Nigerian highways are poorly maintained and are often a cause for the country's high rate of traffic fatalities. However i must say that most of our highways are clearly marked. If we can all listen to the warning signs on the road we can reduce traffic fatalities by over 50%.

Talk about the lines we see on the middle of the road. I once asked a commercial driver why he thinks those lines are there. His response was that the lines are there to make the roads pretty. Sadly, just like that driver, many road users do not really know what the line is saying at every point.

The truth is that everytime you see that line on the middle of the road, it is giving you a message of safety. When the line is broken, it is telling you that you can overtake. When the line is straight, it is assumed that there is an imaginary wall there and you must not overtake.

Am uploading 4 pictures to explain.

1. In first picture, the line is striaght because its a bend and its difficult to see if another vehicle is uncoming.

2. Sometimes we may not readily get why the line is straight. Just observe the safety tip and you will find out soon enough that the line is never straight for fancy. If you zoom into the second picture you will see that there is a bridge in view.

3. In the third picture the line is both broken and straight. You will notice that the line becomes straight at the point where the road bends off.

4. The fourth picture shows you when the line is completely broken. Here you can overtake while observing other general safety tips.