What are the green lines on the road for?

Road safety is one of the things that concerns everyone who is on the road the most. That is because road conditions are important, but so are the signage elements that mark speed limits and anything else related to safety. So any innovation to improve safety is very important and should be welcomed.

One of these innovations is beginning to be applied on a Spanish road, after having been successfully tested in other European countries. You probably haven’t seen it, because it is still in the testing phase in our country and has only been applied on two roads in Castilla-León. These are the CL-613, on the stretch between Palencia and Sahagún, and the CL-615, between Palencia and Guardo. But what does this new signage consist of?

More safety on the road

It consists of two parallel lines placed next to the shoulder lines on secondary roads, but unlike those, they are painted in green. The colour has been used to set these lines apart from the ones we usually see on these roads. Being visible, they can be seen from a distance and allow the road to be identified.

These green lines indicate a speed limit zone and fulfil a very specific function. Being painted on the inside of the carriageway next to the white lines, they create a sensation of narrowing of the road. Faced with this perception, drivers tend to reduce their speed instinctively, so safety is improved on these stretches.

The idea behind using this road markings is to reduce speed on these stretches and eliminate speed control systems, such as radars. In fact, on these stretches cascade radars are used, which make it possible to check not only that drivers are travelling at the appropriate speed, but also to verify the effectiveness of the green lines on the carriageway.

The green stripe will serve to mark those stretches with a lower speed so that the driver can identify them more easily. After a trial period, with fairly positive results, this system can be extended to other roads and it is likely to become popular soon.