14.3 Road Markings: Orders, Warning & Information

14.3 Road Markings: Orders, Warning & Information

Quick Answer: Order markings include Stop lines, Give Way lines, double white lines, yellow box junctions, keep clear areas, and lane-use arrows. Do not enter a yellow box unless your exit is clear (except permitted right-turn waiting when blocked only by oncoming/other right-turn traffic). Solid white systems normally mean do not cross or straddle except where allowed. Warning/info markings and road studs (left edge often red) aid night and wet driving. Strategic route numbers help navigation but never override order paint.

Chapter 8 of the RUC pairs signs with road markings. Many Part B items test whether you treat paint as law. For taxis, yellow boxes, keep-clear zones, and lane arrows collide daily with passenger “just stop here” requests.

Why Markings Are Exam Gold

Markings work when signs are blocked by buses, rain, or darkness. They also control precise positions signs cannot: the exact Stop line, the box you must not sit in, the lane that may only go left. Learn three families:

1. Markings giving orders
2. Markings giving warning and information
3. Route / strategic numbering cues used with direction signing

Road Markings Giving Orders

Stop lines

At signals and Stop-controlled places, the transverse Stop line is where you must halt when required. Do not creep over the line on red “to see better” if that puts your cabin on the crossing or into conflict. On amber/red rules from Section 14.2, the line is your reference.

Give Way markings

Broken give-way lines (with the give-way sign/triangle system) mean slow, prepare to stop, and yield to traffic on the major road. A taxi’s size does not create priority.

White lines along the road (including double white lines)

Longitudinal white lines separate streams and control overtaking / lane changes (linked to Chapter 12 themes):

Exam and street habit: if the passenger demands a last-second turn across a solid lane marking, the correct answer is continue and re-route, not jump the line.

Lane-use arrows

Arrows painted in the lane order the direction of travel from that lane at the junction ahead.

• Straight-ahead-only arrow → do not turn from that lane
• Left-only / right-only → only that movement
• Combined arrows → only the shown options

Late request rule for taxis: if you are already committed in a straight-ahead-only lane, continue ahead and take a lawful route later. Do not reverse, force a gap, or turn against the arrow.

Yellow box junctions

Yellow box markings keep junctions clear. Core rule:

Do not enter the box unless your exit is clear, so you will not stop in the box.

Exception pattern (RUC/practice teaching): you may wait in the box when turning right if you are prevented from completing the turn only by oncoming traffic or by other vehicles waiting to turn right, and your path is otherwise lawful.

What does not authorise sitting in the box:

• Green light alone while the exit is blocked
• “I have a paying passenger”
• Hazard lights
• “Only for a few seconds” while the meter runs

Taxi relevance: never stop in a yellow box to pick up or set down. Choose a lawful kerbside beyond the box.

Keep clear and yellow-striped green man areas

Keep clear markings and yellow-striped green man crossing areas are order-level “do not occupy” zones. Do not queue across them. Section 14.4 also lists yellow boxes and yellow-striped green man crossings among places you must not stop even to pick up or set down.

Bus lanes, cycle symbols, and restricted areas (marking side)

Markings reinforce signed bus lanes, cycle facilities, and other restricted strips. Unless the rules allow your vehicle class at that time, stay out. Taxis sometimes have limited bus-lane permissions under separate traffic rules — but you must still know the local signing/marking package and never treat light-rail tracks or cycleways as casual taxi lanes.

Road Markings Giving Warning and Information

Not every painted symbol is a hard ban. Many markings warn or inform:

• Hazard hatching / chevrons that channel traffic away from islands or gore areas
• Edge lines that show the limit of the carriageway
• Worded messages (for example school, slow) that support warning signs
• Lane lines that show recommended paths without the full force of a solid order line
• Markings that support pedestrian crossings and zigzag controlled areas (order elements of zigzags are in Section 14.4)

Road studs (cat’s eyes)

Reflective studs help at night and in rain. A high-yield Hong Kong teaching point:

• Red studs are normally used to mark the left edge of the carriageway
• Other colours mark lane lines, central reservations, or special features (for example green commonly associated with slip roads / lay-bys in standard teaching)

Use studs as position aids, not as permission to ignore a solid line or red light.

Strategic Route Numbers (Overview)

Hong Kong’s strategic route numbering appears on direction signs and related route confirmation panels. For taxi drivers:

1. Route numbers help you stay on the intended corridor (for example major north–south or harbour approaches)
2. Exit countdown markers and “get in lane” panels work with painted arrows — lane early
3. Route numbers are navigation aids, not exemptions from yellow boxes, bus lanes, or no-stopping zones

Part A location/route items care about the most direct viable route under normal traffic. Part B cares that the route you drive still obeys markings and signals. Both parts fail a driver who “knows the short cut” across solid paint.

Taxi Scenarios: Markings in Real Hires

How Markings Work with Signs and Lights

Think of a stack:

1. Light colour (Section 14.2) — may I go yet?
2. Order sign (Section 14.1) — is this movement banned or mandatory?
3. Order marking — where exactly must I stop, which lane, is the box free?
4. Warning/info marking — what hazard or path should I expect?

If any layer says no, the answer is no. Green + yellow box with blocked exit = wait. Green + straight-only arrow = no right turn.

Common Exam Traps

Closing Checklist for Section 14.3

1. Treat Stop lines, give-way lines, solid/double white systems, yellow boxes, keep clear, and lane arrows as orders.
2. Yellow box — enter only if exit clear; limited right-turn waiting exception.
3. Solid white — do not cross/straddle for passenger convenience.
4. Lane arrows — if wrong lane, continue and re-route lawfully.
5. Use warning/info markings and studs for position and anticipation (left edge often red studs).
6. Strategic route numbers help planning only; still obey paint and lights.
7. Taxi standard: refuse unlawful stops and turns; keep boxes and keep-clear areas open.

Next, Section 14.4 is the full where you must not stop package — expressways, no-stopping zones, coloured posts, zigzags, stands, and disability pick-up certificates.