What does the white center line mean to you?

[TonyRPH]

As per topic - what does the white center line mean to you? (either solid or dashed - doesn't matter).

To me, it marks out the lane I am in, and signifies that I should attempt to remain within the boundary set by said line(s).

So why do I find myself constantly moving even closer to my left, to avoid people coming toward me through bends with both wheels over said line?

This is happening several times during my short (9 mile) journey to and from work each day (mostly average 'B' roads).

And yes, I have double checked that I am positioned correctly within my own lane (4 fingers pointing back and all that..).

This is not meant to be a rant btw.

[kambites]

I think it depends on the road and the vehicle in question. Many roads seem to be marked out with two lanes such that there's no way anything big could actually stay in its own lane on sharp bends. Even in a normal car towing a big trailer, it can sometimes be impossible, let alone driving an artic or a bus.

Car drivers forcing oncoming traffic to deviate from its course on its own side of the road is usually just plain bad driving, though.

Edited by kambites on Tuesday 22 April 09:37

[greygoose]

TonyRPH said:

This is not meant to be a rant btw.

Good job there wasn't much swearing.

I find the same thing quite frequently, perhaps part of it is down to people not being aware of how wide their cars are and keeping away from the hedges without realising (or caring) that they are over the centre?

[TooMany2cvs]

TonyRPH said:

As per topic - what does the white center line mean to you? (either solid or dashed - doesn't matter).

Yes, it does matter whether it's solid, short dashes or long dashes.

TonyRPH said:

So why do I find myself constantly moving even closer to my left, to avoid people coming toward me through bends with both wheels over said line?

Because a lot of the people you're sharing the roads with are clueless numpties. This shouldn't be a surprise...

TonyRPH said:

And yes, I have double checked that I am positioned correctly within my own lane (4 fingers pointing back and all that..).

Only recently passed your test, by any chance?

I'm sure your instructor explained his "four fingers" thing, but would you care to enlighten the rest of us?

[V8forweekends]

Centre

[trashbat]

TonyRPH said:

To me, it marks out the lane I am in, and signifies that I should attempt to remain within the boundary set by said line(s)

Well, technically, a dashed white (centre, unless you're American) line on a single carriageway road says two things:

(a) this road is at least wide enough for two somethings that I forget the details of
(b) here is the middle of it

There might be many reasons to cross the line, and only some might be out of necessity.

However I'd also add:

(c) you shouldn't cross this line unless you're absolutely sure no harm will come of it

I have noticed the behaviour you describe quite a lot recently.

[Rovinghawk]

TooMany2cvs said:

I'm sure your instructor explained his "four fingers" thing, but would you care to enlighten the rest of us?

"When you point a finger at others, three fingers point back at you."

Ghandi?

[Bennet]

TooMany2cvs said:

Only recently passed your test, by any chance?

I'm sure your instructor explained his "four fingers" thing, but would you care to enlighten the rest of us?

He means "three fingers" and he's referring to the saying that goes along the lines of "whenever you point the finger at someone, three fingers are pointing back at you." Or possibly he's in the habit of gesturing at distant objects using his thumb.

Nothing to do with his driving instruction, recent or otherwise.

To answer the question, I think the answer is 50% to do with most drivers underestimating how close they can safely get to the nearside hedge and 50% dumb complacency and inattention.

[DickyC]

Do you also find some people overtaking on dual carriageways and motorways aren't fully in the next lane and nearly skin you as they go by?

This is quite a recent thing in my experience.

Must get a dashcam.

[Censorious]

TooMany2cvs said:

Only recently passed your test, by any chance?

I'm sure your instructor explained his "four fingers" thing, but would you care to enlighten the rest of us?

New one on me too & I'm an instructor

I teach normal road position as 1mtr from the kerb, or on faster roads the centre line of the road or outer lane marking should transect with the bottom right corner of the screen.

[mwstewart]

I don't think some people know the difference between a solid and broken line these days, let alone the significance of short or long dashes!

If I can see around a bend clearly then I will cut a corner, providing the line is dashed. I won't cross a solid line unless I really have to.

[conkerman]

Mark the centre of the road and give clues to the potential hazards, more paint = more hazard.

If the line is broken, it's just a guide.

[TonyRPH]

I am aware that solid or dashed does matter - but in the context of the topic, it's not important. (for the pedants, yes, I know you can techically straddle a broken line, although there are many roads around here (West Yorkshire) where broken lines exist, when in fact they should be solid.

Apologies for the center, centre thing - I was educated in SA and I still trip up occasionally over British vs. rest of world spelling.

I tend to agree that many people struggle to judge distance to their left side and oddly enough, this happens quite frequently with small cars too.

And no, I haven't just got my licence, I have been driving for 40+ years.

[mrmr96]

trashbat said:

ell, technically, a dashed white (centre, unless you're American) line on a single carriageway road says two things:

(a) this road is at least wide enough for two somethings that I forget the details of
(b) here is the middle of it

There might be many reasons to cross the line, and only some might be out of necessity.

However I'd also add:

(c) you shouldn't cross this line unless you're absolutely sure no harm will come of it

I have noticed the behaviour you describe quite a lot recently.

Regard (a), sometimes there are roads with a centre line where its not possible for two cars to pass each other. This is the case in some very rural roads.

[V8forweekends]

TonyRPH said:

Apologies for the center, centre thing - I was educated in SA and I still trip up occasionally over British vs. rest of world spelling.

It's not us Vs the world, centre is common (though not universal) in Canada, Australia, NZ etc etc

[trashbat]

mrmr96 said:

Regard (a), sometimes there are roads with a centre line where its not possible for two cars to pass each other. This is the case in some very rural roads.

It seems the minimum road width for a centre line is 5.5 metres; by way of comparison, two Ford Focuses with mirrors would be just shy of 4.1m, so I suggest the lines shouldn't be there.

I may be wrong about any part of this post!

[fangio]

I find I generally have no bother as I obey the first rule of the road in this country - KEEP LEFT, not the same as keep let of the white lines.

[IntriguedUser]

DickyC said:

Do you also find some people overtaking on dual carriageways and motorways aren't fully in the next lane and nearly skin you as they go by?

This is quite a recent thing in my experience.

Must get a dashcam.

I do this on purpose on motorways when someone is hogging the middle lane, I'll overtake within inches and then sharply swing left back into the far left lane, does the trick 90% of the time driver move over to the left.

[strudel]

IntriguedUser said:

DickyC said:

Do you also find some people overtaking on dual carriageways and motorways aren't fully in the next lane and nearly skin you as they go by?

This is quite a recent thing in my experience.

Must get a dashcam.

I do this on purpose on motorways when someone is hogging the middle lane, I'll overtake within inches and then sharply swing left back into the far left lane, does the trick 90% of the time driver move over to the left.

You sir, are a fool.

[vtecyo]

Buy a Marauder.