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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
As a general rule, the more paint, the more important the message.
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.
A single continuous line across your half of the road shows where you MUST stop
Double white lines have rules for
When the line nearest you is continuous, you MUST NOT cross or straddle it except when the road is clear and you want to
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.
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.
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
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.
Short broken white lines are used on wide carriageways to divide them into lanes. You should keep between them unless you’re
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.
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.
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.
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.
These may be used with white lines.
At roadworks, fluorescent green/yellow studs may be used to help identify the lanes in operation.
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 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.
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.
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.
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
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
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 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.