A new type of road marking is arriving on European roads with the aim of improving the safety of motorists.
All countries in the world are seeking to improve road safety. In 2023, nearly 3,400 people will lose their lives on the roads of France. A figure that has been falling for several years but which nevertheless remains too high. To reduce the number of serious accidents, mainly caused by speed, the authorities are testing new devices. Often on a few routes before duplicating them, in the event of convincing results, on a larger scale.
You may have noticed some new developments in road markings in recent years. We recently mentioned the appearance in certain European countries of “dragon’s teeth” whose aim was, through a simple marking, to give drivers the impression that the road was narrowing to force them to reduce their speed in urban areas. The first pilot test took place in Spain. It is also on the other side of the Pyrenees that a new road marking has recently been tested which is likely to disturb motorists who discover it.
On most roads, no matter which continent you are driving on, the lane lines are white, like in France, or yellow, like in the United States. In Spain, a new color has appeared. In Andalusia, in the south of the Iberian Peninsula, drivers can now see red lines. This is the case if you are traveling on the A-355 towards Malaga where a large red stripe has been painted in the middle of the road for a distance of 4 kilometers. But for what reason?
This thick red line is used to mark the separation between two lanes of traffic at a place where overtaking is prohibited, like solid white lines. But the brighter appearance of red should help attract the driver’s attention and encourage them not to overtake or even reduce their speed in a dangerous area (bends, winding roads, lack of visibility, etc.). This test initiated by the Andalusian government could well be emulated in Spain’s neighboring countries if the results show a drop in unauthorized overtaking.
As a reminder, beyond the extreme dangerousness of such a maneuver, overtaking on a continuous line costs 135 euros and a deduction of three points on the driving license in France. This offense is punished even more severely in Spain: the offender receives a fine of 200 euros and risks the suspension of his driving license for a period of one to three months.