Poor Marks for UK White Lines

5 March 2012

The UK’s road markings are vanishing at an alarming rate, with well over half of white lines in Scotland and Wales almost non-existent, and England’s road markings faring little better.

A snapshot survey of nearly 500 miles conducted by The Road Safety Markings Association shows that, on average, 50.6 percent of the UK’s road markings surveyed are barely visible. The proportion of roads falling into the "emergency repairs" bracket stands at 23 per cent; while less than 7 per cent of road markings score the highest rating.

By contrast, a survey carried out 12 months earlier on the UK’s 10 most dangerous roads showed that 23 percent of centre lines fell into the lowest category while 31 percent qualified for the highest rating.