I have seen a new road marking, at least new to me.
An S-bend on a single carriageway A road has just aquired a continuous red line down the centre, stretching a distance of about 200 yards. The line is about a foot wide. What does it mean? Does being continuous mean one mustn't cross it? Or is it just cautionary?
Previously there was only a dotted white line.
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Its not in the online highway code under "road markings". I have seen road centre hatched areas with a red background, maybe the white border and diagonals have yet to be added. Thats not in the h/c either though.
Edited by Old Navy on 05/07/2008 at 19:08
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a quick look at 'Know your traffic signs' (DOT publication) shows no ref that I can see to the markings you mention. They are almost certainly there as a lane separation device to discourage 'cutting the corner' and risking accident
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Has it been specially developed to mean no overtaking - except for white Sprinter vans?
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The fact that you've posted it means that you've thought about it.
Cliff, do you know this road? Is it a blackspot for accidents?
And I'm sure that you have worked out that it probably means 'overtaking here is a stupid thing to do'. And hopefully other people will also think the same way.
Maybe this is an example of the powers-that-be in the neighbourhood doing something logical, as opposed to the jobsworth 'I'll have to look in the regulations and fill in a squillion forms for this, guvnor (and covering my own ass at the same time)' and doing everything by the book attitude which seem so prevalant in these modern times.
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I can sort of see the logic - the double S bend could be a hazard if taken carelessly, but with care can be taken in a single wide sweep if there is no opposite trafic. But the red is not as noticeable as was the white, certainly not at night, and there are no cats' eyes.
Double continuous white lines would be the obvious way of stopping people cutting across.
I can't see that there is much space for any hatching to be added - it's not a wide strip of red tarmac indicating a nomansland, but a a sprayed-on band, as I say only a foot wide.
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You'd have to see the place to have the faintest idea what the painters had in mind. Even then it might not make much sense.
Is it that rough-surfaced red stuff, like very coarse masonry paint or an increasing number of bus lanes in and around London? If so it may be there to make people spin when they brake heavily with two wheels on it.
Edited by Lud on 05/07/2008 at 22:57
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maybe its to benefit the two wheel brigade, extra grip and all that?
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It is not just red tarmac, but some kind of thick paint applied apparently just like the white variety in lines, but with the width control turned up to maximum. It has obliterated the previous normal white line markings.
The conclusion so far seems to be that this is not widespread - no one else has seen such markings, and it is not mentioned in the Highway Code. Maybe it's just locals with a pot of red paint at dead of night.
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That?s quite strange; surely there are sufficient road markings in the 2007 Highway Code to cover all eventualities.
Your 'dead of night' theory may well be correct.
Clk Sec
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Experimental ?
LA Traffic Management Dept may advise?
dvd
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It's all a plot. The wide band of slippery paint will catch out all the "Born-again bikers" and then the resulting accident figures will justify a nice little earner from another unnecessary speed camera.
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Came across something similar on the A428 near Long Buckby last w/e. As I was on bike had chance to look closely. Seemed to be high grip or more likley high noise so as to have a rumble strip type function. Contained diamond shaped cats eyes in middle of red strip but no obvious centre line, broken or otherwise. Judging by its state it had been there for some time.
TdeF coverage from chopper shows something similar in France, mostly in urban calmed traffic type situations though, whereas the English example above was rural A road.
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