![Colours of Centre Line](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a8/Colours_of_Centre_Line.svg)
Road surface marking is any kind of device or material that is used on a
road surface
A road surface (British English), or pavement (American English), is the durable surface material laid down on an area intended to sustain vehicular or foot traffic, such as a road or walkway. In the past, gravel road surfaces, hoggin, cobbles ...
in order to convey official information; they are commonly placed with road marking machines (also referred to as road marking equipment or pavement marking equipment). They can also be applied in other facilities used by
vehicle
A vehicle (from la, vehiculum) is a machine that transports people or cargo. Vehicles include wagons, bicycles, motor vehicles (motorcycles, cars, trucks, buses, mobility scooters for disabled people), railed vehicles (trains, trams), wa ...
s to mark parking spaces or designate areas for other uses. In some countries and areas (France, Italy, Czech Republic, Slovakia etc.), road markings are conceived as horizontal traffic signs, as opposed to vertical
traffic sign
Traffic signs or road signs are signs erected at the side of or above roads to give instructions or provide information to road users. The earliest signs were simple wooden or stone milestones. Later, signs with directional arms were introduce ...
s placed on posts.
Road surface markings are used on
paved roadways to provide guidance and information to drivers and pedestrians. Uniformity of the markings is an important factor in minimizing confusion and uncertainty about their meaning, and efforts exist to standardize such markings across borders. However, countries and areas categorize and specify road surface markings in different ways—white lines are called white lines mechanical, non-mechanical, or temporary. They can be used to delineate
traffic lanes, inform
motorist
Driving is the controlled operation and movement of a vehicle, including cars, motorcycles, trucks, buses, and bicycles. Permission to drive on public highways is granted based on a set of conditions being met and drivers are required to follo ...
s and
pedestrian
A pedestrian is a person traveling on foot, whether walking or running. In modern times, the term usually refers to someone walking on a road or pavement, but this was not the case historically.
The meaning of pedestrian is displayed with ...
s or serve as noise generators when run across a road, or attempt to wake a sleeping driver when installed in the shoulders of a road. Road surface marking can also indicate regulations for parking and stopping.
There is continuous effort to improve the road marking system, and technological breakthroughs include adding
retroreflectivity
A retroreflector (sometimes called a retroflector or cataphote) is a device or surface that reflection (physics), reflects radiation (usually light) back to its source with minimum scattering. This works at a wide range of angle of incidence (opt ...
, increasing longevity, and lowering installation cost.
Today, road markings are used to convey a range of information to the driver spanning navigational, safety and enforcement issues leading to their use in road environment understanding within
advanced driver-assistance systems
An advanced driver-assistance system (ADAS) is any of a groups of electronic technologies that assist drivers in driving and parking functions. Through a safe human-machine interface, ADAS increase car and road safety. ADAS uses automated technol ...
and consideration for future use in
autonomous road vehicles.
Mechanical markers
![Linia-groszkowa-na-A4](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/43/Linia-groszkowa-na-A4.JPG)
Mechanical devices may be raised or recessed into the road surface, and either
reflective
Reflection is the change in direction of a wavefront at an interface between two different media so that the wavefront returns into the medium from which it originated. Common examples include the reflection of light, sound and water waves. The ' ...
or non-reflective. Most are permanent; some are movable.
*
Cat's eye, invented by
Percy Shaw
Percy Shaw, (15 April 1890 – 1 September 1976) was an English inventor and businessman. He patented the reflective road stud or "cat's eye (road), cat's eye" in 1934, and set up a company to manufacture his invention in 1935.
Biography
Perc ...
in the 1930s, Cat's eyes equip many major routes in the
British Isles
The British Isles are a group of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner and Outer Hebrides, the Northern Isles, ...
. They consist of four reflective lenses mounted in a durable white rubber housing, two facing fore and two facing aft. The housing is mounted within a cast iron shoe, which the rubber housing sinks in to when driven over. This provides protection from snow plowing and allows the lenses to be self-cleaning—they pass a rubber blade when depressed. The lenses are available in a variety of different colors, mainly white, yellow/orange, green, red, and blue.
*
Botts' dots
Botts' dots (turtles in Washington and Oregon or buttons in Texas and other southern states) are round non-reflective raised pavement markers. In many parts of the US, Botts' dots are used, along with reflective raised pavement markers, to ma ...
(low rounded white or yellow dots), named for the California
Caltrans
The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) is an Executive (government), executive department of the U.S. state of California. The department is part of the Government of California#State agencies, cabinet-level California State Tran ...
engineer
Elbert Botts
Elbert Dysart Botts (January 2, 1893 – April 10, 1962) was the California Department of Transportation (''Caltrans'') engineer credited with overseeing the research that led to the development of ''Botts' dots'' and possibly the epoxy u ...
, who invented the epoxy that keeps them glued down, are one type of a mechanical non-reflective raised marker. Generally they are used to mark the edges of traffic lanes, frequently in conjunction with
raised reflective markers. Botts' dots are also used across a travel lane to draw the drivers attention to the road. They are frequently used in this way to alert drivers to
toll booths,
school zone
A school zone refers to an area on a street near a school or near a crosswalk leading to a school that has a likely presence of younger pedestrians. School zones generally have a reduced speed limit during certain hours.
Fines
Fines for speedin ...
s or other significant reduction of speed limit. They are normally only used in warm climates since
snow plows
A snowplow (also snow plow, snowplough or snow plough) is a device intended for mounting on a vehicle, used for removing snow and ice from outdoor surfaces, typically those serving transportation purposes. Although this term is often used to re ...
usually remove them along with the snow.
*
Rumble strip
Rumble strips (also known as sleeper lines or alert strips) are a road safety feature to alert inattentive drivers of potential danger, by causing a tactile vibration and audible rumbling transmitted through the wheels into the vehicle interior. ...
s are commonly used for the same purpose. A rumble strip can be a series of simple troughs, typically deep and wide, that is ground out of the asphalt. Other alternatives, similar to the Botts' dots, use raised strips, painted or glued to the surface. A specific form of raised strips using thermoplastic is called profile thermoplastic markings. The markings are created by fusing thermoplastic to the pavement and create alternating elevation and recession pattern. This can be done as inverted-profile markings or raised-profile markings. Inverted-profile markings are created by pressing a
cog rolling over the markings while they are wet to make them corrugated. Raised-profile markings are created by extruding extra thickness of thermoplastic at a specific interval to create bumps. Raised-profile markings are sometime known as
convex
Convex or convexity may refer to:
Science and technology
* Convex lens, in optics
Mathematics
* Convex set, containing the whole line segment that joins points
** Convex polygon, a polygon which encloses a convex set of points
** Convex polytope ...
traffic lines. Uses of rumble strips can be across the travel direction (to warn of hazards ahead) or along the travel direction (to warn of hazards of not staying within a specific lane).
['] Their main way of function is creating a strong vibration when driven over that will alert a driver to various upcoming hazards both by sound and the physical vibration of the vehicle.
* Reflective markers are used as travel lane dividers, to mark the central reservation (median) or to mark exit slip-roads. Incorporating a raised retro-reflective element, they are typically more visible at night and in inclement weather than standard road marking lines. The colour of markers varies depending on the country of use; freeways in the United States often use reflectors manufactured to appear white to drivers proceeding in the proper direction of travel, and appear red on the reverse to warn drivers that they are proceeding ''against'' the proper direction of travel, creating a danger of a head-on collision. Reflective markers are also referred to as raised pavement markers, road studs, and sometimes (generically) in the UK and Ireland as cat's eye, although this name refers to one particular brand of product. These markers can be used for other purposes such as marking the locations of
fire hydrant
A fire hydrant, waterplug, or firecock (archaic) is a connection point by which firefighters can tap into a water supply. It is a component of active fire protection. Underground fire hydrants have been used in Europe and Asia since at least ...
s (blue) or at gates of
gated communities
A gated community (or walled community) is a form of residential community or housing estate containing strictly controlled entrances for pedestrians, bicycles, and automobiles, and often characterized by a closed perimeter of walls and fences. ...
to indicate that emergency service vehicles have a code or device that allows them to open the gate. In the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
and elsewhere, raised markers are used to mark pedestrian crossings to assist the blind in crossing streets. In colder climates, reflective markers may be installed below ground using an elongated narrow triangle, cut into the road surface that allows the device to be installed below the road surface. Newer technology allows these to be placed above ground with snowplough-able rails that attempt to protect the reflective components from the snowplow blade.
