White passing stripes in California (And Old Dumbarton Br.)

[KEK Inc.]

What the hell is this?  White stripe lines for passing areas in a 2-laned road?  Mind you, the solid (no passing zones) lines are still yellow. 

This drug high of a movie was filmed in 1971, and I found it very interesting since they actually showed several different motorways around the Bay Area.  I think the Nimitz/Cypress freeway was in here at one point.  Really, that's the only reason you would watch this movie.  A love story between a 17 year old boy and an 85 year old hippie is meh.   

So, when did California abandon this, and was California the only state to have done this? 

[agentsteel53]

What the hell is this?  White stripe lines for passing areas in a 2-laned road?  Mind you, the solid (no passing zones) lines are still yellow. 

...

So, when did California abandon this, and was California the only state to have done this? 

white striping was standard until the 1978 MUTCD, and all states had them.

[KEK Inc.]

Well, I learned something new.  I always wondered why Looney Tunes had white paint for the Roadrunner.  At a time, were solid yellow lines also white?

[Brandon]

Well, I learned something new.  I always wondered why Looney Tunes had white paint for the Roadrunner.  At a time, were solid yellow lines also white?

Yes.  All lines used to be white at one time.  Europe still seems to adhere to that antiquated standard for some reason.

[roadfro]

^ Ultimately, an all-white system is cheaper than using two colors.

I'm not entirely certain what the analogous all-white markings are for the yellow and white lines used in the US/Canada/elsewhere.

[J N Winkler]

I'm not entirely certain what the analogous all-white markings are for the yellow and white lines used in the US/Canada/elsewhere.

There is some variation from country to country, but as a generalization white is used for all lane striping while yellow is used for parking-related markings, occasionally for shoulder stripes, and for temporary markings in construction workzones.  Passing and no-passing zones are indicated the same way as in the US except that the markings are white instead of yellow.  In context there is generally little scope for confusion.

The worst examples of white-for-yellow leading to confusion I have seen are actually in the Scottish Central Belt and urban Northern Ireland.  Large cities in these areas, like Belfast and Glasgow, have undivided multilane arterials, very similar to those found in large US cities.  In the US the standard center stripe for such arterials is unbroken double yellow, but it is very unusual to use unbroken double white (the loose UK equivalent) in the equivalent context in the Scottish and Northern Irish cities.  More often a "hazard line" is used instead--this is basically the same as the ordinary lane stripe except the skip cycle is different and the gaps between consecutive stripes are smaller.  This is a very subtle distinction and, as a driver in these cities, I have occasionally had considerable difficulty telling whether I am in the "up" or "down" lanes.

[KEK Inc.]

A moderator may move or separate this thread into the International Discussion board.

@ roadfro:  For white pavement markings, wouldn't they have to use more signs and paint indicating which direction traffic is heading?  In the U.S., it's more self-explanatory; however, a warning sign is still often used indicating such zone, probably since the U.S. apparently used white at a time.



@ Winkler:  Yeah, I've noticed the yellow construction paint on videos for the Autobahn.  Is that standard in practically all European countries? 

[J N Winkler]

For white pavement markings, wouldn't they have to use more signs and paint indicating which direction traffic is heading?

Signs--generally no.  Pavement markings--there is a greater tendency to use arrows not just to indicate sense of travel, but also to mark diverges for turn bays etc.  Arrows will typically be used at decision points rather than on links.

Yeah, I've noticed the yellow construction paint on videos for the Autobahn.  Is that standard in practically all European countries?

No, not all of them.  For example, Britain doesn't use yellow for temporary markings.  Temporary markings have to be the same color and dimensions as the permanent markings, just as in the US.  The main difference is that in Britain TSRGD allows the use of "black paint" to cover up the permanent markings so they don't conflict with the temporary markings, while in the US there is no "black paint" provision.  Our MUTCD requires that conflicting markings be removed either by burning or scarification.

[Scott5114]

Burning??