•              Carriageway Road Markings

•              Longitudinal Markings

•              Intersection Markings

•              Hazardous Location Markings

•              Parking

•              Word Messages

•              Object Markings

Road markings provide guidance for disciplined and safe driving. It is suggested to mark all the major roads with lanes, edge and median markings together with delineators.

• Road Markings are the coloured paintings on the roads.
• èPerform an important function of guiding and controlling traffic.
• èServe as a psychological barrier and signify the delineation of the traffic path.
• èChannelise the movement of the pedestrians and cyclists into the safe zones.
• èConveys information to road user without distracting the attention from the carriageway.
• èTherefore, are indispensable to ensure smooth & orderly flow of traffic and for promoting road safety

IRC 35-1997 Code of Practice for Road Markings

Types of Road Markings

Comprehensive Diagram of Longitudinal Markings

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SINGLE SOLID LINE

W = 100 FOR RURAL AREAS; W=150 FOR URBAN AREAS

HAZARDOUS LOCATION MARKINGS

• Carriageway Width Transition

• Obstruction Approaches

• Road-Rail Level Crossings

• Check Barriers

COMBINATION OF BROKEN & SOLID LINES

a AND b SHALL DEPEND UPON APPLICATION
c, d AND e EACH EQUAL TO 100
W=100 FOR RURAL AREAS; W=150 FOR URBAN AREAS

• Parking Space Limits

• Parking Restrictions

• Bus Stops

OBJECT MARKINGS

• Objects within the Carriageway

• Objects adjacent to the carriageway

• Kerb Markings

PAIR OF SOLID LINES
c, d AND e EACH EQUAL TO 100

WORD MESSAGES

• Stop

• Slow

• Bus

• Keep Clear

• School

• Right Turn only

• Exit only

• Speed 25 (or any other specified)

Centre Line and Lane Line Marking for Urban Areas
Pictorial Illustrations

CENTRE LINE MARKING FOR A TWO LANE ROAD

NOTE: FIGURES IN BRACKETS TO BE USED ON CURVES AND APPROACHES TO INTERSECTIONS

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LONGITUDINAL MARKINGS

• Longitudinal pavement markings are lines placed along the direction of traffic to indicate a driver, his proper position on the roadway.

• Centre Line Markings: They are either continuous or broken lines dividing road into two equal halves. They indicate that the traffic of one side should not move onto the another side (except in case of broken line)

• Traffic Lane Markings: Lane markings are usually broken lines white in colour dividing the road into lanes, each of 3.5 mtrs.

• Border or Edge Lines: These are drawn at the road shoulders with solid lines usually in white or yellow colours. They indicate the edge of the road carriageway.

• Bus Lane Markings: The right most lane on the carriageway is allotted for heavy vehicles such as Buses, Trucks, etc.,

LANE LINE AND BROKEN CENTRE LINE MARKING FOR A FOUR LANE ROAD
NOTE: FIGURES IN BRACKETS TO BE USED ON CURVES AND APPROACHES TO INTERSECTIONS

CENTRE BARRIER LINE MARKING FOR A SIX LANE ROAD
NOTE: FIGURES IN BRACKETS TO BE USED ON CURVES AND APPROACHES TO INTERSECTIONS

CENTRE BARRIER LINE MARKING FOR A Four LANE ROAD
NOTE: FIGURES IN BRACKETS TO BE USED ON CURVES AND APPROACHES TO INTERSECTIONS

WARNING LINE MARKINGS

• Warning lines are broken lines with segments and gaps of same length. These are marked on horizontal curves and vertical curves to make drivers more cautious. Warning lines can also be used at other hazardous locations such as approaches to intersections, obstruction approaches and sharp curves etc

• Warning lines are always single lines with a minimum of 7 segments at any location

• Width of warning line is same as a centre line or traffic lane line immediately preceding it

MARKINGS AT A SHARP CURVE

Intersectional Markings

STOP LINE MARKINGS

• Stop line indicates the position beyond which the vehicles should not proceed when required to stop by traffic police, traffic signals or other traffic control devices. Stop lines should either be parallel to the intersecting roadway or at right angles to the approaching vehicle

• Two patterns are normally prescribed namely Single Stop Line or Double Stop Line

• Single stop line shall be solid white transverse line of 200 mm wide on urban roads and 300 mm wide on rural roads

• Double stop lines shall consist of two continuous lines of each 200 mm width spaced 300 mm apart and supplemented by a STOP SIGN and a word message STOP on the carriageway

