A lane is defined as any portion of a roadway on which a single row of multi-track vehicles, including but not limited to cars or trucks, can travel. This one may or may not be marked with traffic signs. Most often, the markings occur before an upcoming intersection or an opportunity to turn one way. Traffic lanes lead in one specific direction, when there are more lanes on one side of the road, traffic is organized according to the scheme: left for overtaking (or for those going faster), right for driving. Often there are more than two lanes in one direction, then the far right is for trucks.
Traffic lanes - dimensions
According to the regulation on technical conditions to be met by all public roads, a traffic lane can be from 2.5 meters wide (access roads) up to 3.75 meters wide for freeways and roads outside built-up areas. The regulation also included the maximum traffic lane width in Poland in built-up areas, where it was assumed that it may be 3.5 meters for a freeway, 3 meters for a collector road, and 2.5 meters for a two-lane access road.
The most common horizontal lane signs
Road signs placed on the road surface are marked with lines, arrows, inscriptions, and often other symbols. They are colored white or yellow, and if both are present, yellow is more important. We will now present the individual markings and explain them to you:
Lane dividing lines
In this case, the most common is a single dotted line that allows overtaking and crossing. A single continuous line prohibits overtaking and is most often used on access roads in built-up areas. A single dashed line, the other side of which is continuous, indicates the possibility of crossing/overtaking a vehicle in the lane from the dashed side. A double continuous prohibits overtaking on both sides of the roadway.
Guiding arrows
There are straight ahead, left, right, turning, and guide arrows used at intersections, highway exits, expressways, and traffic circles.
Lane markings at intersections
A thick continuous line indicates a STOP sign, which means you must stop, and small triangles are the conditional stop line. The subordinate triangle means give way, while the STOP sign means exactly what the thick continuous line means.
In our country, the most common roads are those where one lane is designated for driving in one direction. On expressways and highways, there are usually two or three, where the far right lane is for trucks.