Road markings

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Fri 6 Dec 2019 16:34
Road markings - John F

Is it my deteriorating vision or are white lines neglected these days? Yesterday afternoon in the dark I drove the length of a busy A road (the A1120 which links the A12 with the A14. It resembled a muddy farm track with nothing to show where the brown/black road ended and the similar hued soggy verge began. Don't they bother with white lines along the edge any more? The ones in the centre were barely visible, although there were quaint lumpy 'cat's eyes' - which must be more expensive (and certainly more uncomfortable) than the reflective paint used in most advanced countries.

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Fri 6 Dec 2019 16:59
Road markings - Bromptonaut

Is it my deteriorating vision or are white lines neglected these days? Yesterday afternoon in the dark I drove the length of a busy A road (the A1120 which links the A12 with the A14. It resembled a muddy farm track with nothing to show where the brown/black road ended and the similar hued soggy verge began. Don't they bother with white lines along the edge any more? The ones in the centre were barely visible, although there were quaint lumpy 'cat's eyes' - which must be more expensive (and certainly more uncomfortable) than the reflective paint used in most advanced countries.

They're certainly neglected in places. There's a Bus Lane on my route to work the markings for which are invisible when dark/wet.

OTOH edge markings are prone to get covered with mud etc in some combinations of rain, run off from fields or where salt/grit piles up at edge of road.

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Fri 6 Dec 2019 17:32
Road markings - Engineer Andy

No, you're not going insane or blind - I see the same. Notice also how roads in the vicinity of your local councillor's home get better surfacing etc and more often? A perk of the job?

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Fri 6 Dec 2019 21:23
Road markings - alan1302

No, you're not going insane or blind - I see the same. Notice also how roads in the vicinity of your local councillor's home get better surfacing etc and more often? A perk of the job?

We used to live in the same street as the local Councillor and had a load of pot holes.

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Fri 6 Dec 2019 22:54
Road markings - Engineer Andy

Maybe it depends on whether they are in power or not.

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Fri 6 Dec 2019 21:24
Road markings - SLO76
Got to agree. I drive for a living and on some roads the lines are almost invisible.
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Fri 6 Dec 2019 23:02
Road markings - daveyjp

Rather than moan here email the Council. They all have a highways defect reporting system.

Worst for no road markings are speed cushions and tables. Driving along at 30 and hitting an unmarked speed table with a steep edge can wreck steering.

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Sat 7 Dec 2019 07:04
Road markings - Energyman
Just have to point out that they weren’t Cats eyes you saw in Suffolk, but Road Studs! Suffolk ordered the name change so as to not upset tourists..... but quite happy to leave the rest of us asking what road studs are....
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Sat 7 Dec 2019 21:55
Road markings - barney100

Moan to the council? Come to sunny Basingstoke and try a moan or several as I have. Prize one was getting a local politician to promise to remove road humps if they got in power, they got in power, he got to be Mayor. We still have humps despite several reminders. County council said the humps were too expensive to remove. The road was resurfaced and the humps went....for a week... then back they came. As for road markings they'd need more white paint than Dulux to make many of our markings visible.

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Sat 7 Dec 2019 23:08
Road markings - Andrew-T
I drive for a living and on some roads the lines are almost invisible.

I think it is largely neglect to save money, but also steady erosion by heavy traffic. Newly resurfaced stretches usually have conspicuous white lining (after a few weeks).

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Sun 8 Dec 2019 16:23
Road markings - Terry W

Local authorities have had significant cuts to funding over the last 10 years - depending on what evidence you look at the impact on services ranges from "difficult" to "dire" consequences.

LAs have some services defined by law - care, elderly etc - so anything not legally essential will feel the stress of the cuts in funding - eg: road markings probably don't make it far up the priority list - pot holes, verge cutting etc are in the same boat. .

This will change only if safety is compromised combined with a greater awareness of costs incurred in legal and compensation that may need to be paid.

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