CRITERIA FOR NO-PASSING ZONES

Abstract

THE CONCEPT CURRENTLY USED BY MOST STATES FOR ESTABLISHING AND MARKING NO PASSING ZONES ON TWO-LANE HIGHWAYS LEGALLY PROHIBITS MOTORISTS FROM DRIVING ON THE LEFT SIDE OF A YELLOW LINE THROUGHOUT THE LENGTH OF A NO-PASSING ZONE. THE SHORTCOMINGS OF THIS CONCEPT, CALLED THE SHORT-ZONE CONCEPT, ARE WELL KNOWN. IT IS PHYSICALLY IMPOSSIBLE FOR MOTORISTS ALWAYS TO COMPLETE A PASSING MANEUVER WITHOUT CROSSING THE YELLOW LINE BECAUSE OF THE LIMITED VISIBILITY OF NO-PASSING ZONE SIGNS AND PAVEMENT MARKINGS. FURTHERMORE, THE CROSSING OF A YELLOW LINE TO COMPLETE A PASSING MANEUVER BEGUN PRIOR TO THE BEGINNING OF A NO-PASSING ZONE IS NOT AN UNSAFE PRACTICE. AN ALTERNATIVE TO THE SHORT-ZONE CONCEPT IS ONE THAT ALLOWS THE YELLOW LINE TO BE CROSSED FOR THE PURPOSE OF COMPLETING A PASSING MANEUVER. THIS CONCEPT, CALLED THE LONG-ZONE CONCEPT, PROHIBITS THE BEGINNING OF A PASSING MANEUVER IN A MARKED NO-PASSING ZONE. THE PURPOSE OF THIS STUDY WAS TO DETERMINE WHICH CONCEPT SHOULD BE ADOPTED TO ENSURE MAXIMUM SAFETY AND COMFORT FOR THE MOTORING PUBLIC AND TO DETERMINE APPROPRIATE CRITERIA AND LEGISLATION TO IMPLEMENT THE RECOMMENDED CONCEPT. THE RESULTS OF THE RESEARCH INDICATE THAT THE LONG-ZONE CONCEPT, WHICH LEGALLY ALLOWS THE COMPLETION OF A PASSING MANEUVER WITHIN A NO-PASSING ZONE, SHOULD BE ADOPTED. CRITERIA FOR MARKING NO-PASSING ZONES AND A MODEL LAW REQUIRED TO IMPLEMENT THE CONCEPT WERE DEVELOPED. /AUTHOR/