UK white lines barely visible on some roads

Driving appears to be a challenge for many of the UK’s drivers, but their abilities are not aided by the fact that an average of 50.6 per cent of the UK’s white road markings are barely visible.

A 23 per cent of roads fall into the emergency repairs bracket, while less than 7 per cent of road markings score the highest rating.

The Road Safety Markings Association (RSMA) carried out the latest spot-check across a range of motorways and major A roads managed by the Highways Agency and lesser A and B roads managed by local authorities.

RSMA national director George Lee says: “These findings are shocking. We could see a clear, direct correlation between deadly roads and deadly road markings when we examined the 10 most dangerous roads identified by the Road Safety Foundation.

“Now, just a simple cross-section of roads – arguably representative of the entire network – shows a level of deterioration that defies belief.”

Road markings must meet a rating of 150mcd (millicandelas) being measured in their retro-reflectivity. They have to be clearly visible at night and in wet conditions.

The Highways Agency standard says if the quality of markings falls below 100mcd, they should be scheduled for replacement, and if the quality rates below 80mcd, they must be replaced immediately.