Confusion with marks left by roadwork
![Dowel bar retrofit on I-287 in New Jersey](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0b/Dowel_bar_retrofit_on_I-287_in_New_Jersey.jpg)
Sometimes the result of roadwork may leave visible marks on the pavements. An example is the
dowel bar retrofit
A dowel bar retrofit (DBR) is a method of reinforcing cracks in highway pavement by inserting steel dowel bars in slots cut across the cracks. It is a technique which several U.S. states' departments of transportation have successfully used in rep ...
process to reinforce concrete slabs in order to extend the life of older concrete pavements. The completion of the process leaves a symmetrical pattern of dash marks on the roadway, as if there were an associated meaning to the pattern. When there are many of them along the roadway, motorists may interpret the marks as an unknown form of mechanical markers or strange road surface markings. When roads are under construction and the lanes are shifted laterally, those marks may interfere with temporary lane markings. As the marks from the dowel bar retrofit are not intended to be any form of road surface markings, the responsible agencies try to make these marks less visible to the motorists.
Non-mechanical markers
Marker types
Paint
Paint, sometimes with additives such as retroreflective glass beads, is generally used to mark travel lanes. It is also used to mark spaces in
parking lots
A parking lot (American English) or car park (British English), also known as a car lot, is a cleared area intended for parking vehicles. The term usually refers to an area dedicated only for parking, with a durable or semi-durable surface ...
or special purpose spaces for disabled parking, loading zones, or time-restricted parking areas. colors for these applications vary by locality. Paint is a low-cost marking and has been in widespread use since approximately the early 1950s.
Paint
Paint is any pigmented liquid, liquefiable, or solid mastic composition that, after application to a substrate in a thin layer, converts to a solid film. It is most commonly used to protect, color, or provide texture. Paint can be made in many ...
consists of three main components: pigments, resins or binders, and water or
solvent
A solvent (s) (from the Latin '' solvō'', "loosen, untie, solve") is a substance that dissolves a solute, resulting in a solution. A solvent is usually a liquid but can also be a solid, a gas, or a supercritical fluid. Water is a solvent for ...
s. Pigments are finely grounded materials that give out colors or block out the surface beneath it. They may contain other materials such as
UV stabilizer
In polymer chemistry photo-oxidation (sometimes: oxidative photodegradation) is the degradation of a polymer surface due to the combined action of light and oxygen. It is the most significant factor in the weathering of plastics. Photo-oxidatio ...
, and fillers which bring out the color pigments to the required level. Resins or binders are the glue of the paint to bind pigment and glass beads together to the road surface. The resins for water-based paints are
polyvinyl acetate
Polyvinyl acetate (PVA, PVAc, poly(ethenyl ethanoate)), commonly known as wood glue, PVA glue, white glue, carpenter's glue, school glue, or Elmer's glue in the US, is a widely available adhesive used for porous materials like wood, paper, and ...
latex,
methyl methacrylate
Methyl methacrylate (MMA) is an organic compound with the formula CH2=C(CH3)COOCH3. This colorless liquid, the methyl ester of methacrylic acid (MAA), is a monomer produced on a large scale for the production of poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA ...
or
acrylic resin
186 px, Polyhydroxyethylmethacrylate is a typical acrylate resin.
An acrylic resin is a thermoplastic or thermosetting plastic substance typically derived from acrylic acid, methacrylic acid and acrylate monomers such as butyl acrylate and or me ...
. The resins for solvent-based paints are
linseed
Flax, also known as common flax or linseed, is a flowering plant, ''Linum usitatissimum'', in the family Linaceae. It is cultivated as a food and fiber crop in regions of the world with temperate climates. Textiles made from flax are known in ...
or
soya oil
Soybean oil (British English: soyabean oil) is a vegetable oil extracted from the seeds of the soybean (''Glycine max''). It is one of the most widely consumed cooking oils and the second most consumed vegetable oil. As a drying oil, processed s ...
s and
alkyd resin
An alkyd is a polyester resin modified by the addition of fatty acids and other components. Alkyds are derived from polyols and organic acids including dicarboxylic acids or carboxylic acid anhydride and triglyceride oils. The term ''alkyd'' is a m ...
s. The pigments and resins are mixed with water for water-based paints and solvents for solvent-based paints so that they can be applied onto the road surface. Solvents include
naphtha
Naphtha ( or ) is a flammable liquid hydrocarbon mixture.
Mixtures labelled ''naphtha'' have been produced from natural gas condensates, petroleum distillates, and the distillation of coal tar and peat. In different industries and regions ''n ...
,
toluene
Toluene (), also known as toluol (), is a substituted aromatic hydrocarbon. It is a colorless, water-insoluble liquid with the smell associated with paint thinners. It is a mono-substituted benzene derivative, consisting of a methyl group (CH3) at ...
,
methanol
Methanol (also called methyl alcohol and wood spirit, amongst other names) is an organic chemical and the simplest aliphatic alcohol, with the formula C H3 O H (a methyl group linked to a hydroxyl group, often abbreviated as MeOH). It is a ...
,
methylene chloride
Dichloromethane (DCM or methylene chloride, methylene bichloride) is an organochlorine compound with the formula . This colorless, volatile liquid with a chloroform-like, sweet odour is widely used as a solvent. Although it is not miscible with ...
, and
acetone
Acetone (2-propanone or dimethyl ketone), is an organic compound with the formula . It is the simplest and smallest ketone (). It is a colorless, highly volatile and flammable liquid with a characteristic pungent odour.
Acetone is miscib ...
. Due to environmental concerns, some jurisdictions may have restrictions on solvent-based paints.
:
![UpdatedPigmentYell10](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/23/UpdatedPigmentYell10.png)
Paint is usually applied right after the road has been paved. The road is marked commonly by a truck called a "striper." These trucks contain hundreds of gallons of paint stored in huge drums which sit on the bed. The markings are controlled manually or automatically by the controller who sits on the bed. Paint is run through a series of hoses under air pressure and applied to the roadway surface along with the application of glass beads for retroreflectivity. After application, the paint dries fairly quickly. Sometimes the glass beads are mixed in with the paint and applied together, which is not a recommended method. The usual method is to use a separate gun to spray the glass beads on to the wet paint during the application.
[
Painted symbols, such as turn-lane arrows or ]HOV
A high-occupancy vehicle lane (also known as an HOV lane, carpool lane, diamond lane, 2+ lane, and transit lane or T2 or T3 lanes) is a restricted traffic lane reserved for the exclusive use of vehicles with a driver and one or more passengers, i ...
lane markers, are applied manually using stencils. Painted markings usually last 9 to 36 months. There are some water-based paints that can be applied at double the level of thickness of typical latex paints. This technique can extend the life of the markings.
Stones
In roads paved with setts
A sett, also known as a block or Belgian block, is a broadly rectangular quarried stone used in paving roads and walkways. Formerly in widespread use, particularly on steeper streets because setts provided horses' hooves with better grip tha ...
(as in Belgian/Italian or Portuguese
Portuguese may refer to:
* anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal
** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods
** Portuguese language, a Romance language
*** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language
** Portu ...
styles) or cobblestone
Cobblestone is a natural building material based on cobble-sized stones, and is used for pavement roads, streets, and buildings.
Setts, also called Belgian blocks, are often casually referred to as "cobbles", although a sett is distinct fro ...
s, markings can be made with white blocks or stones, like marble
Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite. Marble is typically not Foliation (geology), foliated (layered), although there are exceptions. In geology, the ...
or other light-coloured rocks. This kind of marking is long-lasting, but can be slippery in rain or wet conditions unless surfaced with a matte or rough finish.
Thermoplastic
One of the most common types of road marking based on its balance between cost and performance longevity, thermoplastic binder systems are generally based on one of three core chemistries: hydrocarbon
In organic chemistry, a hydrocarbon is an organic compound consisting entirely of hydrogen and carbon. Hydrocarbons are examples of group 14 hydrides. Hydrocarbons are generally colourless and hydrophobic, and their odors are usually weak or ex ...
s, rosin esters or maleic modified rosin esters (MMRE). Thermoplastic coatings are generally homogeneous dry mixes of binder resins, plasticizers, glass beads (or other optics), pigments, and fillers. Their use has increased over paints mainly due to the performance benefits of increased durability, retro-reflectivity, and a lack of VOC solvents.
