What does arrow markings on the roadway warn you about?

Explanation

It warns of approaching the end of a lane.

In the picture several curved arrows are painted on the carriageway, deviating from your lane into the adjacent one, and to their left the solid line separating the flows is visible. The meaning of these arrows is a single message: the lane you are in ends ahead, so move into the adjacent lane in good time.

The reason for such a warning is to buy time. A safe lane change needs a suitable gap in the adjacent flow, and finding that gap at speed takes several seconds. If the driver only notices at the pinch point, he must either brake suddenly or throw himself into the next lane with a sharp turn of the wheel — the two movements that in dense traffic lead to a chain collision.

The correct behaviour after seeing the arrows: adjust your speed, check the mirror and the blind spot, signal, and move across at the first safe opportunity; not drive on to the last metre and then force yourself into the queue.

The exam trap is confusing markings with signs: warnings of a "dangerous section" and of the "direction of a dangerous bend" are given by signs, not by arrows on the asphalt. Wherever the message is painted on the surface of the carriageway, look for a meaning that relates to the arrangement of the traffic lanes.

• Warning of a dangerous section of road is the job of warning signs; arrows on the asphalt speak about the arrangement of the traffic lanes. • The direction of a dangerous bend is shown by a dedicated sign and roadside devices, not by arrows drawn along a traffic lane.

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