A new type of road marking is arriving on European roads with the aim of improving the safety of motorists.
Every country in the world is trying to improve road safety. In 2023, nearly 3,400 people lost their lives on France’s roads. 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 roads 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 some European countries of “dragon’s teeth” whose aim was, through a simple marking, to give drivers the impression that the road was narrowing in order 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 what continent you’re driving on, the lines on the ground are either 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’re driving on the A-355 towards Malaga, where a wide red stripe has been painted right down the middle of the road for a distance of 4 kilometers. But why?
This thick red line is used to mark the separation between two traffic lanes in a place where overtaking is prohibited, like the solid white lines. But the brighter aspect of the red should help to attract more attention from the driver and encourage them not to overtake or even to 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 decrease in unauthorized overtaking.
As a reminder, beyond the extreme danger of such a maneuver, overtaking on a continuous line costs 135 euros and a loss of three points on the driving license in France. This offense is even more severely reprimanded 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.