Road markings and traffic signs on major highways across Europe should be harmonised to ensure that vehicles of the future can communicate effectively and safely with infrastructure, it has been claimed.

Half of all cars on the road in Europe will be capable of reading and understanding road signs and markings within 12 years, according to a report published by the European Road Assessment Programme (EuroRAP) and crash test assessor Euro NCAP.

It says that vehicles equipped with modern technology will not function well where road markings and signs are worn out, inconsistent or confusing. It calls for signs to feature the same fonts, colours, sizes and shapes and for the width of white lines to be standardised.

The report ‘Roads that cars can read’ makes the point that inadequate maintenance and differences in road markings and traffic signs are now a major obstacle to the effective use of technology in vehicles, such as lane departure warning and traffic sign recognition systems.

EuroRAP chairman John Dawson said: “There needs to be a fundamental change in the discipline we apply to road infrastructure. Lane markings are now the ‘rails’ for self steering vehicles. Safety standards of the rail and aviation industry need to be applied to major roads.”

The report also calls for an independent survey of Europe’s major roads to assess the scale of action needed to meet new standards.

George Lee of the Road Safety Markings Association, who chaired a working party looking at the issue, said: “Car manufacturers are developing technology that cannot be fully realised unless highway infrastructure across Europe is of a consistent level. The primary driver for all this is improving road safety.”

(Photo: David Lally)

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