Thermoplastic markings are applied using specially designed vehicles. Usually, thermoplastic marking mode is applied by machine to coat traffic lines, afree preheating by a device commonly called a preheater. The thermoplastic mix is heated in trucks to about ] before being fed to the application apparatus. This is often a screed box or ribbon gun. Immediately after the thermoplastic has been applied, glass beads are laid onto the hot material so that they embed before the plastic hardens. These beads provide initial retroreflection. As the marking wears during use and the initial beads are lost, the beads mixed with the binder are uncovered, providing long-term retroreflectivity. These can be made exceptionally thick to produce a rumble strip
Rumble strips (also known as sleeper lines or alert strips) are a road safety feature to alert inattentive drivers of potential danger, by causing a tactile vibration and audible rumbling transmitted through the wheels into the vehicle interior. ...
effect.
The thermoplastic marking coating sets quickly. The melt adhesion of a synthetic resin makes hot-melt paint adhere strongly to the road surface. Additives
Additive may refer to:
Mathematics
* Additive function, a function in number theory
* Additive map, a function that preserves the addition operation
* Additive set-functionn see Sigma additivity
* Additive category, a preadditive category with fi ...
in the coating paint increases the coating plasticity
Plasticity may refer to:
Science
* Plasticity (physics), in engineering and physics, the propensity of a solid material to undergo permanent deformation under load
* Neuroplasticity, in neuroscience, how entire brain structures, and the brain it ...
, improving the anti-settling, anti-pollution, and anti-tarnish qualities. Thermoplastic marking paint is most commonly produced in yellow and white. The white marking paint mainly contains titanium white, zinc oxide
Zinc oxide is an inorganic compound with the formula . It is a white powder that is insoluble in water. ZnO is used as an additive in numerous materials and products including cosmetics, food supplements, rubbers, plastics, ceramics, glass, cemen ...
, and lithopone
Lithopone, C.I. Pigment White 5, is a mixture of inorganic compounds, widely used as a white pigment powder. It is composed of a mixture of barium sulfate and zinc sulfide. These insoluble compounds blend well with organic compounds and confer op ...
, while the yellow paint is mainly heat-yellowing lead.
In warm climate areas, the thermoplastic markings can last three to six years. However, snowplow
A snowplow (also snow plow, snowplough or snow plough) is a device intended for mounting on a vehicle, used for removing snow and ice from outdoor surfaces, typically those serving transportation purposes. Although this term is often used to re ...
s can damage the thermoplastics, limiting usage in cold-climate areas.[ The filling materials of road paint can affect the mechanical strength, abrasion resistance and hue of the coating film. The particle size of the paint powder influences the flow, sedimentation, and the surface processing.
]
Preformed thermoplastic
Preformed thermoplastic pavement markings (sometime called "tape", but not to be confused with preformed polymer tape) are thermoplastic cut into the final shapes by the manufacturers and ready to position onto an asphalt or concrete pavement surface. Preformed thermoplastics are put into place on the road surface and applied using a propane heat torch. Some models require heating the road surface prior to the placement of the preformed thermoplastics. These markings are used primarily because of their durability and cost-effective service life. Since the plastics are melted into the surface, they are not easily damaged by snowplows. Typically, the preformed thermoplastic markings can last 3 to 6 years. The most common applications of preformed thermoplastic pavement markings are found at intersections as transverse markings such as stop lines, legends, crosswalks, arrows, bike lane symbols, and accessibility symbols.[
]
Preformed polymer tape
Commonly referred to as tape or cold plastic, this product is heavy-grade material with reflective beads embedded in the plastic. It is commonly used to mark crosswalk
A pedestrian crossing (or crosswalk in American English) is a place designated for pedestrians to cross a road, street or avenue. The term "pedestrian crossing" is also used in the Vienna and Geneva Conventions, both of which pertain to road ...
s, stop bars, and traffic guidance such as turn lanes, HOV lanes
A high-occupancy vehicle lane (also known as an HOV lane, carpool lane, diamond lane, 2+ lane, and transit lane or T2 or T3 lanes) is a restricted traffic lane reserved for the exclusive use of vehicles with a driver and one or more passengers, i ...
, train crossing
A level crossing is an intersection where a railway line crosses a road, path, or (in rare situations) airport runway, at the same level, as opposed to the railway line crossing over or under using an overpass or tunnel. The term also ...
s, pedestrian crossing
A pedestrian crossing (or crosswalk in American English) is a place designated for pedestrians to cross a road, street or avenue. The term "pedestrian crossing" is also used in the Vienna and Geneva Conventions, both of which pertain to road sig ...
s, taxi lane
A taxi, also known as a taxicab or simply a cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of their choice ...
s, bus lane
A bus lane or bus-only lane is a lane restricted to buses, often on certain days and times, and generally used to speed up public transport that would be otherwise held up by traffic congestion. The related term busway describes a roadway ...
s, and bike lane
Bike lanes (US) or cycle lanes (UK) are types of bikeways (cycleways) with lanes on the roadway for cyclists only. In the United Kingdom, an on-road cycle-lane can be firmly restricted to cycles (marked with a solid white line, entry by motor v ...
s. There are two ways to apply tape:
* Overlay: The application being laid over the surface of the pavement. Using industrial-grade rubber cement, once the tape is combined with the pavement, it should last three years. Major obstacles to estimated life are snowplows, salt, and misapplication.
* Inlay: The tape physically becomes part of the asphalt. Using the heat generated in the paving process, road workers lay special tape on the asphalt in the hardening process, and rollers compress the two together.
The life of the preformed polymer tapes can vary based on the applications. If applied correctly, they can last between 4 and 8 years.[ However, there have been cases where tape failures start soon after the installation. Conditions that may contribute to tape failure are cold weather at installation, surface preparation, and workmanship. A technique to minimize the tape being scraped off by snowplows is sandblasting a groove into the surface and fixing the tape onto this groove. This technique diminishes the advantage of low labor cost of the tapes.
The preformed polymer tape markings are slippery when wet, especially in large sections such as crosswalks, and caution should be used due to poor wet traction.
]
Epoxy
Epoxy
Epoxy is the family of basic components or cured end products of epoxy resins. Epoxy resins, also known as polyepoxides, are a class of reactive prepolymers and polymers which contain epoxide groups. The epoxide functional group is also coll ...
consists of parts: a pigmented resin base and catalyst
Catalysis () is the process of increasing the rate of a chemical reaction by adding a substance known as a catalyst (). Catalysts are not consumed in the reaction and remain unchanged after it. If the reaction is rapid and the catalyst recyc ...
. The two parts are mixed in a specialized truck for epoxy marking application. The epoxy is then heated prior to spraying onto road surface. Retroreflective glass beads are applied using a separate bead gun behind the epoxy spray gun. Typically, epoxy markings last about 4 years.[
Epoxy has been in use since the late 1970s and has gained popularity over the 1990s as the technology has become more affordable and reliable. This material competes directly with plastic with respect to usage and cost.]
Glass beads
Glass beads composed of soda lime glass are essential for providing retroreflectivity
A retroreflector (sometimes called a retroflector or cataphote) is a device or surface that reflection (physics), reflects radiation (usually light) back to its source with minimum scattering. This works at a wide range of angle of incidence (opt ...
in many kinds of road markings. Retroreflectivity occurs when incident light from vehicles is refracted within glass beads that are imbedded in road markings and then reflected back into the driver's field of view.
To install glass beads, line painters often use hand dispensers or glass bead dispensers. No matter what tool they use, the line paint should be wet when applying the reflective glass. It is important that the reflective glass beads is not mixed with paint. They must sit on top of the paint to catch the light from the vehicles.
In the United States, the demand for glass beads has led to importing from countries using outdated manufacturing regulations and techniques. These techniques include the use of heavy metals such as arsenic
Arsenic is a chemical element with the symbol As and atomic number 33. Arsenic occurs in many minerals, usually in combination with sulfur and metals, but also as a pure elemental crystal. Arsenic is a metalloid. It has various allotropes, but ...
, antimony
Antimony is a chemical element with the symbol Sb (from la, stibium) and atomic number 51. A lustrous gray metalloid, it is found in nature mainly as the sulfide mineral stibnite (Sb2S3). Antimony compounds have been known since ancient time ...
, and lead
Lead is a chemical element with the symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials. Lead is soft and malleable, and also has a relatively low melting point. When freshly cu ...
during the manufacturing process as decolourizing and fining agents. It has been found that the heavy metals become incorporated into the bead's glass matrix and may leach
Leach may refer to:
* Leach (surname)
* Leach, Oklahoma, an unincorporated community, United States
* Leach, Tennessee, an unincorporated community, United States
* Leach Highway, Western Australia
* Leach orchid
* Leach phenotype, a mutation in ...
under environmental conditions that roads experience.
