# Which countries have yellow road-markings?



## NorthGermany

Which countries have yellow road markings to seperate two way traffic?


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## Parzival

USA, Norway, Canada that's all western-countries I know. UK has the opposite I think.


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## Cee_em_bee

New Zealand, The Snowy Mountains in AUS have them too, it's difficult having white lines in places that are prone to regular snowing.


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## Ning

In France, it's white road-making including in the Alps.


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## Cee_em_bee

Really? That's surprising. I suppose common sense drivers know whats up and are good enough, but young drivers have a bit of a hard time interpreting the right side of the road all of the time because its not yet programmed into their memory and they'd sway from side to side, but I guess that's why young people shouldn't drive in the snow!


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## Minato ku

Ning said:


> In France, it's white road-making including in the Alps.


in france it s yellow to for the road in work


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## serendib

in sri lanka in cities its yellow .. but in rural areas its white ...


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## edolen1

Everywhere in the EU the lines are white, while yellow are temporary. At least that's how they're suppose to be according to EU law..


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## European1978

edolen1 said:


> Everywhere in the EU the lines are white, while yellow are temporary. At least that's how they're suppose to be according to EU law..



^^ that's right


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## Jonesy55

White in the middle, yellow down the sides in the UK.


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## DrJoe

Yellow down the middle and white along the sides, in Ontario atleast. Don't know about the rest of Canada, its up to each province to decide.


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## sonysnob

The rest of Canada is the same (yellow centre, white outside). I think that (as well as some regulatory signs) have actually been agreed upon between the US and Canada as an agreed upon standard. Interestingly tho, many North American jurisdictions (Ontario included) at one point used white centrelines.

Cheers.


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## Chibcha2k

colombia is like this also








but with double yellow line in principal roads.


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## julesstoop

Parzival said:


> UK has the opposite I think.


A yellow road with black markings?


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## earthJoker

In Switzerland yellow is for bycicles, busses, taxis. Also zerbra crossings are yellow.

Temporary markings are red.

I have another question about road markings. In europe you aren't allowed to cross outlined markings, does this aplie to the US? They have the doulbed outlined markings alot.


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## Parzival

julesstoop said:


> A yellow road with black markings?


No, yellow roadmarkings on the edge and white to seperate the traffic.


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## Parzival

earthJoker said:


> In Switzerland yellow is for bycicles, busses, taxis. Also zerbra crossings are yellow.
> 
> Temporary markings are red.
> 
> I have another question about road markings. In europe you aren't allowed to cross outlined markings, does this aplie to the US? They have the doulbed outlined markings alot.


Not really. We don't have many doubled lines in the US, just in dangrous situations with bad visibility.


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## NorthGermany

Parzival said:


> Not really. We don't have many doubled lines in the US, just in dangrous situations with bad visibility.


*Like in Norway:* (E6 north and south of Trondheim)

double-line needed:









double-line needed because of the tunnel in front:









double-line of course not needed:


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## er_juli

In Spain yellow road-markings are used only when there are works on the road (re-surfacing, etc)


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## NorthGermany

er_juli said:


> In Spain yellow road-markings are used only when there are works on the road (re-surfacing, etc)


But these markings are often only to lead the driver into the correct (temporary) lane. The yellow road-work markings are not exclusively for seperating one way traffic like in the U.S. or Norway...


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## Kampflamm

Parzival said:


> USA, Norway, Canada that's all western-countries I know. UK has the opposite I think.


What's the opposite of yellow?


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## European1978

Kampflamm said:


> What's the opposite of yellow?


unyellow innit?


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## ryanr

In the Philippines - Yellow markers to divide oncoming traffic. Also used in intersections as a marker to keep the intersection clear. White markers are used to divide lanes (same direction of traffic). I think this is standard with most countries.


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## Æsahættr

They have both in the USA, but they almost-always use yellow here in the twin cities since it would be hard to distinguish in the snow.


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## sequoias

Roads look lot like that in the US, with yellow dividers with white markings on the shoulder. 



NorthGermany said:


> *Like in Norway:* (E6 north and south of Trondheim)
> 
> double-line needed:
> 
> 
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> 
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> 
> double-line needed because of the tunnel in front:
> 
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> 
> double-line of course not needed:


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## SE9

Here its like this:


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## earthJoker

Parzival said:


> Not really. We don't have many doubled lines in the US, just in dangrous situations with bad visibility.