• The single stop line shall ordinarily be located not less than 2 meters nor more than 3 meters in advance and parallel to the nearest boundary of the pedestrian crossing marking. Where there is no pedestrian crossing, the single line shall be placed not less than 1.25 meters and not more than 9 meters from the nearest carriageway edge of the intersecting road

• The double line is used exclusively at junctions controlled by STOP signs and in no circumstances should be used merely to give warning of the approach to a major road, for which purpose GIVE WAY marking is appropriate

• The STOP sign supplemented by the double line requires that (a) every vehicle shall, before entering the major road, stop at the transverse lines and (b) no vehicle shall proceed past these transverse lines in such a manner or at such a time necessitating any vehicle on the other road to change its speed or path to avoid collision

Bus Lane Markings

GIVE WAY LINE MARKINGS

•  The prescribed marking consists of two broken lines laid side by side, each consisting of 600 mm segments and 300 mm gaps. The lines are 200 mm wide and are spaced at 300 mm apart. The marking is laid across the minor roads at intersections which are not controlled by stop sign, traffic signals or the police

• The Give Way lines shall be supplemented by the hollow triangular approach marking and a GIVE WAY road sign. The triangular marking should normally be located with its base 2 to 2.5 meters from the transverse marking.

OUTER SEPARATOR UPTO 10m WIDTH

OUTER SEPARATOR WIDER THAN 10m WIDTH

PEDESTRIAN CROSSINGS

• Crossing of the carriage way by Pedestrians only at the authorised places minimises confusion and improves safety

• The Pedestrian crossings shall be provided at important intersections where conflict exists between vehicular traffic and pedestrian movements. The site should be so selected that the pedestrians are subjected to minimum inconvenience and the vehicular traffic is not interrupted very often

• The location of pedestrian crossing at an intersection should fulfill the following conditions to ensure safety :
   

• Adequate visibility so that the driver of approaching vehicle has clear view of the persons on the pedestrian crossing and on the foot path
   

• Sufficient space is available on the foot path for pedestrians to wait
   

• Freedom from obstructions such as trees, sign posts, lamp posts etc. in the path of pedestrians at either end

PEDESTRIAN CROSSING AT AN INTERSECTION

• At intersections, the pedestrian crossings should invariably be preceded by a STOP line at a distance of 2 to 3 m for unsignalised intersection and at 1 m for signalised intersection
   

• The width of the pedestrian crossing is governed by the pedestrian volumes crossing the road and by local requirements and in no case it shall be less than the width of foot path subject to a minimum of 1.5 m. The width of the crossing generally lies between 2 m to 4 m
   

• Marking for Pedestrian crossing mostly used is the Zebra Pattern consisting of equally spaced white stripes generally 500 mm wide in accordance with IRC:103 – 1988. A warning sign to indicate that the pedestrian crossing is ahead should also be installed
   

• At mid-block pedestrian crossing in urban areas, it may be advantageous to install flashing signals along with markings
   

COMPREHENSIVE DIAGRAMATIC ILLUSTRATION
OF INTERSECTIONAL MARKINGS

MARKINGS FOR PARKING

• The markings used for parking spaces in urban roads promote more efficient use of the parking and tends to prevent encroachment on fire hydrant zones, bus stops, loading / unloading zones and other such locations where parking of vehicles is undesirable. The markings used for parking shall be solid white lines 100 mm wide.
   

• The limits of the designated parking places should also be indicated by informatory parking signs mounted on the kerb side in accordance with IRC: 67 - 1977
   

• The word TAXI, CARS,SCOOTERS, AUTO-RICKSHAWS etc. may also be written if the parking area is specific for a particular type of vehicle.

PARKING ON THE STRIP ROAD

ROAD MARKINGS ACT AS PSYCHOLOGICAL
BARRIER TO THE ROAD USER

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TRAFFIC LANE MARKINGS

• Sub division of wide carriageway into separate lanes on either side of the centre line helps to regulate traffic into proper paths and curbs the meandering tendency of the drivers promoting safety and ensuring maximum capacity
   

• Traffic lanes are normally single broken lines of 100 mm width
   

• In urban areas the length of line segment is 1.5 m with a gap of 3 m in between segments. On curves gap can be reduced to 1.5 m. In rural areas the gaps and segments shall be 3 m and 6 m
   

• Solid lane lines shall be used in approaches to intersections and in other areas where lane changes are to be restricted

NO OVER TAKING ZONE MARKINGS

• No overtaking zones shall be established on summit curves, horizontal curves and at locations where the sight available to the driver is restricted thus making overtaking hazardous
   

• On undivided highways with more than 3 lanes, there is hardly any need for a vehicle to cross the centre line for overtaking. A double solid centre line is prescribed for such locations
   

• A solid centre line intended for establishing no overtaking shall be in yellow colour
   

• On sharp curves, where no overtaking zone markings are required, they can be splayed to form a shape of central island with an internal width of 600 mm provided there is ample space on either side to enable vehicles to negotiate the bend with reasonable comfort without crossing the lanes. The area within the splay and parallel must be hatched with inclined 150 mm thick lines at 2 m spacing.
   

