A survey into the quality of road safety markings on Britain’s roads

This year’s survey is the ninth national investigation conducted by the RSMA into the quality of road safety markings. The findings in this report relate to site surveys carried out in the autumn of 2010. The survey covers a total of 2,462km of roads.

Of more than 60 single-carriageway A-roads surveyed, on average 14% of road markings are ‘completely worn out’, and a further 15% fall into the ‘amber’ zone and should immediately be scheduled for replacement. Just 29% of lines reach the acceptable level of visibility.

Of the 470 miles of A roads and motorways surveyed, one in five falls below the minimum specifiable standard, while 8% have centre line markings that are barely visible. And while 39% of dual carriageways and 38% of motorways make the recommended rating used by the industry, this is a drop in quality since 2008, when 69% of markings on duals and 49% on motorways reached this grade.

Overall, the quality and performance of road markings in the UK is now back to 2006 levels – with 10% of all markings requiring immediate replacement and a total of nearly a quarter of all road markings requiring scheduled replacement in the next 12 months.