In London and the county of West Midlands in the United Kingdom, red routes are major roads on which vehicles are not permitted to stop. The prohibition extends to stopping for loading or unloading, and to boarding or alighting from a vehicle (except for licensed taxis and the holders of blue badges). Red routes are mainly used on major bus and commuting routes.
Red routes are marked with red lines at the sides of the road. Double red lines mean that the regulations apply at all times and on all days. Single red lines means that the prohibition applies during times displayed on nearby signs or at the entry to the zone. Red route clearways are signed but there are no lines on the road. Stopping is only permitted in lay-bys (red lines are only marked at junctions).
The 580 km of red routes in London are policed by "Red Route Patrols" and managed by London Streets, an arm of Transport for London.
A similar scheme operates in Edinburgh; here, however, the routes affected – being marked by the use of green road-surfacing rather than red lines – are known as "Greenways".
In Somerset, the local road safety partnership has designated some of the A roads within the county as "Red Routes", but in this case the term is used to indicate routes that have a higher than average accident rate.
Famous quotes containing the words red and/or route:
“Thou art not fair, for all thy red and white,
For all those rosy ornaments in thee.
Thou art not sweet, though made of mere delight”
—Thomas Campion (1567–1620)
“The route through childhood is shaped by many forces, and it differs for each of us. Our biological inheritance, the temperament with which we are born, the care we receive, our family relationships, the place where we grow up, the schools we attend, the culture in which we participate, and the historical period in which we live—all these affect the paths we take through childhood and condition the remainder of our lives.”
—Robert H. Wozniak (20th century)