Well I travelled alot at the west coast, in areas with alot of mountains, maybe that's why I saw so many of them.

You still didn't answered my question, are you allowed to overtake at double outlined yellow lines?


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## NorthGermany

earthJoker said:


> Well I travelled alot at the west coast, in areas with alot of mountains, maybe that's why I saw so many of them.
> 
> You still didn't answered my question, are you allowed to overtake at double outlined yellow lines?


No, of course not - for what else should they be outlined?


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## Nacho_82

julesstoop said:


> A yellow road with black markings?


LOL :rofl:


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## sonysnob

earthJoker said:


> You still didn't answered my question, are you allowed to overtake at double outlined yellow lines?


In some jurisdictions, you are permitted to overtake a vehicle on a double line. I know here in Ontario, its only illegal to overtake a vechile if 'Do Not Pass' signs are present.

Cheers.


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## Cliff

We do have double yellow lines, but that's only on the sides, the rest are white.


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## hkskyline

Like in the UK, *Hong Kong* has a yellow marking system along the curbs. Double yellow lines mean no stopping.










Traffic is often separated by concrete barriers, and not just lane markings. For smaller country roads, they use a double white line.


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## earthJoker

NorthGermany said:


> No, of course not - for what else should they be outlined?


In the early days of the german autobahn, all lines where outlined, and you where allowed to cross them.


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## Baianóide

In Brazil the roads have yellow markings but some roads the markings are with.


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## czm3

sonysnob said:


> In some jurisdictions, you are permitted to overtake a vehicle on a double line. I know here in Ontario, its only illegal to overtake a vechile if 'Do Not Pass' signs are present.
> 
> Cheers.


Whether the line is white or yellow, Canada or Australia, a driver is never allowed to cross a solid line. Yes, even in Ontario.....


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## sonysnob

czm3 said:


> Whether the line is white or yellow, Canada or Australia, a driver is never allowed to cross a solid line. Yes, even in Ontario.....


That isn't correct. I am quite familiar with Ontario laws (though cannot speak so surely for other North American jurisdictions). A 'Do Not Pass' zone must be signed, for it to be law. All double lines mean here is that passing is not recommended.

Cheers.


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## czm3

sonysnob said:


> That isn't correct. I am quite familiar with Ontario laws (though cannot speak so surely for other North American jurisdictions). A 'Do Not Pass' zone must be signed, for it to be law. All double lines mean here is that passing is not recommended.
> 
> Cheers.


I looked it up and I stand corrected. I was certain I was right because I got pulled over by the OPP two months ago for crossing a double yellow. I didnt get a ticket and am now inclined to believe, that he was just f*cking with me.

Nice to know that Ontario has enough faith in the ability of its drivers to determine what is a safe pass and what isnt. Not like the prescribed set in stone rules we have to deal with down here.


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## invincible

I know that over here, the rule is quite clear - double line means no overtaking, dashed line next to solid line allows overtaking on the dashed side, single dashed line allows overtaking on both sides. Lines are yellow in areas prone to snowfall.

Normally the rules are common sense though - the double line exists usually around curves where you can't see far enough to safely overtake with dashed-solid leading up to curves.

Yellow lines are used in Melbourne to separate tram tracks from the rest of the road.

Then there's a system of colour coding on catseyes.


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## Cloudship

What do you mean "outlined" yellow lines?

In the US, the yellow lines divide the directions of traffic. White lines differentiate the lanes in one direction. Solid lines mean don't pass, dashed means it is OK to pass.

As far as on the side of the road, usually they are white now, but I think that has more to do with economy than anything. I have seen both in the same town even.


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## Rail Claimore

In the US, a lot of major streets have a center turn-lane that's marked on both sides with a solid yellow and dashed yellow line each. It's both to divide traffic and to designate the purpose of that lane. U-turns are also permitted in a center turn-lane.

Everywhere in North America, yellow lines are always going to be to a driver's left, no matter what. It's to divide opposing traffic flow. You'll even see those yellow lines on interstates and freeways, even if there is a ridiculously sized median or barrier between the opposite sides of the road.

I know Korea follows the US example. Japan uses all white if I recall. Their road system was patterned after the British.

