The word
lane has several meanings, including and especially:
- a portion of a paved road
A road is an identifiable route, way or path between places.
which is intended for a single line of vehicles and is marked by white White is a color, the perception which is evoked by light that stimulates all three types of color sensitive cone cells in the human eye in nearly equal amounts and with high brightness compared to the surroundings. A white visual stimulation will be void of hue and grayness.White light can be...
or yellowYellow is the color evoked by light that stimulates both the L and M cone cells of the retina about equally, with no significant stimulation of the S cone cells. Light with a wavelength of 570–580 nm is yellow, as is light with a suitable mixture of somewhat longer and shorter wavelengths...
lines.
- a narrow road or street
A road is an identifiable route, way or path between places.
, usually lacking a shoulder or a medianOn divided roads, including expressways, motorways, or autobahns, the central reservation , median , median strip or central nature strip is the area which separates opposing lanes of traffic.-Physical attributes:Some medians function secondarily as "green...
; this is typically applied to roads in the countryside, but can also be applied to urban streetA street is a paved public thoroughfare in a built environment. It is a public parcel of land adjoining buildings in an urban context, on which people may freely assemble, interact, and move about. A street can be as simple as a level patch of dirt, but is more often paved with a hard, durable...
s or areas that used to be streets, such as Drury LaneDrury Lane is a street in the Covent Garden area of London, running between Aldwych and High Holborn. The northern part is in the borough of Camden and the southern part in the City of Westminster....
in London[]London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It has been a major settlement for two millennia, and the history of London goes back to its founding by the Romans, when it was named Londinium. London's core, the ancient City of London, the 'square mile', retains its medieval boundaries...
.
In Northern America and Australia, the term also may refer to rear access roads which act as a secondary vehicular network in cities and towns. Large cities in the
U.S. stateA U.S. state is any one of 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government . Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile...
s of
NevadaNevada is a state located in the western region of the United States. The capital is Carson City and the largest city is Las Vegas. The state's nickname is Silver State, due to the large number of silver deposits that were discovered and mined there...
and
TexasTexas is the second-largest U.S. state in both area and population, and the largest state in the contiguous United States.The name had wide usage among native Americans, meaning "friends" or "allies"...
tend to apply the term to many
arterial roadAn arterial road is a moderate or high-capacity road which is immediately below a highway level of service. Much like a biological artery, an arterial road carries large volumes of traffic between areas in urban centres...
s. Also see
alleyAn alley or alleyway is a narrow, pedestrian lane found in urban areas which usually runs between or behind buildings. In older cities and towns in Europe, alleys are often what is left of a medieval street network, or a right of way or ancient footpath in an urban setting. In older urban...
.
In contrast to countries such as
IndiaIndia, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the west, and the Bay of Bengal...
, most countries with a significant number of
motor vehicleA motor vehicle is a wheeled vehicle whose propulsion is provided by an engine or motor . The internal combustion engine is the most common motor choice, although electric motors or other types are sometimes used. Motor vehicles or road vehicles typically run on public roads...
s have lane markings on their freeways, highways, and other types of paved
roadA road is an identifiable route, way or path between places.
. A marked lane is a
controlControl is used in a variety of contexts to express "mastery" or "proficiency": e.g. "Music students attending a master class are expected to have full control of basic skills such as rhythm and pitch" and more generally an ability to purposefully direct change.Control may also refer to:-Film:* A...
device to guide drivers so that conflicts during passing are kept to a minimum. Lane markings also facilitate orderly queuing when drivers must stop and wait before proceeding.
When lanes are marked, drivers are usually required to keep their vehicle within the lines unless passing or turning. In many countries, a prolonged inability to stay in one's lane is considered to be a symptom of
driving under the influenceDriving under the influence of alcohol or other drugs, is the act of operating a vehicle after consuming alcohol or other drugs...
and may lead to a citation or
arrestAn arrest is the act of depriving a person of his or her liberty usually in relation to the investigation and prevention of crime. The term is Anglo-Norman in origin and is related to the French word arrêt, meaning "stop".-United States:...
for a
moving violationA moving violation is any violation of the law committed by the driver of a vehicle while it is in motion. The term "motion" distinguishes it from other violations such as parking violations, equipment violations, or paperwork violations relating to insurance, registration, inspection, etc.-...