Abrasion may dislodge these beads from the road marking itself, and the reaction of these beads with an aqueous environment vastly accelerates their decomposition and heavy metal release. During both routine road marking removal and harsh environmental conditions, these glass beads can degrade and leach incorporated heavy metals. There are other, non-toxic metals that can achieve the same results. These may include zirconium, tungsten, titanium, and barium.
Negative impacts to road surface
Non-mechanical markers are found to contribute to the deterioration of asphalt concrete
Asphalt concrete (commonly called asphalt, blacktop, or pavement in North America, and tarmac, bitumen macadam, or rolled asphalt in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland) is a composite material commonly used to surface roads, parkin ...
road surface courses. The paint and tape markers can cause the road surface to crack, and in more severe cases, the markers contribute to road surface raveling (a process in which the aggregate particles are dislodged from the road surface, causing the surface texture to become deeply pitted and very rough) or pothole
A pothole is a depression in a road surface, usually asphalt pavement, where traffic has removed broken pieces of the pavement. It is usually the result of water in the underlying soil structure and traffic passing over the affected area. Water ...
s.
This type of surface damage can be found exclusively underneath the pavement markings such as lane markings and turn-lane arrows. There is no definitive explanation of the relationship between pavement markings and surface deterioration, but there are several hypotheses. One is that water vapor
(99.9839 °C)
, -
, Boiling point
,
, -
, specific gas constant
, 461.5 J/( kg·K)
, -
, Heat of vaporization
, 2.27 MJ/kg
, -
, Heat capacity
, 1.864 kJ/(kg·K)
Water vapor, water vapour or aqueous vapor is the gaseous pha ...
may have been trapped underneath the road surface markings, causing the de-bonding of asphalt binder from the aggregate materials. Another hypothesis is that the reflectivity of the markings may create differences in solar heating
A solar thermal collector collects heat by absorbing sunlight. The term "solar collector" commonly refers to a device for solar hot water heating, but may refer to large power generating installations such as solar parabolic troughs and sola ...
and thermal expansion
Thermal expansion is the tendency of matter to change its shape, area, volume, and density in response to a change in temperature, usually not including phase transitions.
Temperature is a monotonic function of the average molecular kinetic ...
strains between the areas with and without markings. Small flaws caused by differential strains may be combined into longitudinal cracks along the markings. There are certain surface treatments that can make the road surface less susceptible to this type of distresses, such as slurry seals and stone mastic asphalt
Stone mastic asphalt (SMA), also called stone-matrix asphalt, was developed in Germany in the 1960s with the first SMA pavements being placed in 1968 near Kiel. It provides a deformation-resistant, durable surfacing material, suitable for heavily t ...
.
Marker removal
There are several methods of maker removal:
*Blasting: There are many materials that can be used for blasting on the road surface to remove markers. These include water, sand, crushed glass, dry ice and soda. High-pressure water blasting method uses water jet system on a truck equipped with vacuum heads to blast out the markings and suction up the water and debris back to the storage area of the truck. The method can remove markers at speeds of . The only disadvantage of this method is that it can only be operated at above the freezing temperature. Sand blasting methods utilizes high-pressure air and a nozzle to blast sand aggregate. This method produces a lot of debris. It requires a vehicle to supply the aggregate sand and another vehicle with debris collection system. Sand blasting can cause the pavement surface to be polished causing surface scares and ghost marks due to the contrast between the blasting and non blasting areas. Soda and dry ice blasting are similar to sand blasting with reduced effects in surface scarring and ghost marks, but it is slower. Hydroblasting is a combination of water and sand blasting operated at the pressures up to . However, the method has been replaced with high-pressure water blasting.
*Grinding: The grinding method is to use rotating abrasive surface against the markings to break them up. It can be in the form of grinding, milling or flailing. One grinding head uses orbital abrasive disks similar to an orbital sander. Another grinding head uses spindles with teeth. Another type of grinding use a drum of disks with teeth stacked side by side. Surface scarring is expected with all grinding technics.
*Burning: High heat and flame can be used as methods of marker removal. In the hot-compressed air method, a combustion chamber
A combustion chamber is part of an internal combustion engine in which the fuel/air mix is burned. For steam engines, the term has also been used for an extension of the firebox which is used to allow a more complete combustion process.
Interna ...
with a mixture of high-velocity air and propane
Propane () is a three-carbon alkane with the molecular formula . It is a gas at standard temperature and pressure, but compressible to a transportable liquid. A by-product of natural gas processing and petroleum refining, it is commonly used a ...
can emit heated gas with temperatures of . An excess-oxygen method uses propane and oxygen mixture ejected out of a nozzle to create an external flame and additional oxygen is added to the flame to create temperatures in excess of . The flame is applied directly to the markers. In both methods, care is to be taken not to melt the asphalt road surface.
*Other methods: Laser has been used in an experimental phase to remove markers, but the process is slow. A method of chemical applications to the markers to break them down is also used. This method requires pressure washing
Pressure washing or power washing is the use of high-pressure water spray to remove loose paint, mold, grime, dust, mud, and dirt from surfaces and objects such as buildings, vehicles and concrete surfaces. The volume of a mechanical pressure w ...
to remove the markers. In certain cases, masking the makers is preferred. Marking material is used to cover the markers or a portion of road surface. The color of the masking material is made to be similar to the color of the road surface. Some markings such removable preformed tapes are applied as a temporary marker removal measure. The most expensive method is resurfacing. This method is used only in limited cases.
Road marking technique
Thermoplastic road marking paint is a solid powder at room temperature. The thermoplastic paint is melted in a specialized machine called a thermoplastic heater-mixer, before being transferred into the paint tank of a marker. Larger marking machines may have internal heater-mixers. The molten coating is introduced into an insulated marking bucket. The marking bucket leads to a marking shoe that applies the material. Moving the shoe forward pulls a thin layer of paint onto the road. The thickness of this layer is controlled by the gap between the marking shoe and the road. A specialized attachment can spread an even layer of glass beads onto the paint as it is deposited.
Machine marking types
Air spray is a method of marking that uses compressed air to spray the paint onto the road surface. The finely atomized paint produces a thin and smooth layer, but the rebounding air flow causes significant paint scattering. This produces somewhat sloppy markings.
High-pressure airless spraying uses a high-pressure airless pump to spray the paint. The atomized paint is not so fine and smooth as air spray, but there is no high speed air flow to scatter any rebounding paint. The marked lines are neat. This method can apply paints of high viscosity, and apply relatively thick layers in a single pass.
Auxiliary equipment
Other equipment is often used with road marking machines. The main auxiliary equipment includes thermoplastic paint pre-heaters, hand-push pre-markers and road marking removers. Thermoplastic paint pre-heater is used to melt the solid powder coating into a viscous liquid, providing a steady supply of paint to the marking machine. Pre-markers are used to draw a field sketch in advance to avoid faulty marking. Road marking removers are used to remove old or incorrect markings. Large self-propelled machines usually do not need any support equipment, as equivalent functionality is built in.
Temporary markers
Traffic cone
Traffic cones, also called pylons, witches' hats, road cones, highway cones, safety cones, channelizing devices, construction cones, or just cones, are usually cone-shaped markers that are placed on roads or footpaths to temporarily redirect traf ...
s are sometimes used to separate High-occupancy vehicle lane
A high-occupancy vehicle lane (also known as an HOV lane, carpool lane, diamond lane, 2+ lane, and transit lane or T2 or T3 lanes) is a restricted traffic lane reserved for the exclusive use of vehicles with a driver and one or more passengers, i ...
s from regular traffic lanes. They are also used in areas where lanes are used at different times for travel in both directions. These cones have shafts that drop into holes in the road surface. A good example of this type of use was the Golden Gate Bridge
The Golden Gate Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the Golden Gate, the strait connecting San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean. The structure links the U.S. city of San Francisco, California—the northern tip of the San Francisco Pen ...
in San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
, before they switched to a moveable barrier system.