In fact, in most of the world, the systems for left-side driving and right-side driving countries are pretty similar among countries that drive on the same side. Right-side driving is indicative of American or German transportation engineering. Left-side is British.


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## martien

in mexico they're yellow too, actually most signs are identical to those in the US


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## Gareth

US, Canada and Mexico have virtually the same standards when it comes to road markings and road signs. There are differences but they are very acute.


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## Gareth

Rail Claimore said:


> Japan uses all white if I recall. Their road system was patterned after the British.
> 
> In fact, in most of the world, the systems for left-side driving and right-side driving countries are pretty similar among countries that drive on the same side. Right-side driving is indicative of American or German transportation engineering. Left-side is British.


I disagree. The UK has had little or no influence on Japan's road system. I think you've arrived at that assumption because Japan drives on the left, a decision Japan made independantly years ago. Japans road markings and signs are very unique and very unstandardised, which is surprising for a developed country. Look up Japan's Stop & Yield signs. They're nothing like anywhere else. If Japan's had any influence in this respect, it's been from America as Japan uses yellow diamond warning signs as opposed to the red triangle, used in most of Europe and Asia. 

May I also add that Australian roads also appear more American even though they don't use yellow centre lines and drive on the left, although, European influence has crept in more recently.


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## Gareth

May I also point out that the British, Hong Kong & Singaporean forumers in this thread (note all three regions use virtually the same road standard) are not entirely correct when they say that road line markings are reversed from America (ie white for the centre, yellow for the edges). Yellow lines are used in cities to prohibit parking (same as a US red kerb or 'curb'). In Singapore and Hong Kong, due to the cronic traffic levels, it also prohibits stopping. This is not really necessary in the UK apart from London, but there, the lines are red to differentiate them. Actual carriageway lines to mark the edge of the road when on a motorway, out of towns & cities and where there's poor visability, the line is always white. Unlike in the rest of the EU, temporary lines in the UK are also white, not yellow. However, they are backed up by flourescent green/yellow cats eyes to make them stand out.

So in summary, all lines are white, accept in towns and cities where yellow lines along the edge are there to regulate parking, waiting & stopping.


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## Gareth

I've just remembered. The Republic of Ireland have a yellow edge line. It's the only place I know which follows this practise Therefore, it would be accurate to say that Ireland are opposite to America in this respect.


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## Intoxication

In Pakistan you have White in the middle and Yellow on the Sides. Below is a pic of Makran Coastal Highway (N-10)


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## Dor. IL

in Israel :


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## Di-brazil

the yellow lines divide the directions of traffic = Canada , US , China , Brazil, Norway, South Korea, Peru, Philippines, THAILAND, Venezuela, Colombia , Ecuador, Central America and Bolivia.(only)


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## JuanPaulo

Di-brazil said:


> the yellow lines divide the directions of traffic = Canada , US , China , Brazil, Norway, South Korea, Peru, Philippines, THAILAND, Venezuela, Colombia , Ecuador, Central America and Bolivia.(only)


^^ that is so interesting... being from this side of the world I thought all countries used yellow to separate direction of traffic... it just seems so natural!


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## nerdly_dood

Gareth said:


> May I also point out that the British, Hong Kong & Singaporean forumers in this thread (note all three regions use virtually the same road standard) are not entirely correct when they say that road line markings are reversed from America (ie white for the centre, yellow for the edges). Yellow lines are used in cities to prohibit parking (same as a US red kerb or 'curb'). In Singapore and Hong Kong, due to the cronic traffic levels, it also prohibits stopping. This is not really necessary in the UK apart from London, but there, the lines are red to differentiate them. Actual carriageway lines to mark the edge of the road when on a motorway, out of towns & cities and where there's poor visability, the line is always white. Unlike in the rest of the EU, temporary lines in the UK are also white, not yellow. However, they are backed up by flourescent green/yellow cats eyes to make them stand out.
> 
> So in summary, all lines are white, accept in towns and cities where yellow lines along the edge are there to regulate parking, waiting & stopping.


A red curb is used to indicate "no parking" next to a fire hydrant, or in a fire lane where fire trucks are meant to park to allow access to whatever may be burning. This isn't very common in my area, more commonly it's "NO PARKING - FIRE LANE" painted onto the pavement, and no marking at all next to a fire hydrant.

