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A single-track road or one-lane road is a
road A road is a linear way for the conveyance of traffic that mostly has an improved surface for use by vehicles (motorized and non-motorized) and pedestrians. Unlike streets, the main function of roads is transportation. There are many types of ...
that permits two-way travel but is not wide enough in most places to allow
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
pass Pass, PASS, The Pass or Passed may refer to: Places * Pass, County Meath, a townland in Ireland * Pass, Poland, a village in Poland * Pass, an alternate term for a number of straits: see List of straits * Mountain pass, a lower place in a moun ...
one another (although sometimes two
compact car Compact car is a vehicle size class — predominantly used in North America — that sits between subcompact cars and mid-size cars. "Small family car" is a British term and a part of the C-segment in the European car classification. However, p ...
s can pass). This kind of road is common in
rural In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry typically are describ ...
areas across 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. To accommodate two-way
traffic Traffic comprises pedestrians, vehicles, ridden or herded animals, trains, and other conveyances that use public ways (roads) for travel and transportation. Traffic laws govern and regulate traffic, while rules of the road include traffic ...
, many single-track roads, especially those officially designated as such, are provided with passing places (United Kingdom) or pullouts or turnouts (United States), or simply wide spots in the road, which may be scarcely longer than a typical
car A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people instead of goods. The year 1886 is regarded as ...
using the road. The distance between passing places varies considerably, depending on the
terrain Terrain or relief (also topographical relief) involves the vertical and horizontal dimensions of land surface. The term bathymetry is used to describe underwater relief, while hypsometry studies terrain relative to sea level. The Latin word ...
and the volume of traffic on the road. The railway equivalent for passing places are
passing loop A passing loop (UK usage) or passing siding (North America) (also called a crossing loop, crossing place, refuge loop or, colloquially, a hole) is a place on a single line railway or tramway, often located at or near a station, where trains or ...
s.


In Scotland

The term is widely used in
Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
, particularly the
Highlands Highland is a broad term for areas of higher elevation, such as a mountain range or mountainous plateau. Highland, Highlands, or The Highlands, may also refer to: Places Albania * Dukagjin Highlands Armenia * Armenian Highlands Australia *Sou ...
, to describe such roads. Passing places are generally marked with a diamond-shaped white sign with the words "passing place" on it. New signs tend to be square rather than diamond-shaped, as diamond signs are also used for instructions to
tram A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport are ...
drivers in cities. On some roads, especially in
Argyll and Bute Argyll and Bute ( sco, Argyll an Buit; gd, Earra-Ghàidheal agus Bòd, ) is one of 32 unitary authority council areas in Scotland and a lieutenancy area. The current lord-lieutenant for Argyll and Bute is Jane Margaret MacLeod (14 July 2020) ...
, passing places are marked with black-and-white-striped posts. Signs remind drivers of slower vehicles to pull over into a passing place (or opposite it, if it is on the opposite side of the road) to let following vehicles pass, and most drivers oblige. The same system is found very occasionally in rural
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 ...
and
Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...
, as well as
Sai Kung District Sai Kung District is one of the 18 districts of Hong Kong, a special administrative region of China. The district comprises the southern half of the Sai Kung Peninsula, the Clear Water Bay Peninsula in the New Territories and a strip of lan ...
in the
New Territories The New Territories is one of the three main regions of Hong Kong, alongside Hong Kong Island and the Kowloon Peninsula. It makes up 86.2% of Hong Kong's territory, and contains around half of the population of Hong Kong. Historically, it ...
. Sometimes two small vehicles can pass one another at a place other than a designated passing place. Some A-class and B-class roads in the Highlands are still single-track, although many sections have been widened for the sake of faster travel. In 2009, the A830 "Road to the Isles" and A851 on the
Isle of Skye The Isle of Skye, or simply Skye (; gd, An t-Eilean Sgitheanach or ; sco, Isle o Skye), is the largest and northernmost of the major islands in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. The island's peninsulas radiate from a mountainous hub dominated ...
have had their single-track sections replaced with higher-quality single-carriageway road.