Removable tapes can also be used in road construction sites as temporary markers. The tapes can be placed to shift the lanes and black tapes can be used to temporarily blackout the existing markings. At the end of the constructions or within 6 months, the tapes can be pulled out off the surface without using heat, solvents, or machines.[
]
Country specific information
The Americas
Almost all countries in North and South America have solid and intermittent yellow lines separating traffic directions. However, Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...
and Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
have intermittent white lines separating traffic when overtaking
Overtaking or passing is the act of one vehicle going past another slower moving vehicle, travelling in the same direction, on a road. The lane used for overtaking another vehicle is often a passing lane farther from the road shoulder which i ...
is permitted from both directions, and solid yellow lines when overtaking is prohibited from both directions; when overtaking is permitted from only one direction, such countries separate traffic with a combination of white and yellow lines.
Canada
Yellow lines are used to separate traffic moving in opposite directions, and white lines are used to separate traffic moving in the same direction, and on the shoulders of paved roads. On one-directional roads, a yellow line appears on the left shoulder, and a white line on the right shoulder. Passing rules are denoted by dashed lines as in the United States. In Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
, it is legal to cross a single or double solid yellow line along a straight road and the vehicle is not within 30 meters of a bridge or railway crossing.
Orange painted lines are sometimes used when the direction of the road is altered temporarily for construction projects. However, the color scheme was reversed before 1971, when white was formerly used to denote the separation of opposing traffic, and yellow lines, when used, to denote the separation of the paved road from the right-hand shoulder.
Broken lines that are wider and closer together than regular broken lines are called continuity lines. Continuity lines on the left side of a lane denote that the lane is about to end and that motorists must soon merge left. Continuity lines on the right mean that the lane will continue, but traffic may merge into it ahead.
In some areas, reflective markers (cat's eyes) recessed into the pavement are used, especially approaching curves in the road.
A number of provinces have pavement marking test areas on major roads, to evaluate new pavement markings in relation to existing markings. In Ontario, a well-known location is the eastbound lanes of Highway 401 near Belleville. Other test sites are located on the westbound lanes on Highway 417, east of Ottawa, Highway 60 West of Renfrew, Highway 28 east of Bancroft, Highway 400 North of Honey Harbour and on Highway 37, South of Tweed. Pavement marking manufacturers from around the world supply a variety of materials for these sites to have their products evaluated and approved for use on provincial highways. Other provinces with road marking test areas include Quebec, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia. Quebec's is outside of Montreal on Autoroute 40; in New Brunswick, the area is outside of Fredericton on Highway 2; Nova Scotia's test area is north of Halifax on Highway 102.
United States
In the United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
, the first documented use of a painted center line was in 1911 along Trenton's River Road in Wayne County, Michigan. According to the state of Michigan
Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...
, the idea of using a painted center line was conceived in 1911 by Edward N. Hines
Edward N. Hines (January 13, 1870 – June 4, 1938) was a member of the Wayne County Road Commission (of Wayne County, Michigan), from 1906 to 1938. A printer by trade, he is one of the great innovators in road development.
Career
As a cyc ...
, the chairman of the Wayne County, Michigan
Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...
, Board of Roads, after watching a leaky milk wagon leave a white trail along a road. Hines was the fifth recipient of the George S. Bartlett Award for Highway Progress, and was inducted posthumously in 1972 into the Michigan Transportation Hall of Honor for his innovation, and was honored in 2011 with the first Paul Mijksenaar Design for Function Award.
In 1917, the idea of using painted center lines on rural state highways was conceived and/or put into action in at least three states (Michigan, Oregon, and California), apparently completely independent of one another. At some point in 1917, a white highway center line was painted along "Dead Man's Curve
Dead Man's Curve is an American nickname for a curve in a road that has claimed lives because of numerous crashes.
Examples
* A curve on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles memorialized in the hit song "Dead Man's Curve" by Jan and Dean. The song' ...
" on what is now County Road 492 in Marquette County, Michigan
Marquette County ( ) is a county located in the Upper Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 66,017. The county seat is Marquette. The county is named for Father Marquette, a Jesuit missionary. It wa ...
, under the direction of Kenneth Ingalls Sawyer, who served as engineer-superintendent of the Marquette County Road Commission. Sawyer was inducted posthumously into the Michigan Transportation Hall of Honor in 1973.
In Oregon in April 1917, a yellow center line was painted down the center of the Columbia River Highway, between Crown Point and Multnomah Falls
Multnomah Falls is a waterfall located on Multnomah Creek in the Columbia River Gorge, east of Troutdale, between Corbett and Dodson, Oregon, United States. The waterfall is accessible from the Historic Columbia River Highway and Interstate 84 ...
, at the direction of Multnomah County Sheriff's Deputy Peter Rexford. Later in 1917, the same line was continued west of Crown Point. Rexford first conceived the idea of a yellow center line in early 1917 while riding on a bus from Salem, Oregon on a dark and rainy night, and advocated it as a safety measure on the Columbia River Highway, which Rexford patrolled as a traffic officer. When Multnomah County declined to fund the project, Rexford's boss, Chief Deputy Martin T. Pratt (later elected Sheriff), paid for the paint out of his own pocket so that the center line could be painted. Rexford later described the April 1917 line as the "first yellow center line ever painted on pavement" in the United States. An article published in ''The Oregonian
''The Oregonian'' is a daily newspaper based in Portland, Oregon, United States, owned by Advance Publications. It is the oldest continuously published newspaper on the U.S. west coast, founded as a weekly by Thomas J. Dryer on December 4, 185 ...
'' upon Rexford's retirement claimed that a contest with a $10,000 reward was once held to determine the originator of the highway center line, but the contest was scrapped when information from Europe revealed that ancient civilizations had used white bricks to mark the center lines of their streets.
In the fall of 1917, Dr. June McCarroll
June McCarroll (June 30, 1867 – March 30, 1954) is credited by the California Department of Transportation with the idea of delineating highways with a painted line to separate lanes of highway traffic, although this claim is disputed by the F ...
of Indio, California developed the idea of white center lines and began advocating for their use, after she was run off the road by a truck while driving along a highway that would later be incorporated into US 99
U.S. Route 99 (US 99) was a main north–south United States Numbered Highway on the West Coast of the United States until 1964, running from Calexico, California, on the US–Mexico border to Blaine, Washington, on the U.S.-Canada borde ...
. Dr. McCarroll soon communicated her idea to the local chamber of commerce and the Riverside County Board of Supervisors, with no success. She then took it upon herself to hand-paint a white stripe down the middle of the road, thus establishing the actual width of the lane to prevent similar accidents. In 2002, a portion of Interstate 10
Interstate 10 (I-10) is the southernmost cross-country highway in the American Interstate Highway System. I-10 is the fourth-longest Interstate in the United States at , following I-90, I-80, and I-40. This freeway is part of the originally pl ...
was designated and signed as "The Doctor June McCarroll Memorial Freeway" in her honor.
The question of which color to use for highway center lines (dividing opposing traffic) in the United States was the subject of considerable debate and changing standards over a period of several decades. It was the single most controversial and most heavily debated issue resolved by the promulgation of the 1948 edition of the ''Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices
The ''Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices for Streets and Highways'' (usually referred to as the ''Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices'', abbreviated MUTCD) is a document issued by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) of the Unit ...
'' (MUTCD), which mandated white as the standard color of center lines nationwide. The only exceptions to this standard were for double center lines on multi-lane highways and for center lines in no-passing zones, where yellow was recommended but not mandatory. By November 1954, 47 of the 48 states had adopted white as their standard color for highway centerlines, with Oregon being the last holdout to use yellow. In 1958, the U.S. Bureau of Public Roads adopted white as the standard color for the new interstate highway system.
The 1961 edition of the MUTCD mandated the use of yellow for the two specific exceptions where yellow had been previously recommended but not required, and concurrently banned white in those contexts. The drafters of the 1961 MUTCD gave three reasons for the change: "(1) It contrasts with the normal white center or lane lines and thus gives emphasis to the hazard; (2) Yellow has been accepted as a symbolic warning color in signs and signals; and (3) It is consistent with the standard for no-passing-zone markings approved by the American Association of State Highway Officials and is in use in more than two-thirds of the States for barrier lines."
The 1971 edition of the MUTCD mandated yellow as the standard color of all center lines on all roads and highways in all contexts, and banned the use of white. The point was to establish a consistent color code
A color code is a system for displaying information by using different colors.
The earliest examples of color codes in use are for long-distance communication by use of flags, as in semaphore communication. The United Kingdom adopted a color ...
in pavement markings: from now on, yellow would always delineate opposing traffic flows and white would always delineate traffic flowing in the same direction. The changeover to the 1971 MUTCD standards took place between 1971 and 1975, with most repainting completed by the end of 1973, so for two years drivers still had to use the old and new. One odd exception was that white was still allowed as the left edge line color on the leftmost lane (closest to the median) on divided highways. The 1973 supplement of the MUTCD fixed this by mandating yellow for left edge lines on divided highways.
