What are these stakes with little yellow hats on top placed along the roads for?
It doesn’t look like the road signs you usually see on the side of the road. They are not round, square, triangular or diamond shaped. They are not white, nor red or blue. However, you can sometimes come across them in your car, both in the city and in the countryside. Perhaps you have already seen a metal stake topped with a small yellow roof on which is written a number in black. And like many, you have driven past it without knowing what it meant.
If you have looked in the Highway Code, it is possible that the answer still eludes you. And for good reason, this installation has nothing to do with road safety, or only indirectly. It is a beacon that is used to signal the presence of a natural gas transport pipeline. It is possible to come across the same beacon but with a small red roof, this time it will not be a conduit used to transport gas but liquid, such as oil or fuel for example.
The number indicated on the triangle allows for the establishment of a map of the underground pipeline network, not to be confused for example with any kilometer marker. These markers are particularly useful during work, they will allow workers to be alerted to the presence of buried networks. They therefore ensure the safety of the people carrying out the work and, by extension, that of local residents or even the protection of the environment.
These stakes topped with a small yellow or red hat are not only found along roads. Many gas pipes cross the subsoil of farms in France. In this case, it is not uncommon to see stakes blooming in the middle of fields. But the next time you pass one of these stakes planted on the side of the road, they will normally no longer hold any secrets for you. And you will no longer have any reason to be afraid of committing a traffic violation for an unknown reason.