In mountains

In remote
backcountry In the United States, a backcountry or backwater is a geographical area that is remote, undeveloped, isolated, or difficult to access. Terminology Backcountry and wilderness within United States national parks The National Park Service (NPS) ...
areas around the world, particularly in mountains, many roads are single-track and unmarked. These include many
U.S. Forest Service The United States Forest Service (USFS) is an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture that administers the nation's 154 national forests and 20 national grasslands. The Forest Service manages of land. Major divisions of the agency in ...
and
logging road A gravel road is a type of unpaved road surfaced with gravel that has been brought to the site from a quarry or stream bed. They are common in less-developed nations, and also in the rural areas of developed nations such as Canada and the Unite ...
s 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 ...
. In
Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...
, the second of two overland transportation routes between
Cuzco Cusco, often spelled Cuzco (; qu, Qusqu ()), is a city in Southeastern Peru near the Urubamba Valley of the Andes mountain range. It is the capital of the Cusco Region and of the Cusco Province. The city is the seventh most populous in Peru; ...
and
Madre de Dios Region Madre de Dios (, en, Mother of God) is a department and region in southeastern Peru, bordering Brazil, Bolivia and the Peruvian departments of Puno, Cusco and Ucayali, in the Amazon Basin. Its capital is the city of Puerto Maldonado. It is als ...
, a 300 km heavy-truck route, is a single-track road of gravel and dirt. When practical, it is usually considered better for the vehicle going downhill to yield the right of way by stopping at a wide spot. The reason seems to be that it may be harder for the vehicle going up to get started again. At least in California, it is also the vehicle going downhill that must back up, if it is too late to stop at a wide spot.


Types


Chicanes

Chicane A chicane () is a serpentine curve in a road, added by design rather than dictated by geography. Chicanes add extra turns and are used both in motor racing and on roads and streets to slow traffic for safety. For example, one form of chicane is ...
s are often placed on
residential A residential area is a land used in which housing predominates, as opposed to industrial and commercial areas. Housing may vary significantly between, and through, residential areas. These include single-family housing, multi-family residen ...
streets as a more aesthetic means to slow down cars.


One-lane passages

Sometimes, for budget reasons, and where traffic is fairly low,
bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...
s exist as single-track corridors. Tunnels in remote areas can also be one lane when the tunnel is short and traffic is low, when building a hill or blasting away the mountain is too cost-prohibitive.


One-way single-track roads

Single-track roads also exist as one-way stretches. Exit and entrance ramps for
freeway A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway and expressway. Other similar terms ...
s and
motorway A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway and expressway. Other similar terms i ...
s are among common examples of one-way single-track roads.


Private single-track roads

The most common example of private single-track roads are long
driveway A driveway (also called ''drive'' in UK English) is a type of private road for local access to one or a small group of structures, and is owned and maintained by an individual or group. Driveways rarely have traffic lights, but some that bear ...
s of rural properties such as
country house An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a town house. This allowed them to spend time in the country and in the city—hence, for these peopl ...
s and
farm A farm (also called an agricultural holding) is an area of land that is devoted primarily to agricultural processes with the primary objective of producing food and other crops; it is the basic facility in food production. The name is used fo ...
property.


Ice roads

The mountain passes on the
Dalton Highway The James W. Dalton Highway, usually referred to as the Dalton Highway (and signed as Alaska Route 11), is a road in Alaska. It begins at the Elliott Highway, north of Fairbanks, and ends at Deadhorse (an unincorporated community within the ...
in
Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...
have a rule where goods-carrying northbound
truck A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle designed to transport cargo, carry specialized payloads, or perform other utilitarian work. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, but the vast majority feature body-on-frame construction ...
traffic has the right of way, while returning southbound traffic has to stop, as mentioned on ''
Ice Road Truckers ''Ice Road Truckers'' (commercially abbreviated ''IRT'') is a reality television series that premiered on History Channel, on June 17, 2007. It features the activities of drivers who operate trucks on seasonal routes crossing frozen lakes and ...
''. The reason behind this procedure is that traffic going north is in somewhat of a hurry to deliver equipment to
Deadhorse Deadhorse is an unincorporated area, unincorporated community located within the Census-designated place, CDP of Prudhoe Bay in North Slope Borough, Alaska, North Slope Borough, Alaska, United States, along the Alaska North Slope, North Slope nea ...
,
Prudhoe Bay Prudhoe Bay is a census-designated place (CDP) located in North Slope Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. As of the 2010 census, the population of the CDP was 2,174 people, up from just five residents in the 2000 census; however, at any give ...
, and the drill site over the frozen
Arctic Ocean The Arctic Ocean is the smallest and shallowest of the world's five major oceans. It spans an area of approximately and is known as the coldest of all the oceans. The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) recognizes it as an ocean, a ...
.


