What is the distance for placing warning signs on ordinary roads?
4 Answers
On ordinary roads during the day, the warning triangle should be placed 50 meters behind the vehicle, and at night, it should be placed 150 meters behind the vehicle. On highways during the day, the warning triangle should be placed 150 meters behind the vehicle, and at night, it should be placed 250 meters behind the vehicle. If a vehicle breaks down on a curve, the warning triangle must be placed before the curve to alert incoming vehicles to avoid the broken-down vehicle. The following are the relevant regulations: Article 68 of the Road Traffic Safety Law of the People's Republic of China: When a motor vehicle breaks down on a highway, the provisions of Article 52 of this Law shall apply; however, the warning sign shall be placed at least 150 meters away from the direction of oncoming traffic, and the personnel on the vehicle shall quickly move to the right shoulder or emergency lane and promptly call the police. Article 52: When a motor vehicle breaks down on the road and needs to be stopped to fix the problem, the driver shall immediately turn on the hazard warning lights, move the vehicle to a place where it does not obstruct traffic; if the vehicle is difficult to move, the hazard warning lights shall remain on, and warning signs shall be placed in the direction of oncoming traffic to increase the warning distance, and the police shall be called promptly if necessary.
Last time my car broke down on the provincial highway, I quickly took out the triangle warning sign. According to traffic regulations, on ordinary roads, it should be placed 50 to 100 meters away during the day, and at least 150 meters away at night, mainly to give following vehicles enough reaction time. I remember once on a rainy day, I saw a car ahead that didn't place the sign far enough, causing a chain-reaction collision. Besides distance, it's also important to choose a straight section of the road, avoiding curves, and after placing it, it's best to stand outside the guardrail. Nowadays, many cars come with foldable warning signs, so it's important to regularly check if the reflective film is intact and not wait until it's needed to find out it's ineffective.
When I was getting my driver's license, I specifically memorized the regulations for placing warning signs. On ordinary roads, 50-100 meters is the golden distance during the day, which converts to roughly 70-140 steps. At night, it must be extended to over 150 meters, especially on road sections without streetlights. Choose a flat surface when placing the sign, avoiding slopes. Once, I saw someone place a warning sign on the inside of a curve, which completely failed to serve its purpose. Actually, expressway requirements are even stricter, with a minimum of 150 meters. It's safer to keep two reflective signs in the car, and remember to regularly clean the reflective surfaces.
That day, I helped a friend change a tire and specifically used my phone's GPS to measure the distance. On regular roads during the day, you really need 50-100 meters, and double that at night. Don’t underestimate these few steps—at 60 km/h, 100 meters can buy you 6 seconds of escape time. Remember to place it parallel to the lane with the reflective side facing oncoming traffic. Last time in the news, an accident happened because the warning sign was blown over by the wind and not noticed in time, so I used rocks to weigh down the base of the stand. Also, in foggy conditions, use hazard lights in combination, and when visibility is poor, adding another 50 meters to the distance is safer.
