Proposal:Give way:type
| Give way:type | |
|---|---|
| Proposal status: | Proposed (under way) |
| Proposed by: | Discostu36 |
| Tagging: | give_way:type=sign, give_way:type=road_markings, give_way:type=lowered_kerb
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| Applies to: | 
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| Definition: | Specify how highway=give_way legislation is indicated on the ground.
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| Statistics: |
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| Draft started: | 2025-04-21 |
| RFC start: | 2025-04-21 |
Proposal
This proposal aims to clarify that highway=give_way should also be used at junctions where drivers are required to yield to other traffic, even if this is not indicated by a sign but by other means such as road markings or infrastructure. The new subtag give_way:type=* is proposed to describe how the requirement to yield is communicated—whether by a sign, road marking, or a physical feature such as a lowered kerb.
Rationale
This proposal does not aim to change the established meaning of highway=give_way, but rather to eliminate inconsistencies in its documentation and to complement it by introducing a subtag that specifies how the give-way instruction is indicated on the ground.
The wiki currently describes highway=give_way as "used to map points at which a traffic sign or marking instructs traffic travelling in one direction to cede priority to traffic approaching from other directions." However, the documentation is inconsistent: the German version of the tag documentation restricts its use to the specific yield sign (traffic sign 205), and the template Template:Map Features:highway, which appears on pages like Key:highway and Map features, defines the tag simply as "A 'give way,' or 'Yield' sign."
One of the goals of this proposal is therefore to harmonize documentation and tagging practice and to clarify that highway=give_way can apply not only to yield signs, but also to other physical forms of priority indication.
A second motivation is the lack of a standardized way to tag situations governed by German traffic law, where vehicles must yield when crossing a (lowered) kerb. This design is increasingly common in German cities, especially at intersections with bicycle roads. In these cases, the lowered kerb acts as a physical indicator that drivers must give way—yet OpenStreetMap currently lacks a dedicated tag to reflect this.
The proposed subtag might seem redundant to source:highway=* or source:give_way=*. However, while tags in the source:* namespace are primarily meant to document the source of a mapper’s data for fellow mappers, the new subtag is intended for data consumers: it explicitly describes how the give-way instruction is manifested in the real world.
Finally, using the :type suffix is an established pattern in OSM for distinguishing variants of a feature, as seen in tags such as generator:type=*, fire_hydrant:type=*, and maxspeed:type=*.
Tagging
This proposal introduces the subtag give_way:type=* to specify how the instruction to give way is indicated at a node tagged with highway=give_way.
Main tag
New subtag
Possible values (to be extended):
give_way:type=sign– the obligation to give way is indicated by a yield sign (e.g. German sign 205).
give_way:type=road_marking– the instruction is given by road markings, such as triangles or stop lines.
give_way:type=lowered_kerb– the obligation is implied by infrastructure, typically a lowered kerb at the intersection, used in some jurisdictions (e.g. Germany) as a legal indicator to yield.
Multiple give_way:type=* values can be combined using semicolons if more than one indicator is present.
Examples
| Example picture | Tagging |
|---|---|
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highway=give_waygive_way:type=sign
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highway=give_waygive_way:type=road_marking
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highway=give_waygive_way:type=lowered_kerb
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Rendering
If there are apps or maps that render highway=give_way as a yield sign, they might want to update their style to only do so in case of give_way:type=sign.
Features/Pages affected
- Key:give_way:type (to be created)
External discussions
See also
- Proposal:Road marking revision: Wants to harmonize tagging of road markings, compatible with this proposal.
Comments
Please comment on the discussion page.