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I see these signs mean on Japanese roads on https://youtu.be/15wVVByNgJY?t=3640:

enter image description here

I'm referring to these short white strips:

enter image description here

https://www.police.pref.kanagawa.jp/eng/e_mes/engf1008.htm doesn't contain that case.

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  • The dashed lines end when the road the video is on joins with the parallel lanes on the right hand side. They're probably indications of this happening.
    – Peter M
    Commented Aug 8, 2022 at 1:13

1 Answer 1

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Those lines are used before/on curves, as well as straightaways that should be taken at slower speeds, to help slow down the driver. By having dotted lines, it makes the drivers feel they are going too fast and makes the lanes feel more cramped, coercing them to slow down.

There is no defined rule on this, which is why you can't find information on official sites. It's something each prefecture adds on their discretion.

I've confirmed these by looking through some driving sites. (Here and here)

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  • "By having dotted lines, it makes the drivers feel they are going too fast". Clever, I wonder if that supported by some studies. Commented Aug 8, 2022 at 7:55
  • Yes, I have seen quotes from such studies.
    – Willeke
    Commented Aug 8, 2022 at 8:20
  • Certainly there will be a greater sense of motion from a dashed line than from an unbroken line. In UK they use bands of yellow lines across the lane at a descreasing separation to cause drivers to slow down, such as here. Commented Aug 8, 2022 at 8:25
  • This seems to fit in with my observation about where the markings end at the road juncture.
    – Peter M
    Commented Aug 8, 2022 at 13:12
  • The UK also uses zigzag lines instead of straight lines to convey a sense of unease and heightened alertness around pedestrian crossings; very much the same as the dotted lines in the question.
    – deceze
    Commented Jan 3 at 7:36

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