The major downside to the MUTCD white-yellow system is that yellow has slightly less contrast than white, especially at night, so for maximum contrast, bright yellow—and highly toxic—lead chromate
Lead is a chemical element with the symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials. Lead is soft and malleable, and also has a relatively low melting point. When freshly cut, l ...
was used to paint yellow lines through the end of the 20th century. As a result, U.S. transportation workers must take special precautions when disturbing or removing yellow lane markings.
In 2002, the Texas A&M Transportation Institute
The Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) in Bryan/College Station, Texas is a transportation research agency in the United States. The institute was created in 1950, primarily in response to the needs of the Texas Highway Department (now th ...
researched the viability of converting from yellow to white center lines for the Transportation Research Board
The Transportation Research Board (TRB) is a division of the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, formerly the National Research Council of the United States, which serves as an independent adviser to the President of the Unite ...
. The researchers conducted a survey and discovered that 75% of American drivers associate dashed yellow center lines with dividing opposing traffic; this number rises to 85% for solid center lines. These findings implied that any conversion to white would require an enormously expensive driver education
Driver's education, driver education, driving education, driver's ed, driving tuition or driving lessons is a formal class or program that prepares a new driver to obtain a learner's permit or driver's license. The formal class program may also ...
program on top of the cost of repainting center lines, and therefore the Texas researchers advised against conversion.
In the U.S., the type, placement, and graphic standards of traffic signs
Traffic signs or road signs are signs erected at the side of or above roads to give instructions or provide information to road users. The earliest signs were simple wooden or stone milestones. Later, signs with directional arms were introduce ...
, and road surfaces are legally regulated—the Federal Highway Administration's ''Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices
The ''Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices for Streets and Highways'' (usually referred to as the ''Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices'', abbreviated MUTCD) is a document issued by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) of the Unit ...
'' is the standard, although each state produces its own manual based upon the Federal manual.
In some areas, such as Colorado
Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...
and Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
, black material is applied on the surface before a shorter white line is painted. This improves the contrast of the marking against "white" pavements, such as concrete or faded asphalt.
In California, Botts' dots
Botts' dots (turtles in Washington and Oregon or buttons in Texas and other southern states) are round non-reflective raised pavement markers. In many parts of the US, Botts' dots are used, along with reflective raised pavement markers, to ma ...
were commonly used to mark lanes on most freeways from the mid-1960s to the mid-2010s (when the state began to transition away from them and back to using painted lines to divide lanes). Many California cities also use Botts' dots on some (or all) major arterial roads. The notable exception is the city of Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
which only uses paint.
In California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
and Nevada
Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...
, Botts' dots when present ''are'' usually the lines, and no paint is used for additional markings. Exceptions include: freeways built from white concrete where painted stripes are added to make the lanes more visible through sun glare, freeways built so wide that the risk of drifting out of lane is minimal (e.g., Interstate 5
Interstate 5 (I-5) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the West Coast of the United States, running largely parallel to the Pacific coast of the contiguous U.S. from Mexico to Canada. It travels through the states of Califor ...
in the Central Valley), and freeways in areas where it snows in the winter (since the snowplows would scrape off the Botts' dots).
In general, white lines separate traffic in the same direction, single broken lines mean passing or lane changing is allowed, single solid white lines mean lane changing is discouraged or prohibited, and double solid white lines mean it is prohibited, as it often is in tunnel
A tunnel is an underground passageway, dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, and enclosed except for the entrance and exit, commonly at each end. A pipeline is not a tunnel, though some recent tunnels have used immersed tube cons ...
s. On two-lane roads, a single broken center line means that passing is allowed in either direction, a double solid center line means passing is prohibited in both directions, and the combination of a solid line with a broken line means that passing is allowed only from the side with the broken line and prohibited from the side with the solid line.[ Lanes with double broken yellow lines on each side are reversible,] and lane control signals are used to indicate which direction traffic in such lanes is supposed to travel. The solid white line on the right side is called the 'fog line' used to help cars stay in their lane during foggy conditions and help pedestrians stay off the road.
Marked crosswalks are indicated at a minimum by a pair of white lines. On major boulevards, crosswalks are further highlighted by zebra stripes, which are large white rectangles in the crosswalk perpendicular to traffic. In order to maximize the longevity of zebra crossing stripes, they are usually applied to correspond with the portions of the lane on which the wheels of a car are not usually traveling, thereby reducing wear on the markings themselves.
Pavement markings are used in addition to signs in the United States to designate regular and handicap parking spaces. Regular parking spaces are normally marked with white, although other colours are used. Handicap parking spaces are required to be located within a specified distance of an entrance. Blue markings are used to indicate the parking space is reserved for persons with a disabled parking permit
A disabled parking permit, also known as a disabled badge, disabled placard, handicapped permit, handicapped placard, handicapped tag, and "Blue Badge" in the European Union, is a permit that is displayed upon parking a vehicle. It gives the ope ...
.
Text is painted onto the pavement to reinforce roadside signs that may be obscured for various reasons or that drivers may overlook. Common examples of such legends include "STOP" (before a solid stop line and beside a stop sign
A stop sign is a traffic sign designed to notify drivers that they must come to a complete stop and make sure the intersection is safely clear of vehicles and pedestrians before continuing past the sign. In many countries, the sign is a red oc ...
) and "SCHOOL" (at the beginning of a school zone
A school zone refers to an area on a street near a school or near a crosswalk leading to a school that has a likely presence of younger pedestrians. School zones generally have a reduced speed limit during certain hours.
Fines
Fines for speedin ...
). On many California streets, the speed limit is painted onto the road surface to alert drivers to a reduced speed zone. At some complex junctions, route shield pavement markings guide drivers into the correct lane in advance of an overhead guide sign.
Pavement marking test areas exist throughout the United States on various major roads. In Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
, Interstate 95
Interstate 95 (I-95) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the East Coast of the United States, running from U.S. Route 1, US Route 1 (US 1) in Miami, Miami, Florida, to the Houlton–Woodstock Border Crossing between M ...
has two test locations located in Brevard County
Brevard County ( ) is a county located in the east central portion of the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 606,612, making it the 10th-most populated county in Florida. The official county seat is located in T ...
: northbound lanes, between mile markers 194 to 198, where the roadway is concrete; and southbound lanes between mile markers 162 to 163, where the roadway is asphalt. Interstate 4
Interstate 4 (I-4) is an Interstate Highway located entirely within the U.S. state of Florida, maintained by the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT). Spanning along a generally southwest–northeast axis, I-4 is entirely concurrent wi ...
had two testing locations in Polk County Polk County is the name of twelve counties in the United States, all except two named after president of the United States James Knox Polk:
* Polk County, Arkansas
* Polk County, Florida
* Polk County, Georgia
* Polk County, Iowa
* Polk Count ...
between mile markers 27 to 29 in both east- and westbound lanes.
Asia
Hong Kong
Road markings in Hong Kong are basically identical with the United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
, with longer dashed white lines to indicate lanes of opposing traffic, and shorter dashed white lines for lanes in the same direction. Solid double white lines are used to indicate that drivers are not permitted to change lanes. A solid white line with a broken white line indicates that crossing the line is allowed from the lane closer to the broken line. Double solid white lines are in place in all tunnels and underpasses.
As in the UK, solid yellow lines are painted along the kerbside to indicate that no parking is allowed, with double solid yellow lines meaning no parking is allowed at any time. But unlike the UK loading and unloading are also prohibited in addition to parking. (Parking itself is prohibited on any street with lamp posts with or without the yellow markings on kerbside.) Zig-zag lines are used on both ends of zebra crossings. Road studs are also used as in the UK.
Japan
In Japan, white always separates traffic in the same direction or indicates traffic in the same direction can use a buffered area that is striped in crosshatch patterns such as at right turns on two-way roads since Japan is a country that has left-side driving.
White is also used on divided expressways with a solid raised center divider. Two-lane expressways where poles are the only physical barrier between opposing directions of travel always have yellow either side of the row of poles, and white is between the yellow striping and the poles.
White is also used to denote passing allowed on other two-lane roads. Yellow indicates no passing is allowed. On all roads, yellow stripes are always solid.
