As part of its long-term commitment to motorist safety, the Road Commission for Oakland County (RCOC) Board has chosen to use wider white edge lines and lane “skip” lines (the dashed lines between lanes on multi-lane roads) on RCOC roads, making them easier for drivers to see.
The idea was proposed by RCOC Vice Chairman Greg Jamian and supported by the full RCOC Board at the Board’s May 4 meeting. That change was added to RCOC’s annual road-striping contract following the Board’s decision. The white lane skips and edge lines will now be six inches wide, as opposed to four inches.
RCOC hires a contractor to repaint the stripes on all its paved non-subdivision roads each year. The restriping is currently taking place. The 8 million feet of white edge lines and lane skips will all be repainted in the wider width by the end of June.
“This is part of our continuing effort to make our roads as safe as they can be,” Jamian explained. “Wider lines are more visible in all weather conditions and at all times of the day or night. They are less likely to be completely covered by snow and ice in the winter and will take longer to wear off. The more people can see the lines, the more likely they are to stay in their lane and on the road.”
Board Chairman Eric Wilson endorsed the effort as well. “Anything we can do to make the roads safer is worth doing,” Wilson said. “It is efforts like this that have resulted in Oakland County having the lowest traffic fatality rate of any county in the state and one of the lowest for a county our size in the nation.”
RCOC’s third commissioner, Ron Fowkes, concurred. “Safety is our number-one priority, and this is simply another step in that direction.”
