Line painting on roads is important for road safety and will begin this week and run throughout the summer. Lines are used to give drivers messages about driving behaviours – like passing – that are allowed or not allowed. The safety of all drivers on our roads is important, which is why the lines on Norfolk County roads are repainted each year.
Line painting is a moving operation; there is a paint truck with a follow vehicle behind when it is taking place. Flashing lights and LINE PAINTING – WET PAINT signs are mounted on the back of the equipment to warn drivers that line painting is being done.
Paint can take more than five minutes to dry depending on weather and surface conditions. When conditions are poor, painting is put on hold until conditions improve.
Line painting of roadway symbols such as stop bars, crosswalks, arrows and parking stalls are also painted every year. These freshly painted areas will have traffic cones around them during their drying time and caution needs to be taken when driving around them and to be sure to give the right way to on-coming traffic.
Line painting tips for drivers
- Slow down– paint truck vehicles usually travel about 13-15 km per hour so please slow down and be patient when warned of work ahead
- Keep back– stay at least eight to 10 car lengths behind line painting vehicles/equipment to avoid running over wet paint; paint spray guns are two inches off the roadway surface and cannot spray a vehicle
- Don’t pass– never pass a paint truck unless instructed to do so by a police officer or an Norfolk County staff member; the paint truck will pull over to allow cars to pass when conditions are safe to do so
Removing paint from vehicles
If you do get paint on your vehicle it should be removed as soon as possible. The paint used for line painting is a water-based and can be removed with household cleaning products. Dampen a cloth and soak the paint to be removed with cleaning products such as Simple Green, Purple Power or WD40 and then power wash your car at a car wash.
