Lane
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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- For people named Lane and other uses of the word, see Lane (disambiguation).
The word lane has two meanings:
- a portion of a paved roadway which is intended for a single line of vehicles and is marked by white or yellow lines. This article only elaborates on this meaning.
- a narrow road, usually lacking a shoulder or a median. The word is typically applied to roads in the countryside, but can also be applied to urban streets, like Drury Lane in London. Large cities in the U.S. states of Nevada and Texas tend to apply the term to many arterial roads[citation needed]. Also see alley.
In contrast to lane-less countries such as India, most countries with a significant number of motor vehicles mark lanes on their paved roads. Drivers are usually required to stay within a lane as much as reasonably possible. In many countries, a prolonged inability to stay in one's lane is considered to be a symptom of driving under the influence and may lead to a citation or arrest for a moving violation.
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[edit] Types of lanes
- A traffic lane or travel lane is a lane for the movement of vehicles traveling from one destination to another, not including shoulders and auxiliary lanes.
- A through lane or thru lane is a traffic lane for through traffic. At intersections, these may be indicated by arrows on the pavement pointing straight ahead.
- A carriageway is a series of lanes (or part of a road) in which vehicles travel.
- A fire lane is the area next to a curb, which is reserved for firefighting equipment, ambulances, or other emergency vehicles. Parking in these areas, often marked by red lines, usually warrants a parking ticket.
- A loading lane is an area next to a curb, which is reserved for loading and unloading passengers. It may be marked by a "LOADING ONLY" sign or a yellow or white curb.
- A passing lane is often provided on steep mountain grades, in order to allow smaller vehicles to pass larger, slower ones. This is sometimes called a climbing lane if on the uphill side. Passing lanes may also be provided on long stretches of other roadway. On two-lane roads, passing in the lane of oncoming traffic is sometimes allowed given a long enough straightaway, if the broken line is on the normal side of travel.
- A collector lane of a road is used for slower moving traffic and has more access to exits/off ramps.
- An express lane of a road is used for faster moving traffic and has less access to exits/off ramps.
- A transfer lane of a road is used to move from express lanes to collector lanes, or vice-versa; it is somewhat similar to an auxiliary lane.
- A merge lane is a lane or onramp used to merge two flows of traffic into one, with the merge lane being the lane that disappears at the end of the merging area. Merge lane lengths depend mainly on the speed differential of the two merging flows, as the slower flow has to use the lane to accelerate.
- An auxiliary lane along a highway or motorway connects slip roads, with the entrance ramp or acceleration lane from one interchange leading to the exit ramp or deceleration lane of the next.
- The emergency lane of a road (also known as the breakdown lane or shoulder) is reserved for breakdowns, and for emergency vehicles. Often, especially in rural areas, these lanes deliberately have ruts cut in them, in order to warn drivers that they are leaving the roadway. This feature is especially important in the circumstance that a driver falls asleep at the wheel.
- An HOV lane or carpool lane is reserved for carpooling. It may be marked with a diamond icon every few hundred feet (hence the nickname "diamond lane"), or separated from other lanes by double broken white lines, a continuous pair of double yellow lines, or just a single broken white line.
- A turn lane is set aside for slowing down and making a turn, so as not to disrupt traffic. At a full intersection with a traffic light, turn lanes are used more to hold traffic until the light changes.
- A designated bicycle lane is a portion of the roadway or shoulder designated for the exclusive or preferential use of bicyclists. This designation is indicated by special word and/or symbol markings on the pavement and "BIKE LANE" signs.
- A bus lane is reserved for buses providing public transportation on a fixed route, sometimes with overhead catenary for trolleybuses. In some countries, bus lanes may also be used by some other traffic, such as taxis, bicycles and motorbikes.
- A reversible lane, which uses overhead lights, signs, poles or barriers to indicate the current direction of travel it is to be used for. Typically, it is used at rush hour to accommodate extra traffic, and at other times as a center turn lane. In between, there is approximately one hour where no traffic is allowed. While the idea is very simple, the term suicide lane became a common slang description for this design, because many people ignored their driving or the lights. Because of their history of numerous accidents and collisions, reversible lanes are rarely used now. However, there are some functional examples on the river bridges just east of downtown Los Angeles which use lights only and nothing else to indicate the direction of traffic for each lane. Some places, like Hawaii, call these lanes contraflow lanes and enforce them with plastic poles that are manually rearranged by work crews before and after rush hour.
- A truck lane typically separates from high-speed traffic and other mixed-flow traffic and allows for the exclusive use of trucks. These lanes are designed to optimize pavement performance, minimize pavement fatigue, and improve highway safety.
A Lane can also be a name for someone. If you have the name Lane you should probably change your name because not only is it gay but you will also probably be the biggest ass hole ever. You will also be obsessed with sex but will never get some because you are too afraid since you have a small penis. Too bad for you!
[edit] Lane markings
Painted lane markings vary widely from country to country. In the United States, yellow lines separate traffic going opposite directions and white separates lanes of traffic traveling the same direction, but this is not the case in many European countries.
[edit] Medians or central reservations
Besides a painted line, lanes of traffic moving in opposing directions can also be separated by any of the following:
- grass strip or ditch
- a central turning lane that allows vehicles to turn into driveways or streets on the opposite side of the road without stopping traffic
- a wide paved area with special paint markings indicating that it should never be crossed
- metal guard rail (or guide rail) affixed to metal or wooden posts
- cable barriers
- concrete barriers, such as Jersey barriers
Such separations between opposing traffic are referred to as a median in American English and as a central reservation in British English.
[edit] History
For much of human history, roads did not need lane markings because most people walked or rode horses at relatively slow speeds. Another reason for not using lane markings is that they are expensive to maintain.
However, when automobiles, trucks, and buses came into widespread use during the first two decades of the 20th century, it became common for drivers to get into head-on collisions, or to literally run each other off the road.
Without the visual feedback provided by lane markings, novice drivers in the early days often erred in favor of keeping closer to the middle of the road, rather than risk going off-road into ditches or trees[citation needed]. Unfortunately, this practice often left inadequate room for opposing traffic to go by.
There are two people who have been credited with the invention of lane markings. In 1911, Edward Hines, the chairman of the Road Commission of Wayne County, Michigan was trying to figure out how to make the roads safer. He supposedly came up with the idea of painting stripes to separate lanes of traffic after riding behind a milk truck that leaked milk onto the center of the road, leaving a stripe.
Meanwhile in California, June McCarroll, a physician based in Indio, started experimenting with painting lines on roads in 1917 after she was personally run off a highway by an inexperienced truck driver. In November 1924, after years of lobbying by Dr. McCarroll and her allies, California officially adopted a policy of painting lines on its highways. A portion of Interstate 10 near Indio has been named the Dr. June McCarroll Memorial Freeway in her honor.
By 1939, lane markings had become so popular that they were officially standardized throughout the United States, and they were soon copied by countries all over the world.
