Special roadway markings are used to separate lines reserved for certain actions or vehicles from the normal lanes of traffic. Turn lanes are often added
near intersections to separate left – or right – turning traffic at an intersection. White arrows, often accompanied by the word “ONLY,” indicate that you must stay within a designated lane while turning into the cross street. Some turn lanes have multiple arrows, allowing you to turn left or right, or even go straight. To discourage drivers from changing lanes near an intersection, turn lanes are often separated from through traffic lanes by solid white lines.
On some roadways, a center turn lane between two opposing directions of traffic – also called a “two-way left-turn lane” — is designated for left turns only from either direction. This lane is marked by parallel solid and broken yellow lines, sometimes accompanied by white arrows painted on the pavement that alternately point left and right. Vehicles moving in either direction can use these lanes to make left turns into another road or driveway.
Commuter lanes are an efficient way to minimize urban traffic during rush-hour periods. Broken double-yellow lines separate dedicated reversible commuter lanes. You can cross these lines only if the overhead signal above the lane you wish to enter has a green X or if a sign permits you to do so. Temporary commuter lanes are sometimes established to create an extra lane of traffic in one direction. Orange cones or other types of dividers may be used to “borrow” a lane from one side of the road and “lend” this lane to the direction of highest traffic flow to reduce congestion.
When you encounter commuter lanes, remember that traffic will be traveling in lanes otherwise used by opposing traffic. The danger is that a driver on one side of the road may get confused or will not be paying attention and cause a deadly head-on collision. Be especially cautious just before and after the designated times when traffic is reversed.
Often called “High-occupancy vehicle” (HOV) or “diamond” lanes, carpool lanes are special lanes designed for busses, motorcycles, and vehicles carrying a minimum of two or sometimes three persons. Carpool lanes have distinctive roadway markings – usually a diamond symbol and words such as “CARPOOL:ONLY” and posted signs. They are usually found on the far-left side of the freeway and are separated from the other lanes by various combinations of white and/or yellow lines and raised roadway markers. If you are pulled over by the police for driving in a carpool lane with out having the minimum number of persons in your vehicle, you will pay a large fine.
If you are traveling in a carpool lane or next to one, be aware that HOV lanes often appear, become more than one lane, or disappear suddenly, forcing vehicles in the carpool lane to merge back into regular freeway traffic. Be careful not to stray into a carpool lane if you are not eligible to drive in one, and never cross solid white or tallow lines to enter or leave a carpool lane.
When you encounter commuter lanes, remember that traffic will be traveling in lanes otherwise used by opposing traffic. The danger is that a driver on one side of the road may get confused or will not be paying attention and cause a deadly head-on collision. Be especially cautious just before and after the designated times when traffic is reversed.
AUTO ACCESSORIES
Fog Lights
Having fog lights on your vehicle can dramatically increase your ability to see roadway markings and lanes at night or in bad weather. Because roads in areas that receive severe weather do not usually have lane dividers, fog lights can provide that extra margin of safety to keep you on the road and in your lane.
In some city areas where there is a lot of congestion and bus traffic, buses may have their own lanes. This type of lane, which often has “BUS ONLY” roadway markings and/or signs, is usually the far-right lane. In most cases, you cannot enter a bus lane unless you are making a right turn.
Many roadways have a special lane for bicycles, which is on the far-right side of a two-way roadway. These bicycle lanes are separated from the traffic lanes by a solid white line, which changes to a broken line near intersections. Vehicles are permitted to enter the bicycle lane on a two-way roadway only where the line is broken to make a right turn. Bicycle lanes sometimes have a bicycle symbol and/or the words “BIKE LANE” painted on the roadway inside the lane. Roadways with bicycle lanes may also have green BIKE ROUTE or white BIKE LANES signs posted.
Limit Lines/Stop Lines
A limit line is either a wide white or yellow stop line at an intersection, or the near of two crosswalk lines. Crosswalk markings are often connected with diagonal lines, or the crosswalk itself may appear as a series of painted bars or raised markers on the road. Sometimes words such as “STOP” or “X WALK” are also painted on the pavement. When you are required to come to a stop at an intersection by a sign or signal, your vehicle must come to a full stop behind the limit line. If there is no limit line, you must stop at a point nearest the intersecting roadway where you have a clear view of traffic.
Painted Curbs
Curbs and parking stops are painted to regulate parking. If a curb is painted any color, it means that there are special parking rules.
Although colors may vary somewhat from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, the following markings are what you would normally find in your community.
Green: Green designates a time-limited parking zone. The length of time you may park is either designated on the curb itself or on a nearby sign.
Yellow: Yellow designates a loading zone. You can stop only to unload or load. If you are driving a non commercial vehicle, you must remain in your vehicle. City ordinances normally govern the amount of time you may remain in a loading zone.
Blue: Blue designates a parking zone for the disabled. You can park at a blue curb only if you have a special license plate, decal or properly displayed sign issued by the jurisdiction in which you live. You will be issued a heavy fine and might have your car towed if you park illegally in a parking space designated for the disabled.
White: White designates areas that permit stopping for brief periods only when picking up or dropping off people or mail. You may not leave your vehicle.
Red: Red designates areas in which you cannot stop, park, load, or stand. Only buses can stop at these curbs, if the curb is marked allowing them to do so.
Raised Pavement Markers
If you are driving at night or in bad weather, it is often hard to see painted lines on the roadway. It can also be difficult to stay within lines if you are tired or otherwise impaired.
Some roads are equipped with raised buttons or square-shaped reflectors to help drivers stay within lanes. Called Botts’ dots after their inventor, Elbert Botts, they are commonly placed on or between dividing lines. They may also be used on the edge of roadways, especially those with narrow or soft shoulders or drop-offs. Botts’ dots work in two ways. First, the noise and vibration they make when your tire strikes them tells you if you are straying out of your lane or off the road. Second, they reflect the light from your headlights, allowing you to better see the driving lane.
Rumble strips are grooved or raised sections of the roadway commonly found before dangerous intersections and toll areas and alongside individual lanes or shoulders of highways and freeways. Like Botts’ dots, their noise and vibration alert you to possible dangers ahead, warn you to slow down or let you know that you are straying out of your lane or off the roadway.
Speed bumps are raised slabs of pavement usually found in parking lots, residential neighborhoods, large condominium or apartment complexes, and even on some narrow winding streets with poor visibility. Speed bumps are usually painted or striped white, yellow, or red, and they force you to reduce speed to about 5 miles per hour for safety. Some speed bumps are very high, and if you travel over them too fast you can seriously damage your vehicle.
The Rumble Strip
In 1955, engineers working on the New Jersey’s Garden State Parkway experimented with an early form of rumble strop called singing shoulders to warn dozing or distracted drivers that they were drifting off the roadway.