A big red line in the middle of the road: but what does this new road marking mean?

A new type of road marking has arrived on European roads with the aim of improving motorist safety.

Every country in the world is seeking to improve road safety. To reduce the number of serious accidents, most of which are caused by speeding, authorities are testing new measures. Often on a few roads before duplicating them on a larger scale if the results are convincing.

You may have noticed some new developments in road markings in recent years. In some European countries, authorities have opted for "dragon's teeth," the purpose of which was to simply give drivers the impression that the road was narrowing. This, in turn, forced them to reduce their speed in urban areas. The first pilot test took place in Spain. It is also on the other side of the Pyrenees that a new road marking has been tested for the past year, which is likely to disturb motorists who discover it.

On most roads, no matter which continent you're driving on, the lines on the ground are white, like in France, or yellow, like in the United States. In Spain, a new color has appeared. In Andalusia, in the south of the Iberian Peninsula, drivers can now see red lines. This is the case if you're driving on the A-355 towards Malaga, where a wide red stripe has been painted right down the middle of the road for a distance of 4 kilometers. But why?

This thick red line is used to mark the separation between two traffic lanes in a place where overtaking is prohibited, like solid white lines. But the brighter red line is intended to attract more attention from drivers and encourage them not to overtake or even to reduce their speed in dangerous areas (bends, winding roads, poor visibility, etc.). This test initiated by the Andalusian government could well be emulated in Spain's neighboring countries if the results show a decrease in unauthorized overtaking.

As a reminder, beyond the extreme danger of such a maneuver, overtaking on a solid line costs 135 euros and the loss of three points on your driving license in France. This offense is even more severely punished in Spain: the offender receives a fine of 200 euros and risks having their driving license suspended for one to three months.