Single track road

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Single track road with a passing place near Kinlochewe in Scotland

A single track road or one lane road is a road that permits two way travel but is not wide enough to allow oncoming vehicles to pass. This kind of road is common in rural areas across the United Kingdom. To accommodate two-way traffic, single track roads are generally provided with passing places (Scotland) or pullouts or turnouts (United States), or simply wide spots in the road, all of which may be scarcely longer than a typical vehicle using the road. The distance between points where passing is possible varies considerably, depending on the terrain and the volume of traffic on the road.

1 Single track roads in Scotland
2 Single track roads in mountains
3 Tactics
4 See also
5 External links

[edit] Single track roads in Scotland

The term is widely used in Scotland, particularly the Highlands, to describe such roads. Passing places are generally marked with a diamond shaped white sign with the words 'passing place' upon it. New signs tend to be square rather than diamond shaped, as diamond signs are reserved for instructions to tram drivers in cities. On some roads, especially in Argyll and Bute, passing places may be marked with black and white striped posts. Signs remind drivers of slower vehicles to pull over into a passing place to let following vehicles pass, and most drivers oblige.

Many A class and B class roads in the Highlands are still single track, although some sections are being widened for the sake of faster travel. Work is due to begin later this year to upgrade the only remaining single-track trunk road, the A830 between Arisaig and Loch nan Uamh. [1]

[edit] Single track roads in mountains

One lane road in California, United States

In remote backcountry areas around the world, particularly in mountains, many roads are single track and unmarked. These include in the United States many forest service and logging roads. In Peru, the second of two overland transportation routes between Cuzco and Madre de Dios Region, a 300km heavy truck route, is a single track road of gravel and dirt.

[edit] Tactics

If lines of sight are long, and both drivers are familiar with the road, vehicles heading towards each other can adjust their speed so as to arrive at a wide spot at the same time and pass slowly, avoiding the need for either vehicle to stop.

When two vehicles meet head on, generally the drivers confer to decide in which direction lies the closest wide spot, and together they travel there, the lead vehicle necessarily in reverse gear.

In Scotland, it is customary for drivers to acknowledge each other with a wave, or flash of headlights at night. In the United States, it is customary to move the right hand to the top of the steering wheel, palm down, and raise 4 fingers.