Texas Defensive Driving Safety Tip
Texas Traffic Lanes
A lane is a part of a road marked out for use by a single line of vehicles. A narrow rural road may have only one lane with shoulders to allow vehicles to pass. Public highways usually have at least two lanes for traffic moving in a single direction.
Lane markings facilitate orderly queuing when drivers must stop and wait before proceeding. When lanes are marked, drivers are required to keep their vehicle within the lines unless passing or turning. A few different types of lanes are as follows:
- Through Lane or Thru Lane – Is a traffic lane for through traffic. At intersections thru lanes may be indicated by arrows on the pavement pointing straight ahead.
- Deceleration Lane - Is a paved or semi-paved lane adjacent to the primary road or street. It is used to improve traffic safety by allowing drivers to pull off the main road and decelerate safely in order to turn, so that the traffic behind the turning vehicle is not slowed or halted.
- Fire Lane – Is the area next to a curb, which is reserved for firefighting equipment, ambulances, or other emergency vehicles. Parking in these areas, often marked by red lines, usually warrants a parking ticket.
- Passing Lane - Allows drivers moving at the posted speed limit to pass drivers moving slower than the posted speed limit.
- Merge Lane - Is a lane or on-ramp used to merge two flows of traffic into one with the merge lane being the lane that disappears at the end of the merging area.
While there are many other types of lanes, these are just some of the most common.
Information provided by a Tx Defensive Driving Class - Comedydriving.com.