On expressways where there are many sharp turns and curves, seen especially in the largest cities, a yellow line indicates no passing between lanes, as follows:
* Solid yellow beside solid white: no entry permitted from the lane the stripe is next to, but passing is permitted with caution.
* Solid yellow beside broken white: passing is permitted from the side with the broken white line, but not from the side with the yellow line.
* Solid yellow line alone: passing prohibited from either lane, used on very tight curves and in tunnels.
Other markings include in the cities, destination and exit names painted in the lanes, which is done due to the very close proximity of exits, where in many cases it would be impractical to put up many overhead signs, although these are often seen approaching exits, a curved or slanted arrow points to the side of the expressway the exit will be on. A straight arrow following characters indicates the destination of the expressway.
Where a solid white line appears between lanes, passing is generally allowed but with caution.
North Korea
Road markings in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea are rare, but if they do exist, the lines are usually painted white, as in the highway from Pyongyang to Nampo.
South Korea
In the Republic of Korea, white always separates traffic in the same direction. Solid line means "do not change lanes", and a double solid line has the meaning of further emphasis on that way. Dash lines allow changing lanes. Zigzag lanes mean deceleration.
The yellow line is the center line, which separates traffic in the opposite direction. Solid line means "do not overtake", and double solid line has the meaning of further emphasis on that way. Dash lines allow overtaking. Some intersections have white broken lines at the center. This means it's a U-turn area; drivers can make U-turns only at this place and not make a U-turn over the yellow line.
A blue line means bus (or tram) only.
* Single line: bus-only lane at a rush hour such as 7:00-9:00 / 17:30-19:30 on weekdays
* Double line: bus-only lane at additional times such as 5:00-11:00 / 15:00-22:00 on weekdays or double line on several streets means bus-only lane all day, including weekends.
* Dash line: bus-only lane. Other cars can temporarily use bus lanes to turn right into alleys or join regular lanes. Taxis can also temporarily pass through bus-only lanes to allow passengers to get on and off.
* Solid line: bus-only lane. Other cars are never allowed to enter the bus-only lane.
A line drawn along the side of the road:
* White line: parking and stopping is allowed, but it isn't allowed on motorways and expressways.
* Yellow dash line: stopping is allowed, but no parking. However, some local governments allow parking at particular times. The time available for parking is written on a sign.
* Yellow single solid line: no parking and no stopping, however some local governments allow parking or stopping at particular times. The time available for parking or stopping is written on a sign.
* Yellow double solid line: no parking and stopping all day. These are used near an intersection, the crosswalk, or a bus station.
* Red double solid line: no parking or stopping all day because there is a fire hydrant.
* Zigzag lanes mean deceleration.
Indonesia
Road markings in Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
are almost similar to Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
's especially The Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
.
Markings are divided into four types, they are:
*Line marking, marks that are parallel to the axis of the road.
*Cross marking, mark that is crosswise to the axis of the road, such as at a stop line at a Zebra cross or at an intersection
*Chevron, sign that forms a complete line which is not included in the meaning of line marking or cross marking, to indicate an area of the road surface that is not a vehicle traffic lane.
*Symbol marking, mark that contain certain meanings to express warnings, orders and prohibitions to complement or confirm the intent conveyed by traffic signs or other traffic signs.
The colors also represent the use, they are:
*White for line
*Yellow for line (National road)
*Red for Bus-way and School zone
*Green for Bicycle
Europe
In general European countries follow the Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals
The Convention on Road Signs and Signals, commonly known as the Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals, is a multilateral treaty designed to increase road safety and aid international road traffic by standardising the signing system for roa ...
, which describes what road signs and road markings shall look like. The convention has some flexibility so road markings vary somewhat between the countries.
Most Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
an countries reserve white for routine lane markings of any kind. Yellow is used to mark forbidden parking, such as on bus stops. In most European countries, white is used to separate traffic directions, but this is not the case in Norway: the country instead has yellow markings separating traffic directions. Many countries use yellow, orange, or red to indicate when lanes are being shifted temporarily to make room for construction projects. In Croatia, in addition to serving as temporary signage, yellow lines are used permanently to distinguish lanes and turn directions dedicated to public transport.
In France on highways the outside lines are interrupted at a regular distance which allows drivers and police to check distance between moving vehicles.
In Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
, white lines are used to separate both traffic driving in the same direction and in opposite directions, while yellow lines are used to mark the shoulder of the road.
In the Netherlands
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, Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
, Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
, and the UK, so-called "naked roads" have been trialed, whereby all visible road markings, kerbs, traffic lights, and signs are removed, on urban roads. When this was tested in Seend
Seend is a village and civil parish about southeast of the market town of Melksham, Wiltshire, England. It lies about west of Devizes and northeast of the county town of Trowbridge. The parish includes the sub-village of Seend Cleeve and the ...
, a village in the UK county of Wiltshire
Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...
in 2005, the county council
A county council is the elected administrative body governing an area known as a county. This term has slightly different meanings in different countries.
Ireland
The county councils created under British rule in 1899 continue to exist in Irela ...
reported that accidents fell by a third, with motorists' speed falling by an average of 5%. It has been suggested that naked roads force drivers to make eye contact with other road users, and that it is this nonverbal communication
Nonverbal communication (NVC) is the transmission of messages or signals through a nonverbal platform such as eye contact, facial expressions, gestures, Posture (psychology), posture, and body language. It includes the use of social cues, kinesi ...
that is responsible for the reduction of accidents. Others have suggested that road markings, especially with middle marker, make the road look like a main road, triggering faster and more relaxed driving, while no marking makes the road look like a lower quality road. It is an experience from the introduction of marking, that at least on narrow roads and in curves, middle lines help make drivers stay on their side when meeting, and therefore reducing meeting accidents. Note that the 2005 experiment was on urban roads. In Sweden, local streets generally have no marking.
Netherlands
In the Netherlands all general lines are white, while yellow lines are used to mark forbidden stopping (solid yellow), forbidden parking (broken yellow) and for temporarily lining at construction projects.
Shoulder lines are generally interrupted outside built-up area to make the driver be aware the presence of crossing bicycles and pedestrians, driveways and stopping cars. Wider roads sometimes have a single, but in most cases have a double centre line. Interrupted center lines mean overtaking is allowed, a solid line means overtaking is not allowed, depending on which side of a double line is solid. Smaller roads and roads where bicycles are allowed generally do not have center lines, and many country roads have no lines at all. Sometimes there is a center line only in sharp curves.
Shoulder lines on expressways and motorways are solid to imply the general absence of crossing traffic and residential driveways, as well as the disallowance of leaving the road on places other than specified exits. Expressways always have double centre lines. Exit and acceleration lanes are separated by 'block marking'.
Furthermore, several traffic signs are painted on the road, such as speed limits and warning signs.
Norway
In Norway, yellow lines are used to separate traffic moving in opposite directions and on the left shoulders of paved roads, and white lines are used to separate traffic moving in the same direction, and on the right shoulders of paved roads. On roads narrower than , the centerline is removed, and the shoulder lines are broken. Short, broken lines means passing is allowed, long, broken lines means passing is allowed but dangerous, and a double yellow line means passing is forbidden. Roads with speed limits below that indicate that passing is allowed but dangerous have a very short yellow line instead of a long one. On motorways, the left shoulder is a yellow line, like in the US. Most other European countries use white lines for all these types of lines.
United Kingdom
In the UK, the first "white line" road markings appeared on a number of dangerous bends on the London-Folkestone road at Ashford, Kent, in 1914.
In England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
, the idea of painting a center white line was first experimented with in 1921 in Sutton Coldfield
Sutton Coldfield or the Royal Town of Sutton Coldfield, known locally as Sutton ( ), is a town and civil parish in the City of Birmingham, West Midlands, England. The town lies around 8 miles northeast of Birmingham city centre, 9 miles south ...
, Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...
. Following complaints by residents over reckless driving and several collisions, the Sutton Coldfield Corporation decided to paint the line on Maney Corner in the area of Maney
Maney is an area of Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham, England. It is situated close to the town centre of Sutton Coldfield and is also near Wylde Green and Walmley. The main thoroughfare is Birmingham Road, which runs through Maney.
Facilities
Sutt ...
.
In 1971, a correspondent for the ''Sutton Coldfield News
The ''Sutton Coldfield News'' was a newspaper serving the area of Sutton Coldfield in Birmingham, West Midlands, England covering the wards of Sutton Four Oaks, Sutton Trinity, Sutton Vesey, Sutton New Hall, Erdington and Streetly
Streetly is a ...
'' wrote an article in the newspaper recalling the event.