.
Types of lanes
- A traffic lane or travel lane is a lane for the movement of vehicles traveling from one destination to another, not including shoulders and auxiliary lanes.
- A through lane or thru lane is a traffic lane for through traffic. At intersections, these may be indicated by arrows on the pavement pointing straight ahead.
- A carriageway (Great Britain) or roadway (United States) is a group of two or more lanes on a single paved surface. A rural 2-lane highway is usually built on a single surface with traffic in both directions, while large highways can be built with two (sometimes more) of these separated by buffers such as medians and barriers. On such highways, the lanes in each group usually travel in the same direction.
- A deceleration lane is a paved or semi-paved lane adjacent to the primary road or street. It is used to improve traffic safety by allowing drivers to pull off the main road and decelerate safely in order to turn (e.g. right in the United States or left in Great Britain), so that the traffic behind the turning vehicle is not slowed or halted. Deceleration lanes are primarily found in suburban settings.
- A fire lane
A fire lane is a marked lane in a parking lot that is near a structure. Parking is prohibited in fire lanes to ensure the access of safety equipment to the structure in the event of an emergency.-References:*-External links:*...
is the area next to a curbA curb or kerb is the edge where a raised pavement/sidewalk/footpath, road median, or road shoulder meets an unraised street or other roadway...
, which is reserved for firefighting equipment, ambulanceAn ambulance is a vehicle for transporting sick or injured people, to, from or between places of treatment for an illness or injury. The term ambulance is used to describe a vehicle used to bring medical care to patients outside of the hospital or to transport the patient to hospital for follow-up...
s, or other emergency vehicles. Parkingthumb|Top floor of a multi-floor parking deck at [[Rutgers University]] in [[New Brunswick]], [[New Jersey]], [[USA]].Parking is the act of stopping a vehicle and leaving it unoccupied for more than a brief time. Parking on one or both sides of a road is commonly permitted, though often with...
in these areas, often marked by redRed is any of a number of similar colors evoked by light consisting predominantly of the longest wavelengths of light discernible by the human eye, in the wavelength range of roughly 630–740 nm. Longer wavelengths than this are called infrared , and cannot be seen by the naked human eye...
lines, usually warrants a parking ticket.
- A loading lane (loading zone in the United States) is an area next to a curb, which is reserved for loading and unloading passengers and/or freight. It may be marked by a sign ("LOADING ONLY" or "LOADING ZONE") or by a yellow or white-painted curb.
- A passing lane
A passing lane is the lane on a multi-lane highway or motorway closest to the center of the road .In North American terminology, the passing lane is often known as a left lane or leftmost lane, due to left hand drive...
is often provided on steep mountainA mountain is a large landform that stretches above the surrounding land in a limited area usually in the form of a peak. A mountain is generally steeper than a hill. The adjective montane is used to describe mountainous areas and things associated with them...
grades, in order to allow smaller vehicleA vehicle is a mechanical means of conveyance, a carriage or transport. Most often they are manufactured , although some other means of transport which are not made by humans also may be called vehicles; examples include icebergs and floating tree trunks.Vehicles may be propelled or pulled by...
s to pass larger, slower ones. This is sometimes called a climbing lane if on the uphillA hill is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain, in a limited area. Hills often have a distinct summit, although in areas with scarp/dip topography a hill may refer to a particular section of scarp slope without a well-defined summit A hill is a landform that extends above the...
side. (See truck lane below). Passing lanes may also be provided on long stretches of other roadway. On two-lane roads, using the lane of oncoming traffic as a passing lane is sometimes allowed given a long enough straightaway. In many countries permission is indicated by a broken line on the same side of the centerline as the vehicle intending to pass.
