With an estimated 1.475 billion cars taking people to their destinations across the globe, road markings are an essential part of keeping our modern society safe and well organised, all the way from the northernmost tip of Canada to the Pacific Coast of New Zealand’s South Island.
Anyone who’s travelled abroad knows that different countries have different conventions and standards (for example, in the USA, the centre line dividing traffic moving in opposite directions is often yellow rather than white). But what is more striking is just how similar road markings and signs are wherever you go.
Given that we’ve been using roads for motorised vehicles for over 100 years, and the huge differences in terrain, weather conditions and cultures around the globe, it may seem natural to assume that regions would have developed major idiosyncrasies in how they approach road marking – but for the most part, this is not the case.
As road maintenance contractors, we’ve worked both domestically and internationally, and understand the importance of familiarising ourselves with local regulations and norms when undertaking road marking projects. Who better then to delve deeper into the ways in which human beings have developed a largely universal language of road safety measures — and how that language helps keep road users moving.
The Origin of Road Markings
Many Brits know the story of Percy Shaw, and how he came to invent the cat’s eye road stud, but he wasn’t the only innovator when it comes to road safety. Over the pond in Wayne County, Michigan, roads were changed forever with a simple but highly effective concept in 1917 – and it wasn’t dreamed up by a motorist, but a keen cyclist.
After observing a leaky milk truck leaving a trail on the road surface, the President of the Detroit Wheelmen cycling club and advocate for road development, Edward N. Hines, came up with the idea of the centre line to separate traffic travelling in opposite directions. In the years since, his invention has gone on to be considered one of the most important safety devices for road users, and has been implemented all over the world.
From this inspired beginning, road markings continued to develop throughout the 20th century in industrialised nations to improve the flow of traffic, keep pedestrians safe, delineate cycle and bus lanes, set out parking spaces and more. With the continual aim to keep our roads as easy to use as possible, engineers and planners have created an intuitive language of signs and markings that we are now all familiar with.
How Road Markings Became Standardised
Road safety measures – such as cat’s eyes and markings – were developed and popularised following major societal changes during World War I and II. The aftermath of both wars saw international institutions (like the United Nations and the Council of Europe) being established, and economies becoming far more globalised, with the USA becoming the world’s de facto superpower.
This status saw the leaders in automotive infrastructure (namely the US, followed by the UK and Germany) play a large part in influencing what would become global standards. Both wartime road use and post-war rebuilding efforts accelerated development, with nations adopting similar systems to those that had already been established elsewhere for ease and consistency. The USA’s Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD), which was created in 1935, helped to establish a blueprint that other countries would follow.
Standardisation was further embedded in 1968 with the Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals. This was a multilateral treaty to align the signing system for road traffic (road signs, traffic lights and road markings) internationally, extending the previous 1949 Geneva Protocol on Road Signs and Signals. Interestingly, the United States was one of the countries that did not ratify the treaty (leaning instead on its own MUTCD), which led to confusion for US drivers when several of the Vienna Convention’s standards were belatedly adopted in the 1970s.
In the years since, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) has set out new specifications for road markings to ensure consistency. Even though many countries did not sign up to the full Vienna Convention guidelines, the majority have adopted the signs and legal principles it enshrined to form the basis of their traffic laws.
Why Global Standards Ensure Safety
While some local differences certainly exist when it comes to safety standards, the broad internationalisation of road rules has a variety of benefits. Whether a person travels on foot or drives an articulated lorry, everyone has to learn how to avoid injury and accidents when using the road network. The creation of a universal visual language has served to make this process as easy as possible, giving road users the opportunity to learn systems that – broadly speaking – will apply whether they are in Singapore, Los Angeles or Budapest.
This consistency helps:
- International freight operate safely and efficiently across borders, supporting industries and trade.
- Infrastructure teams drive projects forward without the need to devise new safety systems, with tried-and-tested methods to refer to.
- Immigrants and international students adapt and drive safely in a new country.
- Tourists and business travellers familiarise themselves with local roads more quickly and avoid making mistakes. By being able to recognise key information instantly, they have more mental energy to interpret the smaller differences.
- The rollout of new technology. Some modern Advanced Driver-Assistance Systems (ADAS), such as lane-keeping assist, rely on consistency in road markings. These road safety systems will also be vital in the implementation of driverless cars.
Some Differences to Watch Out For
Perhaps the most jarring difference for globetrotting road users is one simple rule we failed to decide on internationally – which side of the road to drive on. Here in the UK, as well as in Hong Kong, Australia, Japan and elsewhere, we drive on the left; but in the USA, France, China, Russia, Argentina and more (you can find a full list here), people drive on the right. This impacts which lane is the fast lane and the direction of roundabouts, and road users switching from one to the other often need to acclimate themselves.
It is also worth noting any different signs a country may use in advance of visiting there, especially where the signs might not be in your native language. Reading around to familiarise yourself with the (generally small) differences in safety and traffic control systems is a useful way to minimise stress in the moment. In larger nations, like the USA and China, there are also variations in regional/state laws that it is important to be aware of.
Lastly, while road networks tend to share many common themes, there may be cultural differences in driving practices compared to your country of origin. For example, in Japan, the rules of the road are taken extremely seriously, with drivers tending to be more cautious and accommodating, a slower pace of traffic, and severe penalties for breaking the speed limit.
Other countries are known for less rule-bound driving styles. In India, for instance, people get used to driving defensively, as practices such as jumping lights are more common. Cultural driving conventions – such as how often the car horn is used and what it means – can also vary wildly depending on where you are. In some countries, it simply means ‘Hey! I’m here!’, while in others it generally indicates annoyance or danger.
International cooperation in the implementation of road signs and markings has created a safety-promoting consensus that makes travelling the globe far less challenging than it might have been. At Hi-Way Services, we’re proud to be a part of keeping roads safe both here and overseas – if you’d like to find out more about our services, click here.
