United States Road surface marking

dead man s curve along marquette–negaunee road in marquette county, michigan, shown in 1917 hand-painted center line.

in united states, first documented use of painted center line in 1911 along trenton s river road in wayne county, michigan. according state of michigan, idea of using painted center line conceived in 1911 edward n. hines, chairman of wayne county, michigan, board of roads, after watching leaky milk wagon leave white trail along road. hines fifth recipient of george s. bartlett award highway progress, , inducted posthumously in 1972 michigan transportation hall of honor innovation, , honored in 2011 first paul mijksenaar design function award.

in 1917, idea of using painted center lines on rural state highways conceived and/or put action in @ least 3 states (michigan, oregon, , california), apparently independent of 1 another. @ point in 1917, white highway center line painted along dead man s curve on county road 492 in marquette county, michigan, under direction of kenneth ingalls sawyer, served engineer-superintendent of marquette county road commission. sawyer inducted posthumously michigan transportation hall of honor in 1973.

in oregon in april 1917, yellow center line painted down center of columbia river highway, between crown point , multnomah falls, @ direction of multnomah county sheriff s deputy peter rexford. later in 1917, same line continued west of crown point. rexford first conceived idea of yellow center line in 1917 while riding on bus salem, oregon on dark , rainy night, , advocated safety measure on columbia river highway, rexford patrolled traffic officer. when multnomah county declined fund project, rexford s boss, chief deputy martin t. pratt (later elected sheriff), paid paint out of own pocket center line painted. rexford later described april 1917 line first yellow center line ever painted on pavement in united states. article published in oregonian upon rexford s retirement claimed contest $10,000 reward once held determine originator of highway center line, contest scrapped when information europe revealed ancient civilizations had used white bricks mark center lines of streets.

in fall of 1917, dr. june mccarroll of indio, california developed idea of white center lines , began advocating use, after run off road truck while driving along highway later incorporated u.s. route 99. dr. mccarroll communicated idea local chamber of commerce , riverside county board of supervisors, no success. took upon herself hand-paint white stripe down middle of road, establishing actual width of lane prevent similar accidents. in 2002, portion of interstate 10 designated , signed doctor june mccarroll memorial freeway in honor.

the question of color use highway center lines in united states enjoyed considerable debate , changing standards on period of several decades. november 1954, 47 states had adopted white standard color highway centerlines, oregon being last holdout use yellow. in 1958, u.s. bureau of public roads adopted white standard color new interstate highway system. 1971 edition of manual on uniform traffic control devices, however, mandated yellow standard color of center lines nationwide. changeover 1971 mutcd standards took place between 1971 , 1975, done end of 1973, 2 years drivers still had use old , new. yellow adopted because standard color of warning signs, , because easy teach drivers associate yellow lines dividing opposing traffic , white lines dividing traffic in same direction. in turn, simple mnemonic device reduced head-on collisions , improved road traffic safety.

the major downside mutcd white-yellow system yellow has less contrast white, @ night, maximum contrast, bright yellow—and highly toxic—lead chromate used paint yellow lines through end of 20th century. result, u.s. transportation workers must take special precautions when disturbing or removing yellow lane markings.

a typical stretch of valencia boulevard in valencia, california, lanes marked botts dots.

in u.s., type, placement, , graphic standards of traffic signs, , road surfaces legally regulated—the federal highway administration s manual on uniform traffic control devices standard, although each state produces own manual based upon federal manual.

generally white lane markings indicate separation between lanes traveling in same direction while yellow markings indicate opposing traffic on other side of line. in areas, such colorado , florida, black material applied on surface before shorter white line painted. improves contrast of marking against white pavements, such concrete or faded asphalt.

in california, botts dots commonly used mark lanes on freeways. large number of california cities use botts dots on (or all) major arterial roads. notable exception city of los angeles uses paint.

in california , nevada, reflectors when present lines, , no paint used additional markings. exceptions include: freeways built white concrete painted stripes added make lanes more visible through sun glare, freeways built wide risk of drifting minimal (e.g., interstate 5 in central valley), , freeways in areas snows in winter (since snowplows scrape off botts dots).

in general, single broken lines mean passing or lane changing allowed, single solid white lines mean lane changing discouraged not prohibited, , double solid white lines mean prohibited, in tunnels. on two-lane roads, single broken center line means passing allowed in either direction, double solid center line means passing prohibited in both directions, , combination of solid line broken line means passing allowed side broken line , prohibited side solid line. solid white line on right side called fog line used cars stay in lane during foggy conditions , pedestrians stay off road

marked crosswalks indicated @ minimum pair of white lines. on major boulevards, crosswalks further highlighted zebra stripes, large white rectangles in crosswalk perpendicular traffic. in order maximize longevity of zebra crossing stripes, applied correspond portions of lane on wheels of car not traveling, thereby reducing wear on markings themselves.

pavement markings used in addition signs in united states designate regular , handicap parking spaces. regular parking spaces marked white, although other colors used. handicap parking spaces required located within specified distance of entrance. blue markings used indicate parking space reserved persons disabled parking permit.