SESKStuff Everyone Should Know
SESK: Stuff Everyone Should Know · sesk.info/drive-broken-line-10-30

How long is each painted dash in a standard broken lane line?

About 10 feet, with 30-foot gaps between dashes.

  1. About 10 feet ✔
  2. About 2 feet
  3. About 30 feet

Why: The standard broken line uses 10-foot dashes and 30-foot gaps. At highway speed, the dashes can look much shorter than they really are.

Huh, didn't know that: Drivers can use the dashes to judge distance: one dash plus one gap is about 40 feet.

The dad joke
Why are lane dashes so short? They only have 10 feet to make their point.
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References

Answer: About 10 feet. The standard broken line uses 10-foot dashes and 30-foot gaps. At highway speed, the dashes can look much shorter than they really are.

  1. MUTCD 11th Edition with Revision 1, Section 3A.04 mutcd.fhwa.dot.gov/pdfs/11th_Editionr1/mutcd11theditionr1hl.pdf
    Broken lines should consist of 10-foot line segments and 30-foot gaps
    Checked 2026-10-09.

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Test yourself in the game

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