Highway font?

[Colin]

Any ideas on this?

 

[Bobby H]

It looks like some kind of odd-ball, condensed version of a DIN typeface. But it isn't DIN Engschrift or FF DIN Condensed. Just some kind of strange copycat with a few liberties taken on the letter forms.

Is this from an actual highway sign? It sure doesn't fit current MUTCD standards for anything on US highways. While I think some of the highway signs in Canada are a mess (Helvetica & Arial are often found mixed in with FHWA Series Gothic and Clearview Highway) I've never seen DIN used.

 

[Colin]

The image was from Switzerland.

 

[Bobby H]

That sign is out of date even for Swiss specifications. They typically use green backgrounds with legends set in Frutiger.