California’s orange highway stripes are already changing how you drive

A California road construction project near San Diego introduced road signs that many drivers were unfamiliar with. Where normally you would see white or yellow stripes on the road and divide the lanes, in this project, instead of them white and orange lines were painted one after the other. The purpose of these signs is to encourage drivers to slow down and drive safely when they are in a construction zone.

This was a pilot project from Caltrans and SANDAG Build NCC. The stripes are temporary, used only when needed to alert drivers to special road zone regulations, such as slow speeds in construction zones. Safer roads are often sought after, as is a driving tracking app that helps people drive more safely. The benefits offered for these strips are that they attract attention, telling drivers that they have entered a construction zone. They are more visible than orange cones at night. They simply mark where the construction zone ends and begins, rather than relying entirely on road signs.

The stripes are used to better distinguish lane shifts that may be temporary during construction, helping drivers know where to go. This pilot project was met with success, with many drivers being alerted when they were in the construction zone. Although not everyone knew the meaning of the stripes, the color matching the standard orange and white cones helped get the message across.

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California isn’t the first to try these orange stripes

California is actually following the models of other states by successfully using these orange and white road strips. Wisconsin was the first to implement them a decade ago. The state has decided to use orange stripes as there are more winters. Snow and road salt can make lane changes during construction difficult for drivers to see, so orange was chosen to be bright and draw attention.

Kentucky was another state to attempt an interstate construction project in 2019. It was followed by Texas in 2020, Michigan in 2022 and Washington in 2023. The Indiana Toll Road is considering using these orange and white stripes for an unknown future date. The United States isn’t the only country to implement these strips, either, as Canada and New Zealand have successfully tested them.

The benefits for human drivers are obvious. With the rise of self-driving robotaxi services and autopilot cars, it’s interesting to consider whether these high-visibility stripes will better help those systems. Robotaxis service Waymo recently had a safety recall after its cars drove past an illegally stopped school bus. Perhaps such pilot programs could make both human and self-driving cars safer. Because both robotics and orange stripes are so new, there is no data on how the systems respond to temporary striping.

Are orange stripes improving safety?

Accidents in the construction sector are a constant problem. According to the National Work Zone Safety Clearinghouse, 899 people died in construction accidents in 2023. 40 of those deaths were pedestrians doing road work. These numbers have not improved significantly since 2015, fluctuating each year but consistently remaining between 700 and 1,000 deaths.

In 2023, it was researched that these orange and white stripes help prevent construction site accidents. It was published under the title “Effectiveness of Contrast Marking on Roadways and Orange Markings in Work Zones” via Purdue University. The study found that these markings reduced lane-departure crashes by 74%, and that most drivers approved of the markings and found them helpful. Compared to construction zones without orange stripes, the orange signs contributed to a speed reduction of about four miles per hour.

As the use of these orange stripes spreads from California to other states, it will be interesting to see if future accident data report any significant reductions in work zone fatalities. Whether or not drivers are aware of what the stripes mean, the associated safety habits seem promising. A future where all construction areas use orange stripes may be on the horizon.

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