- A collector lane of a road is used for slower moving traffic and has more access to exits/off ramps.
- An express lane of a road is used for faster moving traffic and has less access to exits/off ramps. In other areas, an express lane may refer to a HOV lane (see below).
- A transfer lane of a road is used to move from express lanes to collector lanes, or vice-versa; it is somewhat similar to an auxiliary lane.
- A merge lane is a lane or onramp used to merge two flows of traffic into one, with the merge lane being the lane that disappears at the end of the merging area. Merge lane lengths depend mainly on the speed differential
-Medicine:* Differential diagnosis refers to the characterization of the underlying cause of pathological states based on specific tests.* Differential WBC count is the enumeration of each type of white blood cells either manually or using automated analyzers....
of the two merging flows, as the slower flow has to use the lane to accelerate.
- An auxiliary lane along a highway
A highway is a main road for travel by the public between important destinations, such as cities and states. Highway designs vary widely and can range from a two-lane road without margins to a multi-lane, grade separated motorway. In English and U.S...
or motorwayThe OECD has defined a motorway as:Motorways are identical to freeways as a road type, and comparable to the United States's Interstate Highways as a classification....
connects slip roads, with the entrance rampThe inclined plane is one of the original six simple machines; as the name suggests, it is a flat surface whose endpoints are at different heights. By moving an object up an inclined plane rather than completely vertical, the amount of force required is reduced, at the expense of increasing the...
or acceleration lane from one interchangeIn the field of road transport, an interchange is a road junction that typically uses grade separation, and one or more ramps, to permit traffic on at least one highway to pass through the junction without directly crossing any other traffic stream. It differs from a standard intersection, at which...
leading to the exit ramp or deceleration lane of the next.
- The emergency lane of a road (also known as the breakdown lane, shoulder or hard shoulder) is reserved for breakdown
Breakdown may refer to:*Electrical breakdown*Breakdown *Decomposition*Mental breakdown*A script breakdown for a play, film, or comic book.*Breakdown , published by Devil's Due Productions as part of their Aftermath line...
s, and for emergency vehicleAn emergency vehicle is any vehicle that is designated and authorized to respond to an emergency. These vehicles are usually operated by designated agencies, often part of the government, but also run by charities, non-governmental organizations and some commercial companies...
s. The inner boundary of the lane often features rumble stripsRumble Strips may refer to:* Rumble strip, the road safety feature* The Rumble Strips, the British band...
in order to physically warn drowsy or inattentive drivers that they are drifting off the roadway. This feature is seen especially often on highways and motorways, where the minimally-stimulating and monotonous nature of high-speed driving at night increases the chances for driver disorientation and serious injury or death if an accident does take place.
- An HOV lane or carpool lane is reserved for carpool
Carpooling , is the shared use of a car by the driver and one or more passengers, usually for commuting. Carpooling arrangements and schemes involve varying degrees of formality and regularity...
ing. In the US, they may be marked with a diamond icon every few hundred feet (hence the nickname "diamond lane"), or separated from other lanes by double broken white lines, a continuous pair of double yellow lines, or just a single broken white line.
- A High-Occupancy Toll lane is a combination of an HOV lane and toll collection technology that allows drivers without passengers to use the HOV lane by paying a premium price for the privilege
A privilege—etymologically "private law" or law relating to a specific individual—is a special entitlement or immunity granted by a government or other authority to a restricted group, either by birth or on a conditional basis. A privilege can be revoked in some cases. In modern...
.
- A turn lane is set aside for slowing down and making a turn
Turn may refer to:In music:*Turn , a sequence of several notes next to each other in the scale*Turn , an Irish rock group*Turn LP, a 2005 rock album by Turn*Turn , a 2004 punk album by The Ex...
, so as not to disrupt traffic. At a full intersectionIn the field of road transport, an intersection is a road junction where two or more roads either meet or cross at grade . Such a road junction may also be called a crossroads.-Types of intersections:...
with a traffic lightTraffic lights, also known as stop lights, stoplight, traffic lamps, stop-and-go lights, robots or semaphore, are signaling devices positioned at road intersections, pedestrian crossings, and other locations to control competing flows of traffic.Traffic lights have been installed in most cities...
