How many road markings and signals do you really know? One in particular has stumped the internet – though it will actually help a great deal to know about its meaning
A certain road marking has stumped the internet – and it probably doesn’t mean what you think.
Stop signs and double yellow lines are among the countless road rules that are fairly easy to recognise. Though, many of us are guilty of forgetting the more ‘irrelevant’ ones, as the years fly by since our theory tests.
That’s why so many people were baffled to realise what a particular road marking really means. The white zig-zags are a pattern you probably see everyday at the road sides, but are easy to ignore if they don’t seem handy to you.
Taking to Reddit, one person asked: “What do these lines mean?,” circling the giant zig-zags on a conventional city high-street. This was met with a flurry of confused comments, with one person also asking: “Are allowed to park there?”, as another moaned: “Enough signs.”
Believe it or not, there are several rules around white zig-zag lines in the UK’s High Way Code that actually may help to know in the long run. First off, parking in an area covered by these lines is a big no-no for safety reasons, as they often come before pedestrian crossings.
Overtaking the nearest vehicle in these lines or any that has stopped to give way to pedestrians is also against the government’s rules to once again protect anyone walking around. Though, if you take another look at the image you’ll probably notice a few of these rules aren’t at play.
Not only is a van parked directly on top of the zig-zags, but there is no crossing anywhere in sight, which may add to your confusion. The uploaded image is believed to have been photographed in Brussels, where locals claim zig-zags are usually always synonymous with delivery areas.
One person said: “There should be a sign telling you delivery hours and cost of parking (usually 100€),” as another wrote: “As people have said, this is a delivery area. There should be a sign somewhere indicating whether you cannot park during a certain range of hours (e.g. no parking between 8:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m.) or whether you are not allowed to park at all.”
In the UK, delivery areas are now more commonly marked out with white bay boxes, according to the Highway Code. It states: “Lengths of road reserved for vehicles loading and unloading are indicated by a white ‘bay’ marking with the words ‘Loading Only’ and a sign with the white on blue ‘trolley’ symbol.
“This sign also shows whether loading and unloading is restricted to goods vehicles and the times at which the bay can be used. If no times or days are shown it may be used at any time. Vehicles may not park here if they are not loading or unloading.”
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