Lanes and Lines
Time to learn about traffic lanes!
Let’s go over what each of the lines on the road means so you will know when you may and may not cross over them into another lane of traffic:
- Broken yellow lines - If they’re broken, shouldn’t somebody fix them? You know, sometimes you’re too literal for your own good. They’re not really broken; let’s call them dotted lines, if you prefer. If you are traveling alongside a dotted yellow line, you may cross over it into the neighboring lane in order to pass the vehicle in front of you, as long as you have checked to make sure that there is no oncoming traffic in that lane. If you forget to check and just assume you’re good to go because there is a dotted line, it may be you who winds up broken.
- Double solid yellow lines – Unlike the broken yellow line, you should never cross over one of these. Why the extra line, you ask? Um, it’s a bonus line. Just accept it. Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth.
- Single solid yellow lines - You will find these lines in the middle of a two-way road. Traffic moves in one direction on one side of the line and moves in the opposite direction on the other side. In short, don’t cross over one of these babies unless you have a dotted line on your side, indicating it is safe to pass from your side. Or unless you’re a crash-test dummy and can survive a high-speed impact.
- Solid white lines - This is something you won’t see outside of a one-screen movie theatre during the premiere of a new Tyler Perry film. It’s also a line that separates lines of traffic. A solid line indicates that you may not change lanes, even though a while line indicates that traffic in those lanes is moving in a similar direction. On a one-way street, for example. Incidentally, Love Isn’t a One-Way Street would make a great title for a Tyler Perry film.
- Broken white lines - Just like the other white lines above, these mean that traffic in the neighboring lanes is moving in the same direction that you are, but they are reserved for streets where there are two or more such lanes. Hopefully, you’ll beat those other guys to wherever it is you’re going.
- Edge markings – This is a single line—white on two-way roads and the right side of one-way roads; yellow on the left side of one-way roads—that marks the edge of the road. We wouldn’t advise crossing these since, ya know, that means there isn’t any road there.
- Arrows – White arrows are painted on some highway lanes to help guide drivers into the proper lanes for turns and through traffic. It’s usually best to consider these arrows more than mere suggestions.
- Stop lines – White stop lines are often painted at intersections where traffic signs or signals are present to denote where you should stop your vehicle. If no lines are present, vehicles must stop before the crosswalk.