What do these road markings mean?

Transportation, Travel and Trips
21
A car can be dangerous at any speed.

22
There is a massive difference in injuries sustained by a pedestrian when hit by a car when the car is going at 30mph compared with 20mph.

At 30mph, death is much more likely.

23
Those lines seem to confuse quite a few people. For example, in the attached aerial shot of the intersection of Binzmühlestrasse and Thurgauerstrasse, the lines where the pink arrow is pointing to actually indicate where you should cross from left side to the top (in this perspective). If you don't stay in that lane as you cross, you risk colliding with traffic that is headed from the tree covered area on the right towards the lanes next to the parked cars on the bottom. Again, there is a line indicating which lane you should merge into in order to avoid traffic that is turning right. And you can see that there is a line indicating the lane for those going from the top towards the right (again, in this aerial perspective); they will be on green at the same time as those going from the bottom to the left.

You'd think it was obvious but I've seen dozens of near misses here. It's unfortunately one of those places where people come into town to visit a concert or go to the theatre, so they are distracted and looking for where they are meant to go. Thankfully, there doesn't seem to have been anything more than much honking and swearing so far, let's hope it stays that way.

24
I am confused, what is so confusing with those lines (from OP):

1.) they show the carriageway (i hope I used the right world, a lane where one vehicle have to drive)

2.) the lines are dashed, so one can cross it.

.

Btw and yes the traffic in the city is more and more adapted to the pedestrian. For those who don't understand it, lets me say: it is year 2021 and not year 1971. You have overslept half a century of progress.

25
I'm confused about why my confusion has confused you

(sorry, couldn't resist )

It might seem obvious, and as it turns out my initial understanding was actually correct, albeit missing some context - but being new in the country, it seemed to prudent to confirm my understanding, rather than get behind the wheel of a car and drive to assumed rules.

Fortunately for me, there is this great place called English Forum where I can ask more experienced people for their advice

26
If you can afford to spare a few hundred francs, I would recommend booking some hours with a local driving instructor. Basel has trams, buses, people from other countries getting lost, lots of lorries, endless building works, traffic jams at really odd times and cyclists that don't really care about any of the rules. Even for a seasoned driver who learned to do so in Switzerland, it's not the most pleasant place to navigate.

It may seem expensive but considering what fines are like in this country, you may save some cash in the long run. Not to mention avoiding an accident, which is priceless in my books. Alternatively, you may find a experienced local driver who is happy to go on a few outings with you.

27
If anyone is interested, TCS has done some "cartoons" about the different priorites in CH. It is worth having a look at the different parts.

Link DE: https://www.tcs.ch/de/testberichte-r...n/vortritt.php

Link FR: https://www.tcs.ch/fr/tests-conseils.../priorites.php

Link IT: https://www.tcs.ch/it/test-consigli/...precedenza.php

28
Making traffic slower is progress?

29
There are now lots of city bypasses.

Getting from somewhere like Horgen to Basel used to take hours as one had to traverse Zurich (along with everyone else doing the same).

Now there is the Uto Kulm tunnel and it's just a few minutes. That's progress.

Use public transport in the cities, combined with park and ride where applicable if you need a car.

30
Hi folks, I know this thread is quite old now, but I wanted to come back and close the loop on this topic, as I have just had a driving lesson with a Basel driving instructor and I specifically asked him about these line markings.

As per Venetian's statement, the driving instructor has confirmed that these are 'guiding lines' and in fact have nothing to do with priority. He explained that these are primarily used in inner-city roads (i.e. 30km/hr speed zones) as an indicator of where the lanes are, to ensure you don't cut the corners, and they are most often found on roads that are slightly more narrow than main roads, hence the benefit from guiding people as to the boundary of their lane.

You can cross them, as long as it is safe to do so, and of course being a 30km/hr zone, the default of 'priority to the right' still stands. But if you want to go straight through, you can.

Hope that helps clear up any confusion for any other newbies to Switzerland

EDIT: removed the image to prevent confusion

31
I don’t think priority to the right applies to a vehicle coming from the right in that example. Drivers on the top and left have to give way.

32
Yes, you’re absolutely right, thanks for that clarification.

I should’ve used the image from my original post - my quoting Venetian was because of his use of the term ‘guiding lines’ rather than the image. Edited to remove the image now.

Thanks bowlie

33
Kudos!