Austrian road circles: A new EU‑backed safety revolution
What do the circles and rings painted almost in the middle of the road mean? It's worth knowing because the idea, which originated in Austria, has gained the appreciation of the European Union and may soon start being adopted by other countries. The markings were created with motorcyclists in mind.
The European Commission announced this year's Excellence in Road Safety Award winners. One of the awards went to Austria for its unique road markings. The additional zigzag patterns, series of smaller and larger circles and rings, or extra curves in the horizontal road markings are designed to improve safety on Austria's winding, mountainous roads. The idea behind them is quite simple.
On winding roads, a motorcyclist entering a curve often lacks visibility to see what's happening on the other side of the bend. If the motorcyclist leans too close to the center of the road while taking a curve, they might not have time to correct their path if it turns out a car or bus is coming from the other side. This could result in a head-on collision. The Austrian markings are meant to prevent this.
Additional symbols on the road show motorcyclists a safe trajectory to take a curve. The idea is to avoid riding over the lines or circles. But is this excessive care for motorcyclists, who should already know how to ride on mountainous roads? It turns out it is not. Research conducted by the Austrians showed that on roads without additional markings, only 5% of motorcyclists were taking the optimal path. The rest risked getting into serious accidents when taking curves.
Experimental markings have been used in the Austrian Tyrol since 2019. On roads where they were applied, the rate of serious accidents involving motorcyclists fell by as much as 80%.
This is a huge increase in safety, achieved with inventive yet fundamentally simple methods. The Austrians explored various ways of marking road curves. However, studies showed that using circles and rings was the most effective. Other countries may want to adopt this solution now that the EU has praised the Austrian approach. Time will tell if this happens.