A white curb is used to indicate a passenger or mail loading zone, to be used for the loading and unloading of passengers and their baggage for a maximum of 3 minutes. Much more commonly in my area, they use signs instead.

In all other "no parking" situations, they paint the curb yellow. This is used quite frequently in my area.


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## nerdly_dood

Gareth said:


> I've just remembered. The Republic of Ireland have a yellow edge line. It's the only place I know which follows this practise Therefore, it would be accurate to say that Ireland are opposite to America in this respect.


We only use yellow lines on the pavement to indicate where oncoming traffic is, so yellow lines are always on your left. (So the line on a divided highway on the side closest to the inner median is yellow, and the line on the inside edge of a roundabout is yellow.) All other markings are white.

I think that if Ireland was "the opposite" from America's way of painting their roads, only their "oncoming traffic" lines - on the left-hand ahem, _right-hand_ edge on a divided road, and in the center of a two-way road - would be white, and everything else would be yellow.


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## flyinfishjoe

In India, the center line can be either white or yellow, but it's usually white. I'm not sure if there is any logic to when it's white and when it's yellow.


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## nerdly_dood

In most regions of Spain, the outer shoulder on a divided road is shown with a long-dashed white line with short spaces in between, and in Germany - i think it varies by region, though - the outer shoulder is indicated with an extra-wide solid white line.


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## FML

Japan basically uses white lines for all, but yellow when cars are prohibited to cross them.









("X" means _no_, "O" means _yes_.)

If yellow is used for the center line, it means you can't overtake a car ahead crossing the center line.










If yellow is used between mutiple lanes for the same direction, it means you can't change the current lane.










If there are two lines in yellow and white, it means you can change the lane from the white side, but not from the opposite.


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## mgk920

Di-brazil said:


> the yellow lines divide the directions of traffic = Canada , US , China , Brazil, Norway, South Korea, Peru, Philippines, THAILAND, Venezuela, Colombia , Ecuador, Central America and Bolivia.(only)


Also, Mexico.

As mentioned upthread, for the most part, signage and lane markings in North America are fairly standardized, IMHO the most stark difference between the countries is with speed limit signs (only Mexico uses the ubiquitous 'red circle' and Mexico and Canada are km/h while the USA is MPH).

In most states in the USA, road markings do carry legal force. A solid line (white or yellow) next to your lane cannot be crossed for 'driving' purposes (however, left or right turns across them are legal) while a dashed line can be - ie, marking where overtaking/passing is legal vs prohibited. A solid double-yellow line simply means that overtaking is prohibited in both directions. A double-yellow line where one side is solid while the other side is dashed means that overtaking is legal in just that one direction.

There are some other markings in the USA such as for center-left turn lanes and reversible lanes (double-dashed yellow lines separate them), all covered in the federal Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices ('MUTCD').

Mike


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## nerdly_dood

A single solid line, yellow or white, indicates that crossing the line is discouraged, but not necessarily forbidden - white single solid lines are used too many places to list, and yellow single solid lines are used on the inside shoulders of divided highways, and in the center of suburban roads that are narrow enough that a badly parked vehicle will make traffic have to go into the other lane, but with enough traffic and enough line-of-sight restrictions that there should be a line to keep traffic on its proper side.


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## Obelixx

In earlier days, I think until the 1990ies, in Austria generally yellow road markngs were be used. It may be possible that there are still some there.


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## [Prinny Man]

Morocco is just like the EU.

Only one city have yellow lines even when there's no works : Marrakech.

I don't know why...


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## rheintram

Obelixx said:


> In earlier days, I think until the 1990ies, in Austria generally yellow road markngs were be used. It may be possible that there are still some there.


that's true. it was changed when we joined the EU in the mid nineties. However, very few old roads still have yellow markings and sometimes they resurface under the white ones.


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## nerdly_dood

A very rare place in America (Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington DC) with a white center line.


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## atmada

we have white road marking here in Indonesia


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## Cornman

Local road, near Mexico City...


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## diablo234

Argentina I think is one of the few countries that use both


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## nerdly_dood

diablo234 said:


> Argentina I think is one of the few countries that use both


New Zealand does that - kinda like the American setup but with white dashed centerlines indicating passing allowed, solid yellow meaning it's not.


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## Rebasepoiss

^^ Finland has that too - solid lines in the middle are yellow and dashed lines are white.


