In order to pass the driving test and become a safe driver we must understand and obey
any road markings we come across - but this can be a challenge for a new driver. We might
see white lines across the road, and other lines along the road. Some are dashed, some
are solid, and some are even yellow or red! In this video we will explain some of the
more common road markings, and show how they help us to drive safely. As always, if you
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Road markings are there to control the position and direction of traffic and pedestrians,
and are necessary to ensure everyones safety. Imagine the chaos if there were no lines at
a busy junction in a town centre - no-one would know where to steer or when to go, which
would probably result in confusion and danger. There are too many different types of road
markings for us to cover them all in this video, so if you are learning to drive it
is essential that you take the time to read the Highway Code, where there is a complete
list for you to revise.
Let’s start by looking at the lines that cross the road.
One of the most common road markings is the Give Way line. Whenever we find double broken
white lines crossing our path, this shows that traffic on the road we want to enter
has priority. We must wait at the line until we can enter the main road without forcing
other drivers to take action to avoid us. Sometimes we will be able to see it’s safe
to continue and keep rolling at the junction, but when we have poor visibility or there
is lots of traffic we will often need to stop before continuing. A single broken line is
normally found at the entrance to a roundabout, and shows that we must give way to traffic
to our right.
When we see a single continuous line across our half of the road, we must stop completely
before continuing. Stop lines are only used at junctions where there is very poor visibility
and a high risk of danger, so it is important to heed their warning and take our time when
checking it is safe to enter the main road. If the solid line is at a set of traffic lights,
then it shows where to wait if the lights are red - otherwise we can continue if the
lights are green.
Next, let’s look at lines that run along the road.
Most roads have white lines marking the centre of the road. There are several types of these,
and the most important are double white lines as they are used in hazardous areas and indicate
who can cross the centre of the road. When the line nearest to us is continuous we must
not cross it, unless the road is clear and we need to turn into a side road, or pass
an obstruction in our lane. Where the line nearest to us is broken, then we may cross
the line to overtake when safe to do so. In dangerous areas we may even see hatch markings
with diagonal stripes in the centre of the road to further separate the streams of traffic.
A single broken white line marks the centre of the road. If this line lengthens and the
gaps shorten, it means that there is a hazard ahead, and we should not cross the line unless
we can see the road is clear.
Lines along the edge of the road indicate that there are restrictions in where we can
stop our car. A solid white line marks the edge of the road, and is often used on Clearways,
which are major roads where we are not allowed to stop our car for any reason. Double yellow
lines indicate areas where we cannot stop at any time, such as outside a school. Finally,
single yellow lines are used in areas that we can only stop at certain times of the day,
which will be marked on a small sign.
Right turn boxes normally have a hatched area, then an empty box for us to use when turning
right across oncoming traffic. The benefit of these is that it gives us a safe place
to stop while we wait for oncoming traffic to pass. If we can see that it’s safe, we
can cross a broken line into the hatched area if it helps us clear the path of traffic following
us. However, if the line separating us from the hatched area is continuous we must wait
for the line to end before steering into the right turn box, as we are must not cross a
solid white line except in an emergency.
Yellow criss-cross lines mark a box junction. Their purpose is to keep the junction clear
by preventing traffic from stopping in the path of crossing traffic. We must only enter
a box junction if our exit is clear and we can cross the painted area without stopping.
The only exception to this is when we want to turn right and we are only prevented from
doing so by oncoming traffic.
We must not drive in a bus or cycle lane marked with a solid white line, unless there is a
sign showing that it is only operational for part of the day. If a cycle lane is marked
with a broken line, we are allowed to drive in the lane if needed - although we must check
for cyclists first of course. Parking in these lanes is also something we should never do,
as it will make it very dangerous for anyone using the lane - as they will be forced to
merge with faster traffic to get past our car.
We should be aware of any words painted on the road, as they are there to help us stay
safe. At large junctions there are destination markings or road numbers to help us get into
the correct lane, in other places we may see STOP, SLOW, or even parking restrictions.
In this case we can see ‘KEEP CLEAR’ written on the road, which is a good reminder to be
considerate to other drivers that need to enter or exit the side road or petrol station.
There are many other road markings that you will see, such as lane arrows, loading, parking
and waiting restrictions, and even Red Routes in London. You can fail a Driving Test or
be fined for disobeying road markings, even if it was just an accident. So, if you see
anything that you don’t recognise or understand then we recommend that you read the Highway
Code and refresh your knowledge.
So, remember to; Scan the road ahead for any markings
Give way or stop when lines cross our path Only cross the centre of the road when allowed
Ensure we park our car somewhere legal
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