What do the two double yellow dashed lines in the middle of the road indicate?
3 Answers
Two double yellow dashed lines in the middle of the road indicate a tidal lane marking. Below is an introduction to tidal lane markings: 1. Purpose: In traffic flow management, variable lanes are used for traffic organization. Tidal lanes are variable lanes where, based on differing traffic volumes during morning and evening rush hours, one or more lanes on suitable roads have their direction of travel adjusted accordingly. 2. Specific organization method: During the morning rush hour when more vehicles are entering the city, the number of inbound lanes is increased while the number of outbound lanes is decreased. Conversely, during the evening rush hour when more vehicles are leaving the city, the number of outbound lanes is increased while the number of inbound lanes is decreased.
These double yellow dashed lines are called tidal lane markings, typically appearing during morning and evening rush hours. The road near my home has this design—it adds an extra lane for inbound traffic during the morning peak and adjusts in the opposite direction for the evening peak. The section between the double yellow dashed lines allows lane changes, but you must pay attention to the directional arrows on the overhead electronic signs. Last time, I almost drove the wrong way because I didn’t notice them. Traffic police say the design aims to improve road utilization, so everyone must follow the real-time instructions. Changing lanes arbitrarily will result in traffic violations being recorded.
The two yellow dashed lines indicate a variable lane, professionally known as a tidal lane. Its feature is that the lane function changes over time. This morning during heavy rain, it was temporarily switched from the outbound direction to the inbound direction. When driving through, pay special attention to the electronic signs—if the arrow points left, you must keep to the left. A common mistake made by beginners is seeing the dashed lines and attempting to change lanes randomly. In reality, only the middle section allows merging based on instructions, while the solid line sections on both sides still cannot be crossed.
