North America

Stop signs in Quebec will say "Arrêt".

US yield signs pair a red border with a white interior and the word ‘YIELD’

Canada’s identical shape lacks the text

Grey plastic cylinder with rounded or flat top. Bottom is painted black

Main reflector/s is usually white. Sometimes is yellow

This yellow diamond sign with a 'checkboard' patern border indicates a T-intersection.

These signs are diamond-shaped, while similar signs in the US are rectangular.

Shape: Thin semi-cylinder (Rectangle with rounded corners) with rounded top

Material: Plastic

Color: White

Reflector: One-side white/yellow rectangle near the top

Speed limits are posted in miles per hour and clearance signs list feet and inches

Shape: Octagonal

Material: Concrete

Notes: Side holes are used rarely. Most of the time the wires are attached around the pole with metal brackets or bands

Type: Private

Shape: Short

Background: White

Text: Black

Additional details: Each state its own design. Front plates required

Across both the US and Canada, roadside lines sit on wooden poles

Posts speeds in kilometres per hour (USA: mile per hour - imperial system)

Standard pattern is double solid yellow down the middle with solid white edge stripes

Shape: Wide cylindrical

Color: White or black

Camera: Generation 4

Car: Visible front of the regular car

Color: Blue

Camera: Generation 4

Car: Visible front of the regular car

Color: White-blue-white

Curbside mailboxes featuring a flip-up flag line suburban and rural roads

Regulatory plates read “MAXIMUM 90” (km/h), not “SPEED LIMIT 55” (mph) as in the US

Spelling: American English uses specific spelling conventions. This helps distinguish the United States from other English-speaking countries. Look for words like "center" (not "centre") or "license" (not "licence").

English-speaking Canada writes centre/colour (in American: center/color)

Words ‘ONE WAY’ on the arrow

Canadian signs don't use text

Shape: Cylinder (drum)

Material: Plastic

Color: Orange body with white bands and black base.

Camera: Generation 4

Car: Visible front of the regular car

Color: Black

Parking indicators are verbose, colour-coded plates (red, green or black lettering) often with arrows stating exact hours or directions.

At major intersections the signal heads hang from a horizontal metal bar spanning the carriageway

US crossroads often mark side-roads with a white rectangle containing one or two black arrows

Camera: Generation 4

Car: Visible front of the regular car

Color: White

Every numeric speed-limit plate includes the words “SPEED LIMIT”; numbers frequently end in 5 because they refer to mph (mile per hour) rather than km/h.

Shape: Shield-shaped

Text: “MEXICO” at the top and large numbers in the center

Color: White background and black text

Extremely thick arrows on traffic signs

White-clapboard or brick Baptist chapels appear in every state, with highest density in the South.

Extremely rare in Canada.

Shape: Octagonal

Text: ALTO (instead of STOP)

Color: Red background with white border

Background: Yellow

Arrows: Bold black

Clustered curbside boxes sporting the red Canada Post emblem appear nationwide

Road signs turn fully French in Québec and parts of New Brunswick, while the rest of Canada mixes English with occasional federal French.

Shape: Cylinder

Material: Plastic

Color: White with two narrow black-bands

Reflector: Rectangle yellow or white between black-bands

Quebec region

Background: Red

Arrows: Bold white

Additional details: Invert Canada’s usual yellow-and-blackchevron style

White flat bollard with black strip near the top.White/grey rectangle reflector placed inside black strip

Unlike Canada US warning boards often spell the hazard out—‘RAILROAD CROSSING’, or a paragraph beneath a yellow diamond.

Octagonal utility poles usually have yellow paint/plastic attachment with black text on it

Half of the states don't require front license plates

Shape: Rectangle cylinder with small holes

Material: Metall

Reflector: White square on the top

Some popular brands, like:

• Scotiabank, Canadian Tire, Esso, Shoppers Drug Mart

can be found in Canada, but not in the US

Shape: Inverted triangle

Color: Thick red border, white background

Camera: Generation 3

Car: Visible back of the regular car

Car color: White

Additional details (unique): White hole without antenna with small part of red backlight. Sometimes backlight fully visible

Warning yellow attachment on wooden poles

Camera: Generation 3

Car: Visible back of the regular car

Color: White with red around antenna

Antenna: Black antenna in the center of the back of the car with little diagonal black stipe

Cylinder plastic white with black-banded top.

Reflector is orange rounded stripe in the center

Interstates use large, curved-corner green panels with white text

Canadian motorway signs keep sharper/rounded 90-degree edges.

Metal fences in concrete guardrails between roads are common

Shape: Stick with diamond on the top

Material: Metall

Color: White-green or any

Reflector: Diamond on the top

Shape: Rectangle with rounded corners and black border

Text: km on the top and 2 or 3 numbers under the 'km' text

Color: White background, black text

Color: Black-and-white diagonal stripes

Québec road shields are distinctive. Two types are common:

• Vertical rectangle with a pointed top, resembling a medieval shield, with three "fleur-de-lys" French lily symbols.

• Blue rectangle with a rounded arch bottom (resembling U.S. Interstate signs).

Camera: Generation 2

Additional details (unique): Not visible car with big blur

Extremely rare Gen 1 coverage

Gen-2 coverage appears in North America

Long white bollards with a red,white or green reflector at the top

A lot of stop signs in New Brunswick will say both Stop and Arrêt on the same sign.