Motorists slam Britain’s disappearing road markings
Tue, 20 Jan 2026
Faded and poorly maintained road markings are making driving more dangerous, say British motorists.
More than 9 in 10 believe driving has become riskier due to disappearing road markings, with 7 in 10 saying at least some road markings in their area have faded away.
Indeed, 1 in 5 claim that most road markings in their locality have disappeared.
The problem has been highlighted by the RAC, which found that nearly three quarters of drivers believe the problem is getting worse.
Alarmingly, the most common road markings to have faded away are among the most important of all – the white lines at the centre of carriageways. This includes solid single and double white lines, along with broken lines.
Lane dividers, arrows on roundabouts and junctions, give way markings and stop lines at junctions are also frequently-faded road markings, say motorists.
The result is that drivers are having to guess where lanes are, or ending up in the wrong lane – and some admit they’ve overshot a junction or had a near miss because they couldn’t see give way or stop lines on the road.
Some drivers have even had a confrontation or been beeped by another motorists because of dodgy road markings.
The RAC Report on Motoring says that faded road markings are second only to potholes as a crucial safety danger on UK roads.
"Drivers are widely reporting that road markings have been left to fade into obscurity, making roads less safe as a result," says RAC head of policy Simon Williams.
"The problem appears to have got progressively worse as a majority of drivers say the visibility of markings has deteriorated in the last five years.
"While the government has just published the country’s first road safety strategy in more than a decade, this is one key area that shouldn’t be forgotten. We urge them to work with councils to rectify this situation, as markings are painted onto the road for good reason.
"Leaving these most vital markings to just wear away makes no sense whatsoever. While there’s clearly a cost to maintain them, the cost of letting them disappear doesn’t bear thinking about."
Poor road markings - who do I complain to?