, turn lanes are used more to hold trafficTraffic on roads may consist of pedestrians, ridden or herded animals, vehicles, streetcars and other conveyances, either singly or together, while using the public way for purposes of travel...
until the light changes.
- A designated bicycle lane is a portion of the roadway or shoulder designated for the exclusive or preferential use of bicyclists. This designation is indicated by special word and/or symbol markings on the pavement and "BIKE LANE" signs.
- A bus lane
A bus lane or bus only lane is a lane restricted to buses, and generally used to speed up public transport otherwise held up by traffic congestion. Often taxis and high occupancy vehicles or motorcycles and even bicycles may use bus lane as well, though these uses can be controversial since they...
is reserved for busA bus is a road vehicle designed to carry passengers. A bus seats a maximum of 8 to 300 passengers...
es providing public transportation on a fixed route, sometimes with overhead catenaryIn physics and geometry, the catenary is the theoretical shape a hanging chain or cable will assume when supported at its ends and acted on only by its own weight. Its surface of revolution, the catenoid, is a minimal surface and will be the shape of a soap film bounded by two circles...
for trolleybusA trolleybus is an electric bus that draws its electricity from overhead wires using spring-loaded trolley poles...
es. In some countries, bus lanes may also be used by some other traffic, such as taxiA taxicab, also taxi or cab, is a type of vehicle for hire, with a driver, for a single passenger, or small group of passengers, typically for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of their choice...
s, bicycleA bicycle, also known as a bike, push bike or cycle, is a pedal-driven, human-powered vehicle with two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A person who rides a bicycle is called a cyclist or a bicyclist....
s and motorbikes.
- A reversible lane
A reversible lane is a lane in which traffic may travel in either direction, depending on certain conditions...
(contraflow laneContraflow lane reversal refers to plans that alter the normal flow of traffic, typically on a controlled-access highway , to either aid in an emergency evacuation or, as part of routine maintenance activities, to facilitate widening or reconstruction of one of the highway's carriageways...
in HawaiiHawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states, and is the only state made up entirely of islands. It is located on an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of Australia. The state was admitted to the Union on August...
) uses overhead lane light markersLane control lights are a specific type of traffic light used to manage traffic on a multi-way road or highway. Typically they allow or forbid traffic to use one or more of the available lanes by the use of Green lights or arrows or by red lights or crosses .may be designated as counterflow...
, signs, poles or barriers to indicate the current direction of travel. They are used to accommodate periods of high traffic flow, especially rush hourA rush hour or peak hour is a part of the day during which traffic congestion on roads and crowding on public transport is at its highest...
where the flow is predominantly in one direction, on roads that cannot be easily widened. One or more lanes are removed from the opposing flow and added to the peak flow. Outside peak hours, the lanes revert to their normal configuration, perhaps with a center turn lane. To reduce the chance of head-on accidents, a resting period of an hourThe hour is a unit of time. It is not an SI unit but is accepted for use with the SI.-Definition:In modern usage, an hour is a unit of measurement of time of the duration of 60 minutes, or 3600 seconds...
is often employed when reversing a lane; no traffic is allowed in the lane during this time. Some roads use portable barriers or plastic poles that are manually rearranged by work crews before and after the peak period, others use both lights and on-street markings (broken double-yellow line) or overhead lights. In some areas, the term suicide lane became a common slangSlang is the use of highly informal words and expressions that are not considered standard in the speaker's dialect or language. It is often used as a way to say words that are not appropriate, and is not often found in the standard dictionary for the language...
description for this design because many people ignore the traffic control devices. Because of their history of numerous accidentAn accident is a specific, identifiable, unexpected, unusual and unintended external action which occurs in a particular time and place, without apparent or deliberate cause but with marked effects...
s and collisionA collision is an isolated event in which two or more moving bodies exert relatively strong forces on each other for a relatively short time.-Dynamics:Collisions involve forces...
s, reversible lanes are rarely used.