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## Vrooms

Singapore has yellow and white road markings. In some places we use LED lights to mark out zebra crossings.


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## DR.Fairness

Hey everybody! Happy New Year 
Guys, I've found a very strange picture and I'm not sure if it's fake or real. Could you help me to figure it out? I'm pretty aware of the fact that this picture is used dozen times on different demotivation websites, but now I'd be grateful for the true information.
hxxp://kuvaton.com/browse/16335/wtf_street.jpg

PS. Unfortunatelly, I'm not allowed to post the picture as a link, so to see the picture just replace double "x" by double "t".

PPS. If my message is a kind of offtopic, sorry. Right now I dont have permission to start a new thread.


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## Nexis

Appears to be taken in Scandinavia.. or it could be the Canada or the US... I would need a larger picture to examine the license plates...which could tell you where this photo was taken.


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## DanielFigFoz

The only Scandinavian country with broken yellow lines like that is Norway, and that doesn't look like Scandinavia anyway. I would say somewhere in Asia judging by the cars.


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## DR.Fairness

Nexis said:


> Appears to be taken in Scandinavia.. or it could be the Canada or the US... I would need a larger picture to examine the license plates...which could tell you where this photo was taken.


Quality is a big problem, actually. I have one more size:
hxxp://ru.fishki.net/podborka3/21/picv_20.jpg
but it doesnt help either  
Agree about the license plates. I see just numbers: 60 2600 or something like that. I cant see if there are some letters or nation flag  The standard road markings are yellow, but all these crooked lines are white. Strange. Dunno, maybe cars can help. They are pretty old.


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## Eurosnob

DR.Fairness said:


> Quality is a big problem, actually. I have one more size:
> hxxp://ru.fishki.net/podborka3/21/picv_20.jpg
> but it doesnt help either
> Agree about the license plates. I see just numbers: 60 2600 or something like that. I cant see if there are some letters or nation flag  The standard road markings are yellow, but all these crooked lines are white. Strange. Dunno, maybe cars can help. They are pretty old.


My best guess: Taiwan.


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## ainvan

We do in Western Canada


Going to Banff by John Andersen, on Flickr


Scenery in Northwestern B.C. by LNG Canada, on Flickr


A great view to stop and savour on the way home yesterday from the lakes. by Thank you for visiting my page, on Flickr


David Thompson Highway by Heidi G, on Flickr


Bow Lake by Marcanadian, on Flickr


Winding Road by Nelepl (away), on Flickr


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## Highway89

DR.Fairness said:


> Quality is a big problem, actually. I have one more size:
> hxxp://ru.fishki.net/podborka3/21/picv_20.jpg
> but it doesnt help either
> Agree about the license plates. I see just numbers: 60 2600 or something like that. I cant see if there are some letters or nation flag  The standard road markings are yellow, but all these crooked lines are white. Strange. Dunno, maybe cars can help. They are pretty old.


Isn't that a Chinese character painted on the asphalt just behind the grey minivan on the left of the photo?

I'd say it's Taiwan too. Even the car plates look similar: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vehic...File:Taiwan_Province_License_Plate_(0146).JPG


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## Fane40

delete


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## Fane40

Eurosnob said:


> My best guess: Taiwan.


After a second view on the photo, I think you're right.
License plate seem to be the good country.


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## xrtn2

Brazil 









HelloWorld









a_fourier









a_fourier









a_fourier


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## DR.Fairness

*Thank you*



Fane40 said:


> After a second view on the photo, I think you're right.
> License plate seem to be the good country.





Highway89 said:


> Isn't that a Chinese character painted on the asphalt just behind the grey minivan on the left of the photo?
> 
> I'd say it's Taiwan too. Even the car plates look similar: hxxps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vehicle_registration_plates_of_Taiwan#/media/File:Taiwan_Province_License_Plate_%280146%29.JPG





Eurosnob said:


> My best guess: Taiwan.


Guys, *thank you very much*! Taiwan is a perfect guess. The Taiwanese road markings are very similar to those we see at the picture of, unfortunatelly, low quality. I'll keep digging as I desperately need to know what all these white waves/crooked lines mean. If only someone knew the name of the town... or Taiwanese Chinese


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## JeanBrian

USA, Norway, Canada that's all western-countries I know.


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