Advocacy & Safety - wider lane markings?

I read at work(can't remember the source) that some states have started painting wider lane markings/lines in order to increase visibility(of lane markings) and, thereby, make the roads safer somehow. I guess it's supposed to keep traffic corralled more effectively? Anyway, I was just wondering what people with cycling/driving experience on roads with these markings think it helps, if anything. Florida(6" wide lines) and New Jersey(up to 8" wide lines) were mentioned in the article. I think the widest our markings here get are 4"(that I've actually seen). Does it really make the roads safer?

I live in Jersey & haven't seen any yet.

What comes to mind first is more danger for cyclists and motorcyclists when it's wet out.

I live in Jersey & haven't seen any yet.

What comes to mind first is more danger for cyclists and motorcyclists when it's wet out.


Yeah, that's what I thought, too. All the paint I've seen on the roads gets pretty darn slick when wet.

BL stripes are supposed to be 6" wide.

BL stripes are supposed to be 6" wide.

And if a local agency decides to do something different... such as 8" lines... or radically different BL, or adding signs that say Cyclist Take the Lane,** are you going to stop them?


** don't recall seeing that in the MUTCD.

no, and what's your point?

no, and what's your point?

That your comment of "supposed to be 6 inches wide" does not keep a municipality from trying something not in the MUTCD, which harkens way back to the "definition" of a bike lane. What is in the standards or what is "supposed to be used" may not in fact what is "everywhere."

Some things simply work better than others... a cell phone is not always just a cell phone. (or a cigar is not always just a cigar... )

Yes, (and I just know you are going to bring this up) in the strickest sense "a bike lane is just a line on the road..." but how that line is incorporated into the roadway and enhanced by signs and other markings can indeed make the difference between a very successful, thoroughly enjoyable Bike Lane, and one that just meets "specs."

I've always noticed that lane stripes are harder to see when it's raining at night. Maybe the wider stripes would be more visible.

Wider stripes might last longer, which would save a little money. On paper. Of course the dumb bureaucrats will rip up the road to fiddle with something underneath before the paint is dry.

Well, I couldn't find the excerpt that I read at work and nobody could remember what the source was. Argh! One of my co-workers, who also read the excerpt, reminded me that the wider lane markings supposedly lowered the instance of vehicular accidents. It didn't say if this reduction applied to all, single vehicle or multiple vehicle accidents. I think there may have been a percentage improvement from a certain state. Something like 20% less accidents since implementing the wider markings <--totally a guess since I can't remember the actual numbers.



BL stripes are supposed to be 6" wide.


Is that a worldwide standard or just the United States? I hope I didn't give the impression that this was somehow limited to bike lanes. I was thinking it was more geared toward use on high speed roadways that don't have BL's anyway. If BL markings are already wider than other traffic markings, I don't see why it would be safer or more helpful on roads that have BL's.

Surely someone on BF read the full article somewhere? I thought it might have been Automotive News, but I didn't find any mention of it on their site. Googled it, too, to no avail.