- A tram lane is a lane reserved for the use of bus
A bus is a road vehicle designed to carry passengers. A bus seats a maximum of 8 to 300 passengers...
es, tramA tram, tramcar, trolley, trolleycar, or streetcar is a railborne vehicle, of lighter weight and construction than a conventional train, designed for the transport of passengers within, close to, or between villages, towns and/or cities, on tracks running primarily on streets...
s and taxicabA taxicab, also taxi or cab, is a type of vehicle for hire, with a driver, for a single passenger, or small group of passengers, typically for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of their choice...
s. It is usually encountered in cities with curbside tram network, such as ZagrebZagreb is the capital and the largest city of Croatia. Zagreb is the cultural, scientific, economic and governmental center of Croatia, and a global city. According to the city government, the population of Zagreb in 2008 was 804,200...
.
- A truck lane (United States) or crawler lane (Great Britain) is a lane provided on long and steep uphill stretches of high-speed roads to enhance the ability of vehicles which can maintain speed up the incline to pass those vehicles (usually heavy trucks) which cannot. In addition, these lanes are intended to optimize pavement performance and minimize pavement fatigue. The lane is marked only on the uphill stretch and usually a short distance afterward (for regaining speed). A truckway often allows longer box length; for instance, the Florida Turnpike allows 29.3 meter double trailer combinations, in contrast to normal Florida highways' 16.2 meter limit. Since the major cost of trucking is the fixed cost of the same trailer with its driver the cost per ton of operating with truckway size and weight allowances is 35 to 40 percent below the cost of operations on the non-truckways.
- An operational lane or auxiliary lane is an extra lane on the entire length of highway between interchanges, giving drivers more time to merge in or out. The lane is created when an entrance ramp meets the highway, and drops out (with an "exit only" sign) to become the ramp at the next exit.
- An overtaking lane is the lane furthest from the shoulder of a multi-lane carriageway/roadway (sometimes called the fast lane, although this is deprecated by the authorities).
- The slow lane is the lane nearest to the shoulder of a multi-lane carriageway/roadway. This usage leads to the phrase Life in the Slow Lane, used as the title of various books and songs.
- A driving lane is an area in a parking lot
A Parking lot , also known as "car lot", is a cleared area that is more or less level and is intended for parking vehicles...
/car park in between parking spaceA parking space is a location that is designated for parking. This can be in a parking garage or in a parking lot or on a city street. It is usually designated by a white-paint-on-tar rectangle...
s so that vehicles can drive into and out of the spaces.
Lane width
The U.S.
Interstate Highway SystemThe Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, commonly called the Interstate Highway System , is a network of limited-access highways in the United States that is named for President Dwight D. Eisenhower, who championed its formation...
uses a 12-foot standard for lane width. 11-foot lanes are found to be acceptable by the
Federal Highway AdministrationThe Federal Highway Administration is a division of the United States Department of Transportation that specializes in highway transportation...
for automobile traffic, but as lane width decreases (9-foot lanes are found in some areas) traffic capacity and safety decrease..
In the United Kingdom, many lanes are found the the countryside, and a majority of these lanes are wide enough for one car at a time, and often having a lay by for cars to pass.
Lane markings
Painted lane markings vary widely from country to country. In the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
,
CanadaCanada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
and
NorwayNorway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a country in Northern Europe occupying the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, as well as Jan Mayen and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard under the Spitsbergen Treaty...
, yellow lines separate traffic going opposite directions and white separates lanes of traffic traveling the same direction, but this is not the case in many European countries.
