Road Marking Paints are a quick-drying alkyd-based coating that has a malt finish. The quick-drying nature of road Marking Paints makes it an ideal choice for using on tar, concrete and asphalt surfaces. These surfaces usually need a barrier coat of pain that won’t bleed and won’t fade out the coat of paints that were previously applied.
We often come across some Road Marking Paints drawn in particular shapes and colors. Do you know what these specific shapes and colors of lines mean? Are they just there to make our roads pretty or do they have a function?
Here are the different Road markings, colors, shapes, and their meanings,
White lines
When painted on the pavement indicate that there is traffic coming towards you.
Broken White line
Broken white lines that are drawn on the middle of the road mean you are allowed to overtake other cars or change lanes, as long as it is safe for you to do so. Before you try to change your lane always make sure to check your mirrors to check whether any vehicles are following you or near to you.
Standard or Solid White line
You are prohibited from overtaking cars or changing lanes when you see a white line drawn on the road.
Yellow lines
Yellow Road Marking Paint is usually drawn across the center of a two-way road that gets two-way traffic.
Simultaneous broken and solid yellow lines
Sometimes you might witness two simultaneous yellow lines with one solid and one broken line. Irrespective of where these lines are drawn on the road, they always mean that the drivers on the side of the broken line are allowed to overtake but the drivers on the side with the solid line are prohibited from doing so.
Solid yellow
It is important to observe where a solid yellow line is drawn. Parking is prohibited at the curbs adjacent to which a solid yellow line is drawn. In some countries, when a solid yellow line is drawn across the middle of the road It takes the same role as the solid white line prohibiting its drivers from changing lanes or overtaking any cars in front of them.
Double Yellow
Irrespective of which side of the road you are driving on, a double yellow line drawn on the middle of the road warns drivers that it is neither safe nor advisable to change lanes or to overtake on that side of the road. In some countries, you are allowed a small period of waiting time wherein passengers can board or deboard the vehicle on a curb with a double yellow line drawn next to it. Parking, however, is strictly prohibited.
Other Road marking paint colors in other countries,
While white and yellow are the two universally accepted and used Road Marking Paint colors, there are a few more colors that signify different meanings in different countries.
Solid blue line
Different countries have different meanings assigned to solid blue lines. While in New Zealand, a blue line indicates a major zone for evacuation where residents can gather to be safely evacuated from the inland during a big earthquake or a tsunami, in California on the other hand, it signifies a disabled parking place.
Solid red line
In the UK a solid red line has the same function as a solid yellow line which prohibits drivers from stopping and parking there with exceptions to taxi drivers and blue badge holders to whom these rules do not apply to.
Conclusion
Different studies conducted in the recent past have shown the redundancy of road marking leading to many countries to contemplate removing them entirely. In the future, we might not have any road markings on our roads, but until then it is wise to keep an eye on the markings and the Road Marking Colours to obey traffic rules and drive safely.