Crossing the line a tricky prospect with carpool lanes

Question: My wife and I are confused regarding the different types of lines Caltrans uses to delineate carpool lanes. We know the dashed line lets you into and out of a carpool, or high-occupancy vehicle, lane.

But there are other lines that you can’t cross over -- solid double lines, solid double-double lines, solid lines next to a solid single line. Adding to the confusion are the different lane colors, white and yellow.

My wife says you can cross over a double carpool line but not over a double-double one or one with a single and double stripe. Is that true?

-- Ken K., Newport Beach

Answer: You and your wife aren’t the only motorists confused by the blizzard of traffic lane stripes and signs on the roads today. Drivers young and old find that deciphering the multitude of visual signs can be a challenge, especially if you’re driving at night, in bad weather, on congested freeways or in unfamiliar territory.

To answer your question, drivers can legally enter or leave the carpool lanes only at designated areas where there are areas of broken yellow or white lines, said Pam Gorniak, a spokeswoman for the California Department of Transportation. It is unlawful to cross the double yellow lines of a carpool lane. A carpool lane violation is a $271 fine.

The California Highway Patrol takes carpool lane violations seriously. Obviously, vehicles unlawfully cutting in and out of carpool lanes at high speeds on the freeway threaten the safety not only of the occupants of that vehicle but of others on the road as well.

Officers have been stepping up enforcement of HOV violations to prevent motorists from blasting in and out of carpool lanes, said CHP spokeswoman Anne DaVigo. In 2000, the agency issued 16,241 violations for crossing double lines in HOV lanes in California. In 2002, the number of citations rose to 20,119, DaVigo said.

There are both federal and state standards for lane striping and HOV signs. In California, Caltrans is responsible for determining signs and lanes on freeways and state highways. City and county traffic engineers handle signs and lanes in their municipalities.

Despite law enforcement’s efforts to curb HOV violations, you still see impatient drivers illegally cut in to the HOV lane to avoid traffic congestion. And I’ve even seen motorists -- typically those who think the HOV lane gives them a license to speed -- swerve out of the carpool lane so they can pass a vehicle they think is going too slow in that lane. Witnessing those kinds of incidents may contribute to people’s confusion over what lanes you can cross.

But that’s not the only challenge. Inundated with signs, stripes, concrete medians, reflective pavements and flashing lights, our roadways “can be confusing for drivers,” said safety advocate Rosemary Shahan of Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety.

“All of us have had some experience in a situation where you are in a strange city or something, and there is some marking on the road and you have no idea what it may mean,” she said.

The California Commuters Alliance also hears from motorists who find it confusing when some HOV lanes have different hours and require different numbers of people, said Dennis Oliver, the group’s spokesman.

“It’s difficult for drivers to keep tabs on how many people you are supposed to have in your car.” Oliver said he also hears complaints about the toll lanes on the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge. The signage is not clearly marked and the wording is so ambiguous, he said, that “it’s very hard to determine whether you are allowed to drive in those lanes during non-commute hours at all.

“If you’re going 65 miles an hour and this sign has 10 words on it, you can’t read the whole sign; you have to pass three of them before you can read all of it. It makes it difficult to figure out if you can be in the lane at all,” Oliver said.

A 1977 report by the Federal Highway Administration noted that over the last two decades, there has been an increasing use of symbols, including those on highway signs, and at the same time a rapid growth in the numbers of older drivers. Research, according to the report, has shown that “many symbols are poorly understood and/or difficult to recognize at a distance, especially by older drivers.”

But even drivers in their late teens and early 20s can suffer a deterioration in their vision, affecting their ability to see well in low-contrast situations such as at night or during rainfall. Pavement markings or reflective lights that have been worn off also make it harder to see for drivers old or young.

Concerns over the ability of both drivers and pedestrians to sufficiently see and understand lane line configurations and postings have prompted federal and state authorities to come up with recommendations to help motorists. States and municipalities would gradually replace old signs with new ones that have large lettering and make improvements to the visibility of pavement markings. The recommendations call for compliance by 2012.

Motorists who want to brush up on traffic signs, HOV laws and lane lines should get a copy of the California Department of Motor Vehicle’s Driver’s Handbook. There are explanations and illustrations that can help motorists better understand the rules of the road.

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Jeanne Wright responds in this column to automotive questions of general interest. Write to Your Wheels, Business Section, Los Angeles Times, 202 W. 1st St., Los Angeles, CA 90012. E-mail: jeanrite@aol.com.