Medians or central reservations
Besides a painted line, lanes of traffic moving in opposing directions can also be separated by any of the following:
- grass strip or ditch
- a central turning lane that allows vehicles to turn into driveways or streets on the opposite side of the road without stopping traffic
- a wide paved area with special paint markings indicating that it should never be crossed
- metal guard rail (or guide rail) affixed to metal or wooden posts
- cable barriers
- concrete barriers, such as Jersey barrier
A Jersey barrier or Jersey wall separates lanes of traffic with a goal of minimizing vehicle crossover in the case of accidents...
s
Such separations between opposing traffic are referred to as a median in
American EnglishAmerican English is a set of dialects of the English language used mostly in the United States. Approximately two thirds of native speakers of English live in the United States.English is the most common language in the United States...
and as a
central reservationOn divided roads, including expressways, motorways, or autobahns, the central reservation , median , median strip or central nature strip is the area which separates opposing lanes of traffic.-Physical attributes:Some medians function secondarily as "green...
in
British EnglishBritish English, or UK English or English English , is the broad term used to distinguish the forms of the English language used in the United Kingdom from forms used elsewhere...
.
Numbering of freeway lanes in California
Traffic reports in California often refer to accidents being "in the number X lane." The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) assigns the numbers from left to right. The far left passing lane is the number 1 lane. The number of the
slow lane (closest to freeway onramps/offramps) depends on the total number of lanes, and could be anywhere from 2 to 6.
History
For much of human history, roads did not need lane markings because most people walked or rode horses at relatively slow speeds. Another reason for not using lane markings is that they are expensive to maintain.
When automobiles, trucks, and buses came into widespread use during the first two decades of the 20th century,
head-on collisionA head-on collision is one where the front ends of two ships, trains, planes or vehicles hit each other, as opposed to a side-collision or rear-end collision.-Rail transport:...
s became more common.
Without the guidance provided by lane markings, drivers in the early days often erred in favor of keeping closer to the middle of the road, rather than risk going off-road into ditches or trees. This practice often left inadequate room for opposing traffic.
There are two people who have been credited with the invention of lane markings. In 1911,
Edward N. HinesEdward N. Hines , was a member of the Wayne County, Michigan, Road Commission from 1906 to 1938. He is one of the most important innovators in road development....
, the chairman of the Road Commission of
Wayne County, MichiganWayne County is a county in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2000 census, its population was 2,061,162 with the July 1, 2008 estimate placing the population at 1,949,929 making it the 13th most-populous county in the United States. The county seat is Detroit, the largest city in Michigan. The...
was trying to make roads safer. He supposedly came up with the idea of painting stripes to separate lanes of traffic after riding behind a milk truck that leaked milk onto the center of the road, leaving a stripe.
June McCarrollJune Hill Robertson McCarroll was a nurse with the Southern Pacific Railroad in the early twentieth century who is credited by Caltrans with the simple but revolutionary idea of delineating highways with a painted line to separate lanes of traffic...
, a
physicianA physician — also known as medical practitioner, doctor of medicine, medical doctor, or simply doctor — practices the ancient profession of medicine, which is concerned with maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease or injury...
in
IndioIndio is a city in Riverside County, California, United States, located in the Coachella Valley of Southern California's desert region. It lies east of Palm Springs, east of Riverside, east of San Bernardino, and east of Los Angeles. The population was 49,116 at the 2000 census...
California started experimenting with painting lines on roads in 1917 after she was run off of a highway by a truck driver. In November 1924, after years of lobbying by Dr. McCarroll and her allies, California officially adopted a policy of painting lines on its highways. A portion of
Interstate 10Interstate 10 is the southernmost east-west, coast-to-coast Interstate Highway in the United States. It stretches from the Pacific Ocean at State Route 1 in Santa Monica, California to Interstate 95 in Jacksonville, Florida...
near Indio has been named the Dr. June McCarroll Memorial Freeway in her honor.
By 1939, lane markings had become so popular that they were officially standardized throughout the United States, and they were soon copied worldwide.
See also
- Lane departure warning system
In road-transport terminology, a lane departure warning system is a mechanism designed to warn a driver when the vehicle begins to move out of its lane on freeways and arterial roads....
- Road surface marking
Road surface marking is any kind of device or material that is used on a road surface in order to convey official information.Road surface markings are used on paved roadways to provide guidance and information to drivers and pedestrians...
- Traffic directionality