The Latest Road Markings Being Tested in Spain

There have been many different trials in Spain, and other countries, of road markings, such as the Dragon’s Teeth launched some years ago, or the coloured lines, and the latest being put to the test by the Catalan Traffic Service, which may then be extended based on the results of the test phase, is in the Foix Reservoir area and consists of additional markings on the road, specifically on curves.

This measure was put into practice in Austria some time ago by the Kuratorium fur Verkehrssicherheit (KFV), the Austrian equivalent of the Spanish DGT, and provider of the images. The project consisted of painting small circles on the sharpest bends on secondary roads, next to the dividing line between the two lanes. As you approach the apex of the bend, these circles increase in size.

Early studies confirmed that motorcyclists braked more on bends and unconsciously positioned themselves outside the area marked by the circles. In this simple way, in addition to reducing speed, they took bends on the outside, moving away from the centre of the road and giving more space to the oncoming lane.

In Austria, the measure was implemented in 2019 in the Tyrol region, which is popular with motorcyclists who enjoy the spectacular scenery offered by the Alps. According to local data, accidents were reduced by 80% in 2021, compared to the figures between 2012 and 2018.

In Luxembourg, similar measures were put in place in 2016, but instead of painting circles on bends, they painted straight lines following the same principle: as you approached the apex, the lines became longer, forcing the motorcyclist to move away.

The measure was applied on curves where 77% of motorcyclists crossed the dividing line of the road and the results of the studies were very positive: the infraction rate was reduced to 44% of motorcyclists.

In the case of the initiative by the Catalan Traffic Service, it is similar to the Luxembourg model, that is, it uses two straight lines at the apex of the sharpest curves to move motorcyclists away from the centre of the lane.