During World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
the Pedestrians Association lobbied
In politics, lobbying, persuasion or interest representation is the act of lawfully attempting to influence the actions, policies, or decisions of government officials, most often legislators or members of regulatory agencies. Lobbying, which ...
for the government to make it safer for pedestrians to walk during the black out. As a result, white lines were painted on the sides of the road and pedestrians were allowed to use a small torch
A torch is a stick with combustible material at one end, which is ignited and used as a light source. Torches have been used throughout history, and are still used in processions, symbolic and religious events, and in juggling entertainment. In ...
.
Following the successful "white line" experiment at Ashford, Kent in 1914, the use of painted lines on UK roads grew dramatically during the 1920s. In 1926 official guidelines were issued by the Ministry of Transport that defined where and how white lines on roads should be used. A broken white line in the direction of travel, where the gaps are longer than the painted lines, indicates the center of the road and that there are no hazards specific to the design and layout of the road, i.e. no turnings, sharp bends ahead etc. A broken white line in which the gaps are shorter than the painted lines indicates an upcoming hazard.
The Ministry of Transport experimented with double-line road markings for the first time on sections of the A20 and A3 during Easter in 1957. The markings were cautionary, and had no legal status at that time, but motorists were advised that ignoring them could weigh heavily against someone involved in an accident in their vicinity. Further, "it is in order, if safe to do so, to cross the lines only when the broken one is on your side. It is not in order to cross when the solid line is on your side or to park there." Despite the instruction about parking, it was observed that nine bus stops
A bus stop is a place where buses stop for passengers to get on and off the bus. The construction of bus stops tends to reflect the level of usage, where stops at busy locations may have shelters, seating, and possibly electronic passenger ...
were located inside prohibited parking areas.
A double solid white line indicates that the line may not be crossed, overtaking is permitted if it can be performed safely without crossing the line. Solid lines can be crossed in certain specific conditions (entering premises, overtaking a stationary vehicle, overtaking a vehicle, pedal cycle or horse travelling at less than 10 mph, or when directed to do so by a police officer). A solid white line with a broken white line parallel to it indicates that crossing the line is allowed for traffic in one direction (the side closest to the broken line) and not the other.
Solid white lines are also used to mark the outer edges of a road.
A double yellow line (commonly known as just a "Double Yellow") next to the curb means that no parking is allowed at any time, whilst a single yellow line is used in conjunction with signs to denote that parking is restricted at certain times. Double and single red lines mean that stopping is not allowed at any time or between certain times respectively.
On many roads in the UK, retro-reflective road studs, including those known as "cat's eyes
Cat's Eyes are an alternative pop duo formed in early 2011 by vocalist Faris Badwan (known for his work with English indie rock band the Horrors) and Italian-Canadian soprano, composer and multi-instrumentalist Rachel Zeffira.
History
The band ...
" when referring to the Halifax type road stud, are placed in the road. These devices reflect the light from a car's headlights back towards the driver in order to highlight features of the road in poor visibility or at night. The color of road studs differs according to their location. Those defining the division between lanes are white, red road studs are placed along the hard shoulder of motorways, dual carriageways and other roads to mark the left-hand edge of a running lane; and orange road studs are placed along the edge of the central reservation
The median strip, central reservation, roadway median, or traffic median is the reserved area that separates opposing lanes of traffic on divided roadways such as divided highways, dual carriageways, freeways, and motorways. The term also a ...
. Green road studs denote slip roads at grade-separated junctions and also road-side lay-bys.
Comprehensive information about highway markings in the UK can be found in the Highway Code
''The Highway Code'' is a set of information, advice, guides and mandatory rules for road users in the United Kingdom. Its objective is to promote road safety. The ''Highway Code'' applies to all road users including pedestrians, horse riders ...
and on th
gov.uk website
Russia
In Russia, yellow lines may be used instead of white lines to separate oncoming traffic flows. They were authorized only recently, in 2018, and were first painted on a short stretch of federal highway A138 in Murmansk Oblast. Broken yellow lines at the edge of the road mean that you cannot park, but can stop for up to 5 minutes, or more if that is needed to load and unload people or cargo. A solid yellow line on the edge of the road denotes that stopping is prohibited.
During road works, temporary orange lines are often provided. These have priority over permanent markings.
Oceania
Australia
In Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
, road markings are typically in line with Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
and Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
. White lines are generally used both to separate traffic flowing in the same direction and traffic flowing in opposite directions. Double solid white centre lines may not be crossed under any circumstances unless avoiding an obstruction except in New South Wales where double lines may cross to enter or leave the roadway. Dashed lines may be crossed for overtaking, changing lanes or turning, and also in the case of double-line markings provided the dashed line is on your side of the markings. For this reason, dashed lines are usually used to mark multiple lanes travelling in one direction. Single yellow lines along road edges are used nationally to indicate "No Standing" areas not otherwise marked by signs. Solid white lines are also used to indicate kerbside parking, pedestrian and bicycle lanes, and other kerbside features. In cities with tramway networks, double yellow lines separate the tramway from the road. Yellow line markings are also used in areas that receive regular annual snowfall to provide contrast. Double-line markings are used to separate traffic flowing in opposite directions on busy roads.
Solid white lines are used to mark an intersection that a driver must stop at before entering whilst obeying all right-of-way laws. Dashed white lines are used to mark an intersection at which a driver must give way
In road transport, a yield or give way sign indicates that merging drivers must prepare to stop if necessary to let a driver on another approach proceed. A driver who stops or slows down to let another vehicle through has yielded the right of ...
. Dashed white lines are also commonly used to indicate turns in intersections and to indicate intersections where a diamond turn is possible (intersections in which two cars travelling in opposite directions turn to the same direction of travel as each other without coming into contact).
Materials used are waterborne paint, thermoplastics, and cold-applied plastic (PMMA), all with glass beads. Bead is generally 1mm for longitudinal marking. Currently moving to performance-specified contracts with the primary performance indicator being retro-reflectivity measured with geometry instruments. Intervention levels vary generally from 100 to 150 mcd/lux/m2 (from 0.029 to 0.044 foot-lamberts).
File:Yellow Lines used to contrast snow.png, In areas with high levels of snow, such as Snowy Mountains NSW (where this picture was taken), yellow lines are used to contrast the white snow. The markers on the side of the road are also taller than other markers in NSW and pink, in order to increase visibility in snowy weather.
File:Where white meets yellow.png, The bridge over the Thredbo River, one of the points in which the white lines become yellow as the number of snowfall increases
New Zealand
Although New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
follows the convention of a solid yellow line to indicate no passing on roads with two-way traffic, it uses dashed white lines with a gap to indicate when passing against opposing traffic is allowed on two-lane roads ''and'' shorter ones to separate lanes going in the same direction. The New Zealand convention followed the USA MUTCD convention common between 1961 and the early 1970s.
New Zealand road markings are governed/standardized by Part 2 of the Manual Of Traffic Signs And Markings (MOTSAM)[Manual of traffic signs and markings (MOTSAM) - Part 2: markings - Waka Kotahi NZTA, Published August 2010 https://www.nzta.govt.nz/resources/motsam/part-2/]
See also
* Paint
Paint is any pigmented liquid, liquefiable, or solid mastic composition that, after application to a substrate in a thin layer, converts to a solid film. It is most commonly used to protect, color, or provide texture. Paint can be made in many ...
(road marking paint)
* Pedestrian crossing
A pedestrian crossing (or crosswalk in American English) is a place designated for pedestrians to cross a road, street or avenue. The term "pedestrian crossing" is also used in the Vienna and Geneva Conventions, both of which pertain to road sig ...
* Thermoplastic road marking paint
* Traffic lane
In road transport, a lane is part of a roadway that is designated to be used by a single line of vehicles to control and guide drivers and reduce traffic conflicts. Most public roads (highways) have at least two lanes, one for traffic in each ...
* Yellow line (road marking)
Yellow lines are road markings used in various territories.
Single yellow lines Parking restrictions
UK & Ireland
A single yellow line is a road marking that is present on the side of the carriageway across the British Isles.
In the Unite ...
* Zebra crossing
A zebra crossing (British English) or a marked crosswalk (American English) is a pedestrian crossing marked with white stripes (zebra markings). Normally, pedestrians are afforded precedence over vehicular traffic, although the significance of ...
References
External links
U.S. Federal Highway Administration—Learn About Pavement Markings
{{DEFAULTSORT:Road Surface Marking
Road surface markings
Traffic signs