Temporary one-lane restrictions

When reconstruction is being done on two-lane highways where traffic is moderately heavy, a worker will often stand at each end of the construction zone, holding a sign with "SLOW" or "GO" written on one side and "STOP" on the reverse. The workers, who communicate through yelling, hand gestures, or radio, will periodically reverse their signs to allow time for traffic to flow in each direction. A modification of this for roadways that have heavier traffic volumes is to maintain one direction on the existing roadway, and detour the other, thus not requiring the use of flaggers. An example of this is the M-89 reconstruction project in Plainwell, MI, where westbound traffic is detoured via county roads around town.http://www.plainwell.org/projects/index.php


User etiquette

If lines of sight are long, and both drivers are familiar with the road, vehicles heading towards each other can adjust their speed so as to arrive at a wide spot at the same time and pass slowly, avoiding the need for either vehicle to stop. When two vehicles meet head-on, generally the drivers confer to decide in which direction lies the closest wide spot, and together they travel there, the lead vehicle necessarily in reverse gear. In Scotland, and places like the
Isle of Man ) , anthem = "O Land of Our Birth" , image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg , image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg , mapsize = , map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe , map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green) in Europe ...
most drivers are accustomed to single-track roads. When opposing traffic is encountered, the first driver to reach the nearest passing place pulls over, no matter which side, and flashes the headlights to signal the other car to proceed forward. It is customary for both drivers to then acknowledge each other with a wave as they pass. At night, both drivers acknowledge each other by flashing their off-side direction indicators headlights immediately before or as they pass. It is extremely dangerous to flash headlights at close proximity on narrow unlit country roads at night as this affects drivers' night vision. Usually when there is a brief one-lane bottleneck of a two-lane road, traffic will usually yield to oncoming traffic already in the bottleneck. One-lane single-track roads usually have no conflict. In the United States, if the situation permits, both vehicles will pull off the road slightly and pass in this manner. Although saving time, this process can cause ruts and
erosion Erosion is the action of surface processes (such as water flow or wind) that removes soil, rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust, and then transports it to another location where it is deposited. Erosion is distin ...
along the edge of the road. For this reason, single track roads are generally used in places with very low traffic volumes, though one-lane stop-gap measures will have a STOP and YIELD on a sign construction workers flip. If there are no passing places or wide parts of the road then the start of the road is considered as the passing place.


See also

*
Country lane A country lane is a narrow road in the countryside. In North America and Australia, the term "lane" also may refer to rear access roads which act as a secondary vehicular network in cities and towns. Some towns and cities in the United Kingdom, ...
*
Trail A trail, also known as a path or track, is an unpaved lane or small road usually passing through a natural area. In the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, a path or footpath is the preferred term for a pedestrian or hiking trail. Th ...
*
Single track (rail) A single-track railway is a railway where trains traveling in both directions share the same track. Single track is usually found on lesser-used rail lines, often branch lines, where the level of traffic is not high enough to justify the co ...
*
Sunken lane A sunken lane (also hollow way or holloway) is a road or track that is significantly lower than the land on either side, not formed by the (recent) engineering of a road cutting but possibly of much greater age. Various mechanisms have been pro ...
*
Reversible lane A reversible lane (British English: tidal flow) is a lane in which traffic may travel in either direction, depending on certain conditions. Typically, it is meant to improve traffic flow during rush hours, by having overhead traffic lights and li ...


References


External links


Guide to single track roads in Scotland
{{DEFAULTSORT:Single-Track Road Types of roads Roads in Scotland