• The no overtaking zone lines should be marked with a single row of double sided reflecting studs spaced at 4m interval. When double lines are used or when lines are splayed to form hatched area uni-directional studs may be laid symmetrically on each longitudinal line at 4 m spacing so that only the studs nearest to the driver reflect back.

MARKINGS ON SPEED CHANGE LANES

• Channelizing lines are utilised to demarcate a neutral area at the nose of a channelizing island to reduce the probability of collision with kerb nose. They direct the entering and exiting traffic in to the proper angle for smooth movements of divergence and convergence. These markings provide for proper and safe use of acceleration and deceleration lanes, known as speed change lanes.
   

• A solid white line of 150 mm wide shall be placed along the sides of the triangular neutral area adjacent to the speed change lane and the main highway. A broken white warning line 100 mm thick shall be placed from the apex of the triangular area for the full length of the speed change lane. Additional emphasis can be provided by the chevron markings within the neutral area.

BOX MARKINGS

• Critical intersection areas are marked with yellow crossed diagonal lines in the form of a box to indicate the areas where a vehicle must not become stationary even for a short while. Drivers are prohibited from entering such areas even if the signal light is green but if the area can not be crossed. This is to ensure that the junction is not choked in the event of heavy traffic.
   

• These markings shall be used sparingly and only at places where locking of traffic stream is anticipated. For example, a situation may arise when two intersections are too close and the waiting vehicles at red signal extend their length upto the preceding intersection. This marking indicated that the area should not be used for storage of any vehicles in queue.

OBSTRUCTION APPROACH MARKINGS

• Physical obstructions with in the carriageway such as monuments, towers, trees etc. which constitute a serious hazard to traffic, should not be allowed except under compelling circumstances. If unavoidable, all possible measures must be taken to prevent collision of vehicles with such objects
   

• The approach markings to obstruction must be so designed as to deflect the traffic away from the obstruction by diagonal lines or chevron markings
   

• When the traffic flows on both sides of the obstruction are in opposite directions, diagonal markings shall be used. When the traffic flow on both sides of the obstruction is in the same direction chevron marking is appropriate. The colour of these markings shall be yellow.

BORDER OR EDGE LINE MARKINGS

• These lines indicate the carriageway edges of the rural roads which have no kerbs to delineate the limits upto which driver can safely venture. This continuous marking makes night driving safer particularly in adverse weather
   

• The pavement edge lines are desirable at the following locations:
   

• Where the shoulder is paved and is of same colour and texture as that of main carriageway
   

• Near approaches to narrow bridges and sharp curves
   

• Where obstructions on shoulders are close enough to cause hazard
   

• On pavements with width transitions
   

• Along lengths which are prone to fog and mist.

Obstruction

For speeds more than 60 kph, L = 0.63×S×W
For speeds 60 kph or less:
   Where S = 85m percentile speed in kph
   W = offset distance in m
   Minimum Length of
   L = 30m in Urban Area
   = 60m in Rural Area
   Length ‘L’ should be extended as required by sign
   distance considerations

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BORDER OR EDGE LINE MARKINGS

•  Carriageway edge lines shall ordinarily be provided only on roads with more than two lanes. These shall be in the form of single continuous white line placed on the carriageway 150 mm from the edge. On multi-lane road with central median the carriageway edge line shall be 150 mm wide and on multi-lane roads without medians the width may be 200 mm.
   

• The border or edge line markings should not be carried across the mouths of side roads
   

• The markings should preferably be reflectorised

SUPPLY OF ROAD MARKING PAINTS:

(a)   Chlorinated Rubber Paint (White & Yellow)
(b)   ISC No. 356 Golden Yellow Paint for road marking as per specifications IS:164 – 1981 (Grade-I)
(c)   Chlorinated Thinner for Rubber Paint (a)
(d)   Thinner for paint (b) above as per ISI Specifications.