I was chugging south near Glos M5 the other afternoon and I was driving into a bright low sun on a wet road in roadworks, now there were the old white lines which were painted over along with old scars from previous studs from where the lanes had been previously altered and there were the fresh green studs for the present lane set up.
Now I have good eyesight but there were so many lines zig zagging back and forth it was very difficult to see what I had to follow and watching the car in front he was struggling too and to top it all there was an Audi and a double decker parked up on the hard shoulder with the Audi having a nice gash down it’s offside so assuming one of them followed the wrong set of lines.
Anyone experienced these problems generally on wet or shiny roads ?
Yes, I have thought this for years, with low sun on wet roads it can be very difficult to distinguish the “dead blanked” lines and the current live lines. It’s slightly easier being higher up in a wagon to see the difference but it’s a bugger lower down in a car and I am convinced this is the cause of many accidents in road works where drivers have not got a clue the lanes have changed.
Good post.
Changing tack slightly,most evenings I run south on the M6 at dark o clock.
At junction 15 for Stoke,the road bends slightly right,at which point the lane markings are VERY faint,and occasionally,when I’m not concentrating ,I nearly end up flying up the slip road
I mean…who wants to go to Stoke
Happens mainly to me if the sun is setting ahead in roadworks, got very confused on the M62 a few months back heading towards Liverpool. Both looked exactly the same to me, thankfully the view in the mirrors was quite clear but it was obvious I wasn’t the only one flummoxed.
Yes same problem and it is made worse in on wet roads and low winter sun, we up high in the lorry can usually work out where the markings should be, but that doesn’t stop the clever bleeders who have zero spatial awareness failing to realise their vehicle is too wide on the lane they think they have which they now don’t have.
As an aside how much bloody wider are cars going to get, Aldi A5’s and especially those gopping Q7’s are nearly as wide as our artics, but (and this does seem to be an Aldi versprung dirk etc driver problem in particular) why do they need our lane as well as theirs on junctions and roundabouts
Yep, Ive noticed the same thing. Same in France too. White lane lines have black painted on top of em in road works and then yellow lines put down. Low light angles, rain, etc exacerbate the visibility problems.
Fortunately Ive got a lane departure fitted in my Euro 6 DAF: even if its turned off it will flash up that it is incapable of working in these conditions, so I can watch the flashing dash display rather than be worried about what is going on outside the cab.
This, missing cats eyes and tramlines really annoy me when I consider how many plod and Highways eyes have seen these defects and said nothing, or if they have said anything how many plod and Highways ears have ignored what has been said.
,I nearly end up flying up the slip road 
