Road markings

Markings on the road give information, orders or warnings. They can be used either with signs on posts or on their own.

Their advantages are

• they can often be seen when other signs are hidden by traffic
• they can give a continuing message as you drive along the road.

As a general rule, the more paint, the more important the message.

Lines across the road

‘Give way’ lines

Double broken white lines across your half of the road show that traffic on the road you want to enter has priority. The lines show where you should stop, if necessary, to take your final look. These may also be found on a roundabout where traffic on the roundabout is required to give way to those joining.

A single broken line is normally found at the entrance to a roundabout. This tells you that traffic coming from your immediate right has priority and you MUST give way.

Single ‘stop’ lines

A single continuous line across your half of the road shows where you MUST stop

• at junctions with ‘stop’ signs
• at junctions controlled by traffic lights • at level crossings and emergency vehicle access points • at swing bridges or ferries.

Lines along the road

Double white lines

Double white lines have rules for

• overtaking
• parking.

Overtaking

When the line nearest you is continuous, you MUST NOT cross or straddle it except when the road is clear and you want to

• enter or leave a side road or entrance on the opposite side of the road
• pass a stationary vehicle
• overtake a pedal cycle, horse or road maintenance vehicle, if they’re travelling at 10 mph (16 km/h) or less.

If there isn’t room to leave enough space when passing, you should wait for a safe opportunity. Don’t try to squeeze past.

If there’s a broken white line on your side and a continuous white line on the other side, you may cross both lines to overtake, as long as it’s safe to do so. Make sure you can complete the manoeuvre before reaching a solid line on your side.

Arrows on the road indicate the direction you should pass double white lines or hatch markings. Don’t begin to overtake when you see them.

Parking

You MUST NOT stop or park on a road marked with double white lines, even if one of the lines is broken, except to pick up or drop off passengers or to load or unload goods.

Hatch markings

There are dangerous areas where it’s necessary to separate the streams of traffic completely, such as a sharp bend or hump, or where traffic turning right needs protection. These areas are painted with white chevrons or diagonal stripes and the tarmac areas between them may also be a different colour (for example, red).

In addition, remember

• where the boundary line is solid, don’t enter except in an emergency
• where the boundary line is broken, you shouldn’t drive on the markings unless you can see that it’s safe to do so.

Single broken lines

Watch out for places where the single broken line down the centre of the road gets longer. This means that there’s a hazard ahead.

Lane dividers

Short broken white lines are used on wide carriageways to divide them into lanes. You should keep between them unless you’re

• changing lanes
• overtaking
• turning right.

Lanes for specific types of vehicle

Bus and cycle lanes are shown by signs and road markings. In some one-way streets these vehicles are permitted to travel against the normal flow of traffic. These are known as contraflow lanes.

Bus lanes

Only vehicles shown on the sign may use the lane during the hours of operation, which are also shown on the sign. Outside those periods all vehicles can use the bus lane. Where there are no times shown, the bus lane is in operation for 24 hours a day. Don’t park or drive in bus lanes under any circumstances when they’re in operation.

Cycle lanes

Don’t drive or park in a cycle lane marked by a solid white line during the times of operation shown on the signs. If the cycle lane is marked by a broken line, don’t drive or park in it unless it’s unavoidable. If you park in a cycle lane at any time, you make it very dangerous for any cyclist who’s using that lane.

High-occupancy vehicle lanes

You MUST NOT drive in these lanes during their period of operation unless your vehicle contains the minimum number of people indicated on the sign.

Reflective road studs

These may be used with white lines.

• Red studs mark the left-hand side of the road.
• White studs mark the lanes or middle of the road.
• Amber studs mark the right-hand edge of the carriageway on dual carriageways and motorways.
• Green studs mark the edge of the main carriageway at lay-bys and slip roads.

At roadworks, fluorescent green/yellow studs may be used to help identify the lanes in operation.

Box junction markings

Yellow crisscross lines mark a box junction. Their purpose is to keep the junction clear by preventing traffic from stopping in the path of crossing traffic.

You MUST NOT enter a box junction unless your exit road is clear. But you can enter the box when you want to turn right and you’re only prevented from doing so by oncoming traffic.

If there’s a vehicle already on the junction waiting to turn right, you’re free to enter behind it and wait to turn right – providing that you won’t block any oncoming traffic wanting to turn right.

If there are several vehicles waiting to turn, it’s unlikely you’ll be able to proceed before the traffic signals change.

Words on the road

Words painted on the road usually have a clear meaning, such as ‘Stop’, ‘Slow’ or ‘Keep clear’.

When they show a part of the road is reserved for certain types of vehicle – for example, buses, taxis or ambulances – don’t park there.

Schools

Yellow zigzags are often marked on the road outside schools, along with the words ‘School – keep clear’. Don’t stop (even to set down or pick up children) or park there. The markings are to make sure that drivers who are passing the area and children who are crossing the road have a clear, unrestricted view of the crossing area.

Destination markings

Near a busy junction, lanes sometimes have destination markings or road numbers painted on the road.

These enable drivers to get into the correct lane early, even if advance direction road signs are obscured by large vehicles.

Lane arrows

These tell you which lane to take for the direction you want.

Where the road is wide enough, you may find one arrow pointing in each direction

• left in the left-hand lane
• straight ahead in the centre lane
• right in the right-hand lane.

Some arrows might be combined, depending on how busy the junction is. If the road is only wide enough for two lanes, arrows might have two directions combined

• straight ahead and left in the left-hand lane
• straight ahead and right in the right-hand lane.

Left- and right-turn arrows are placed well before a junction to help you get into the correct lane in good time. They don’t indicate the exact point at which you should turn. It’s especially important to remember this at right turns.

Rumble devices

Rumble devices across the road, often in the form of raised yellow lines, may be used to alert drivers and riders to a hazard ahead and to make them aware of their speed. They can be found on the approach to some roundabouts or reduced speed limits and you should reduce your speed in good time.