A California road construction project near San Diego has introduced road markings that many drivers are unfamiliar with. Normally you might see white or yellow stripes on roads to divide the lanes, but in this project they were painted one after the other with white and orange lines. The purpose of these markings is to alert drivers that they are in a construction zone to encourage slower, safer driving.
This is a pilot project between Caltrans and SANDAG Build NCC. These stripes are temporary and are only used when drivers need to be reminded of special road area rules (such as slowing down in construction zones). Safer roads are often touted, such as driving tracking apps that allow people to drive safer. The benefit of these stripes is that they are eye-catching and tell drivers that they have entered a construction zone. They are more visible at night than orange cones. They also make it easier to mark where construction areas end and begin, rather than relying entirely on road signs.
The stripes are also used to better distinguish temporary lane changes that may occur during construction, helping drivers know where to go. The pilot project has been successful, with more drivers aware of when they are in a construction zone. Although not everyone knows what the stripes mean, the colors matching the standard orange and white cones help convey the message.
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California isn’t the first place to try these orange stripes
Road work ahead orange sign – Jakes47s/Getty Images
California is actually following the model of other states that are successfully using these orange and white road stripes. Wisconsin was the first to implement these measures about a decade ago. As the state experiences harsher winters, the state decided to try orange stripes. Snow and road salt can make it difficult to see for drivers changing lanes during construction, so orange was chosen to be bright and eye-catching.
Kentucky is the next state to try this technology on interstate construction projects in 2019. Next up are Texas in 2020, Michigan in 2022 and Washington State in 2023. The Indiana Toll Road is considering trying out these orange and white stripes at an unknown future date. The U.S. isn’t the only country implementing these stripes, either, as they’ve been successfully tested in Canada and New Zealand.
The benefits to human drivers are obvious. With the rise of self-driving robo-taxi services and self-driving cars, it’s interesting to consider whether these high-visibility stripes might better aid these systems as well. Waymo, a robotaxi service, was recently issued a safety recall after its vehicle illegally drove over a parked school bus. Perhaps pilot projects like this can make humans and self-driving cars safer. Since both the robot axis and the orange stripes are new, there is no data on how the system responds to the temporary stripes.
Do orange stripes improve safety?
A blue car rear-ended a black car – Sahrul1108/Shutterstock
Accidents on construction sites are an ongoing problem. According to the National Work Zone Safety Information Clearinghouse, construction zone accidents killed 899 people in 2023. Of these fatalities, 40 were pedestrians engaged in road construction. The numbers have not improved significantly since 2015, fluctuating from year to year, but the death toll has always remained between 700 and 1,000.
A study was conducted in 2023 to examine how these orange and white stripes could help prevent accidents in construction zones. The report, published by Purdue University, is titled “Effectiveness of Roadway Contrast Markings and Work Zone Orange Markings.” Research has found that these markings reduce lane departure accidents by 74%, and that the vast majority of drivers recognize the markings and find them helpful. The orange markings also resulted in speed reductions of approximately four miles per hour compared to construction zones without orange stripes.
As the use of these orange stripes expands from California to other states, it will be interesting to see if future accident data report a significant reduction in work zone fatalities. Whether drivers realize what the stripes mean or not, the associated safety habits appear to be promising. A future with orange stripes in all construction zones may be coming.
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