Traffic lane

In the context of traffic control, a lane is part of a roadway (carriageway) that is designated for use by a single line of vehicles, to control and guide drivers and reduce traffic conflicts. Most public roads (highways) have at least two lanes, one for traffic in each direction, separated by lane markings. On multilane roadways and busier two-lane roads, lanes are designated with road surface markings. Major highways often have two multi-lane roadways separated by a median.

Some roads and bridges that carry very low volumes of traffic are less than 15 feet (4.6 m) wide, and are only a single lane wide. Vehicles travelling in opposite directions must slow or stop to pass each other. In rural areas, these are often called country lanes. In urban areas, alleys are often only one lane wide. Urban and suburban one lane roads are often designated for one-way traffic.

Lane capacity varies widely due to conditions such as neighboring lanes, lane width, elements next to the road, number of driveways, presence of parking, speed limits, number of heavy vehicles and so on – the range can be as low as 1000 passenger cars / hour to as high as 4800 passenger cars /hour but mostly falls between 1500 and 2400 passenger cars / hour.

Both narrow (less than 2.8m) and wide (over 3.1~3.2m) lanes increase crash risks in urban settings, contrary to the received opinion that wider lanes are safer. Wider lanes (over 3.3~3.4m) are associated with 33% higher impact speeds, as well as higher crash rates. Carrying capacity is also maximal at a width of 3 to 3.1 metres (9.8 to 10.2 ft), both for motor traffic and for bicycles. Pedestrian volume declines as lanes widen, and intersections with narrower lanes provide the highest capacity for bicycles. As lane width decreases, traffic speed diminishes.

The widths of vehicle lanes typically vary from 9 to 15 feet (2.7 to 4.6 m). Lane widths are commonly narrower on low volume roads and wider on higher volume roads. The lane width depends on the assumed maximum vehicle width with an additional space to allow for lateral motion of the vehicle.

The maximum truck width had been 96 inches (2.438 m) in the Code of Federal Regulations of 1956 which matches with the width of eight-foot for shipping containers. This had been increased to 102 inches (2.591 m) in 1976 which explicitly states to be read as the slightly larger metric 2.6 metres (102.36 in) width respecting international harmonization. The same applies to standards in Europe which had increased the allowable size of road vehicles with a current maximum of 2.55 metres (100.39 in) for most trucks and allowing 2.6 metres (102.36 in) for refrigerator trucks. The minimum extra space had been 0.20 metres (7.87 in) and it is currently assumed to be at least 0.25 metres (9.84 in) on each side. For roads with a lower amount of traffic it is allowed to build the second or third lane in the same direction to an assumed lower width for cars like 1.75 metres (68.90 in), however this is not recommended as a design principle for new roads as changes in the amount of traffic could make for unnecessarily increased risks in the future.

...
Wikipedia