OPINION: Worn road markings are the new potholes

On the plus side, the car had covered 753,186 miles, so you can only conclude it must have been undergoing some sort of maintenance. Just not enough to keep it safe for use on the roads. Like many a Mercedes of its era, it has succumbed to rampant tinworm.

I respect anyone who can keep a car running for so long, but it is important that the high odometer reading is matched by adequate roadworthiness. It would just be nice if that was reciprocated with roads that are car worthy. Strap in. This is another ‘state of our roads’ rant.

But I’m not going to mention potholes. Actually, I will but only as a segue. Crumbling road surfaces are akin to the flaking bodywork of that E-class. Structural wear and tear that needs tending to for safety.

But there’s another area in which our roads are being neglected, and it’s one that not enough people are talking about: worn road markings. The country that invented cats’ eyes now seems barely capable of giving its road network a lick of paint, and it’s going to cause accidents.

I know this because I was nearly involved in one. I had priority on a main road, but it was one of those arrangements where the smaller road joins at a bend. The traffic that has to give way therefore travels in a straight line, while vehicles that don’t have to give way (which was me in this case) have a bend to negotiate.

There were ‘give way’ markings on the road, but they were scarcely visible. The result? A joining car drove straight through the junction without a hint of yielding. We didn’t collide, but if we had I would have argued that the other driver had mitigating circumstances. The road simply wasn’t up to scratch.

If the rust holes on that Mercedes were akin to potholes on the road, then worn road markings are like bald tyres. The former will cause damage; the latter will cause accidents.

It’s by no means an isolated case. Look around next time you make a journey to see how many painted lines have faded beyond view. I’ve seen roundabouts on the outskirts of Lincoln that have virtually no markings, side roads near Gretna Green where joining T-junctions are lacking any indication that the road you’re on is coming to an end, and a road in rural Leicestershire where you virtually had to stop the car and get out to discern that the outside lane of a dual carriageway had actually been hatched off.

If only there was an equivalent of the MOT test for roads. Fixing our network won’t be as easy as prohibiting an individual’s rusty old estate car, but it would have a far greater effect on the safety of all road users.

Images courtesy of Adam Wilkins.