Road Rules Explained: What Do The White & Yellow Lines On Our Roads Mean
Understanding the fine line between what’s legal and illegal
We often complain that Indians are poor drivers and riders, we simply lack basic driving/riding etiquettes. We say that our roads are unsafe, because no one follows the rules. But let’s ask ourselves, do we really know the rules? In this series we shall try and break down the most basic yet critical and potentially life saving rules of the road, and in this chapter we start with ‘lines.’
Yes, we’re talking about the yellow lines, white lines and broken white lines we look at everyday on our roads, to try and understand what they mean.
Broken white line:
Typically used to divide lanes, a broken white means overtaking is permitted. So, if you’re on a single lane road divided by a broken white line in between, you’re allowed to pull out of your lane to make overtakes. Of course, all safety measures must be taken before you do. Check your mirrors for any vehicle behind you, use your indicator to alert all vehicles behind of your direction change, look for any oncoming traffic and if all clear… go!
If on a multi-lane road, the slow and fast lane (in either direction of traffic) will also be divided by a broken white line. Follow the same protocol to shift between lanes. It’s safer for both you and others sharing the road with you.
Hazard Broken White Line:
These are similar to regular broken white lines but with more spacing between the white lines. This signifies that this segment of the road is an accident prone area, hence overtake with extreme caution.
Explore More
Jio-bp’s ACTIVE Technology Petrol Gives You More Mileage | This and more from India Energy Week 2026Continuous Yellow Line:
A continuous yellow line is typically found on curvy roads - like ghats. A solid yellow line means overtaking or crossing the line is not allowed. These lines are laid down keeping into consideration the flow of traffic and visibility available to safely make overtakes. These are the most accident prone areas and must be handled with extreme caution. The ideal thing to do is stick to the lane and wait for the next broken white line section to make your move.
Continuous White Line/Double Continuous White Line:
A continuous white line is used to divide traffic on either side of a road. You’ll find this in cities, highways and B-roads. They denote that making an overtake is not allowed in this sector due to the nature of traffic and space available for safe overtakes. Long continuous white lines are usually followed by sectors with broken white lines where opportunities for safe overtakes are available. Similar are double white lines. A double white line means vehicles on either side are not allowed to cross the line.
A Continuous Line With A Broken Line:
A continuous line with a broken line is similar to a double continuous line with one little change: If you’re driving/riding on the side of the continuous line, overtaking is not allowed. However, if you’re on the side of the broken line, you are permitted to cross lanes to make overtakes. We can’t stress this enough: you must do it only when it’s safe.
So, remember, the next time you’re on the road:
-
Broken line - overtaking IS fine
-
Continuous line - lane crossing NOT fine
Happy riding/driving!
User Reviews
Needed something dependable for daily city traffic that wouldn't eat up all petrol money. looked at a few other 150cc options but the pulsar 150 just felt like the right balance of price, low maintenance and that classic muscular look that never gets old. Honestly pretty smooth for daily running, engine has nice pickup in lower gears so overtaking in heavy trafffic is easy, getting a solid 45-50 km regularly, only slight downside is minor handle vibes past 85 kmph but for everyday city speeds, its steady and comfortable. Definitely 100 percent recommend it, if you want a reliable everyday bike with decent power and great fuel efficiency, maintenance is super cheap and spare parts are available anywhere. just a solid, no nonsense daily runner that gets the job done. Read More
Mileage king bike platina 100 and comfort is also excellent, big seat and ride karne me bhi accha lagta hai, dekha jaye to bike mileage aur comfort ke mamle me best hai. Maintenance cost bhi kam hai, abhi meri bike kam se kam 1 ltr fuel me 75-80 ka average aaram se deta hai. I love this bike. Excellent performance.Read More
This bike is good and comfortable, i ride it and felt comfort and also felt confidence with great power and engine, i bought 2 bikes from your place where did you prefer and i compared all bikes from your app and everything is good in this bike. I have ride it for 78 kilometres on a village road it performed too much good, and i have also ride it on highway in my city lucknow and it felt good and very comfortable, it has performance with great power. Yes, i will always recommend this bike, if you want great power with high performance, then you should to buy it. it's more powerful, comfortable and highly performance bike, i loved this bike and always recommended. Read More
I selected this bike for the practicality, it's not flashy or performance oriented absolutely a boring simple commuter. It can handle heavy loads, rough roads. It's durable, fuel efficient & low maintenance. It's been good so far, mature, seniors will like it that's for sure, once you fill the tank, u don't have to worry about refueling. It can handle the space technology used roads pretty good. If you don't know how to ride a bike than this can be a very good option since it's very easy to handle. i would highly recommend this bike to people who are willing to do deliveries and bike taxi cause the mileage is really good and so is the space of the seat the pillion can sit without any discomfort but this is a boring bike so do not expect any thrill.Read More
My father gave me this bike I am using from last 5 years, fuel efficiency is very good as per experience, as a middle-class my Father purchase this for him, and they pass this to me and the performance was same as brand new. I am going office and in field from this daily approx 50-70 km , comfortable and big seat in its segment that also comfortable for 2nd person who setting behind me in budget. This is perfect choice for performance and fuel efficiency. As per my review bajaj suits me in 5 year. Daily up down I am not in trouble by its performance or any problem, in 5 year me and my father not changed single part of engine. My father previous bike engine work in 40000 km and this bike me and my father drove this to 70000 and all parts are original. So as per my opinion or as per our roads bajaj platina is good choice. Read More