey reflector and a rounded top. They also often have a blue attachment on the side.
When attached to guardrails, they will use the wedge design instead.
NOTE: Switzerland can use almost identical bollards.
Lithuania has normal A-type guardrails with orange reflectors.
NOTE: Estonia has no reflectors. Latvia has red or white reflectors. For a good overview of European guardrails, see this infographic.
Red guardrails can be seen on the Amizade Bridge.
Madeira sometimes uses yellow-and black guardrails on its mountain roads.
The road east of the plateau can be recognized by its unique mountain formations and the black-and-yellow guardrail on the side of the road.
Regular metal guardrails are rare on Gozo Island. Low stone barriers are more common instead.
Guardrails in Montenegro are often rusted.
Montenegro is the only Balkan country where you’ll commonly see both A-type and B-type guardrails.
NOTE: For a good overview of European guardrails, see this infographic.
Many of the utility poles in Southland feature a long cylindrical silver possum guard. These are also more rarely found in western Otago.
North Macedonia uses A-Profile guardrails, like most of Europe. The guardrails have red reflectors.
NOTE: Serbia uses B-Profile guardrails. For a good overview of European guardrails, see this infographic.
The E-65 just south of Tetovo has one concrete median separating each lane instead of a normal guardrail. This is the only highway in the country to have this.
The E-65 between Tetovo and Skopje will sometimes have trees in between the guardrails.
This is the only highway to have them, besides a small part of the E-75/A1 road south of Veles (see the next tip).
Most of the E-75 next to the Greek Border has only one guardrail separating each lane. Some parts have a guardrail on one side and concrete median on the other. These are both only found on this highway.
Guardrails often have wooden posts.
NOTE: This is not common in Sweden or Finland.
Rusty guardrails are almost exclusively found in coastal regions, and particularly on the southern half of the west coast.
Black-and-yellow stripes on guardrails are seen throughout the country. You might sometimes find different designs, such as this sharp arrow design.
NOTE: Similar striped guardrails are also found in Bolivia. To differentiate them, just have a look at the outer stripe. Peru uses a black one, while Bolivia features a yellow one.
In the Cordillera Administrative Region you can find yellow and black striped concrete guardrails.
White guardrails with three recurring black stripes are unique to the region of Bicol in southern Luzon.
This vehicle with several thick black bars can be found just south of the Mayon Volcano.
Poland has square (normal B-type) guardrails, with circular red reflectors.
NOTE: Poland is one of only a very few European countries with this type of guardrail. For a good overview of European guardrails, see this infographic.
Portugal uses A-type guardrails with red reflectors.
NOTE: This is mostly useful to tell apart Portugal and Spain, which uses yellow reflectors.
Black and white striped guardrails, kerbs and bridge barriers are common in russia.
The Superstrada di San Marino runs from the border village of Dogana to the City of San Marino. It is the only divided road in the country, and the lanes are separated by a metal guardrail.
Serbia uses B-Profile guardrails exclusively.
NOTE: North Macedonia does not use B-Profile guardrails. For a good overview of European guardrails, see this infographic.
Slovakia and Czechia both use a special kind of type B guardrail, which is wider than the normal type. No other European countries use the same kind.
NOTE: While Czechia uses this type fairly consistently, Slovakia also uses other types occasionally. For a good overview of European guardrails, see this infographic.
Slovenia uses a regular A-type guardrail, like most European countries. This guardrail type has rounded edges.
This is mostly useful for 50-50s with Croatia, which uses B-type guardrails. This type has square edges.
NOTE: For a good overview of European guardrails, see this infographic.
Spain has yellow reflectors on rounded A-type guardrails.
NOTE: Belgium, Andorra, Gibraltar and most Latin American countries also have yellow reflectors. For a good overview of European guardrails, see this infographic.
Within Spain, black and white guardrails are unique to Ceuta.
The AP-15 in Navarra features unique bollards with a simple flat design and a square red reflector. Guardrails also have red reflectors unlike the rest of Spain.
Taiwan uses these bollards with either two or three circular reflectors on a black rectangle.
You can also find these lollipop looking reflectors on guardrails, similar to the designs found in Japan.
The Provincial Highway 8 that runs from Taichung to Hualien is very recognizable, specifically in the Hualien part, due to the yellow guardrail that can be found all throughout the western half of the road in the county.
The eastern half of the road features these tall exposed-rock cliffs that tower over the road.
The Provincial Highway 20, specifically the part that runs through Yushan National Park, features tall mountains covered with coniferous trees. The road also utilises these tube-like double guardrails.
NOTE: This road is only covered in Generation 2 and 4. The Generation 4 coverage is very overexposed and features sunny weather.
The road that leads up to Taipingshan National Forest in Yilan is distinct due to it often being very foggy when covered. Other features of this road include the coniferous trees and a guardrail with red legs.
NOTE: Certain parts of the roads feature a sunset in Generation 3.
Turkey uses both main types of guardrails:
A-type guardrails, which have rounded edges.
B-type guardrails, which have square edges.
While most Mediterranean countries use the A-type, B-type can help solve some tough 50-50s. Furthermore, seeing both types will exclude all southern European and Middle Eastern countries, other than Montenegro and Israel & the West Bank. For a full overview of which guardrails are found in which European country, see this infographic.
Four-lane divided highways with no divider, other than double middle road lines, are almost exclusively found in the eastern half of the country.
Beware that divided highways with clear dividers, such as guardrails, can still be found in the east.
Street signs in Bursa are green, and generally have slightly extruded letters, meaning the signs are not completely flat.
NOTE: Several other types of infrastructure in Bursa, such as fences and guardrails, may also be coloured green.
Guardrails and barriers will often be painted black and white, similar to Russia.
Guardrails, signs, and signposts are commonly painted a medium brown colour in US National Parks, which are often located in the west. Guardrails that are painted brown can be made out of both wood and metal. Rock walls can also sometimes be seen in place of guardrails.
Here you can find a map showing where all US National Parks are located.
NOTE: There are occasional exceptions to this rule, so consider other clues before guessing in a National Park.
In Minnesota, these yellow signs with vertical, black triangles are placed before bridges at most major river crossings and at the beginnings and ends of guardrail sections on large highways.
Square guardrails are the most dominant (but not the only) type of guardrail in the states of New York and Wyoming. They have a long bar across the top, with several square legs supporting them.
NOTE: These guardrails can be found, to a lesser extent, in some adjacent states.
Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts use small green and red rectangular signs to mark the ends of bridges and guardrails.
NOTE: Not all bridges and guardrails in these states will have these markers.
Uruguayan guardrails have a small, rectangular yellow or red reflector, which is the same as in Argentina. They can be differentiated by the shape of their support.
In Argentina, the supports are made up of three sides of a rectangle. Uruguayan supports have the same three sides, and additionally parts of the fourth side at the corners.
Red and white striped concrete safety barriers are somewhat common on mountain roads.