Road markings are among the most critical yet often overlooked components of road safety infrastructure. They provide continuous visual guidance to drivers, cyclists, and pedestrians, helping regulate traffic flow, improve lane discipline, and reduce collision risks.
To ensure consistency across India's road network, the Indian Roads Congress introduced IRC Code 35:2015 – Code of Practice for Road Markings. The guideline establishes national standards for pavement marking design, application, visibility, maintenance, and performance evaluation.
Today, modern technologies such as AI road safety audit tools, automated lane marking detection systems, and AI pavement marking condition assessment platforms are helping authorities maintain compliance with IRC standards more efficiently than ever before.
IRC Code 35:2015 provides comprehensive guidance for planning, designing, installing, and maintaining road markings across highways, urban roads, expressways, intersections, and pedestrian facilities.
The code covers:
Its primary objective is to improve road safety while creating uniform traffic control practices throughout India.
Effective pavement markings serve as a continuous communication system between road authorities and road users.
Properly maintained markings help:
As traffic volumes increase across India's highways, maintaining IRC Code 35 road markings compliance becomes increasingly important for road safety and operational efficiency.
Material selection directly influences durability, visibility, and maintenance requirements.
The most widely used pavement marking material in India.
Benefits include:
Typical lifespan ranges between two and three years depending on traffic intensity.
Commonly used for:
Waterborne paints provide an environmentally friendly alternative while offering faster drying times.
These materials provide:
They are often used in coloured lanes and audible edge markings.
Ideal for:
Consistent colour usage improves driver recognition and compliance.
Used for:
Indicate:
Reserved for:
Used for:
Applied in:
Uniform colour interpretation helps reduce driver confusion across different states and road categories.
These markings run parallel to traffic movement and regulate lane usage.
Examples include:
Modern automated lane marking detection solutions help agencies evaluate their visibility and condition at network scale.
Placed across traffic flow.
Examples include:
Used to warn drivers of potential conflicts.
Examples include:
Include:
Used for:
IRC Code 35 provides detailed guidance for marking placement in:
To maintain lane discipline and improve safety at higher speeds.
To support complex traffic movements and pedestrian interactions.
Both signalised and unsignalised junctions require specific marking arrangements.
Enhanced markings improve visibility and driver awareness.
Special markings help regulate traffic transitions and reduce conflicts.
One of the most important aspects of pavement marking performance is visibility.
IRC Code 35 requires markings to remain visible under:
To achieve this, thermoplastic markings incorporate embedded glass beads that enhance retroreflectivity.
Maintaining compliance with retroreflectivity road marking standards is essential for safe nighttime driving and reducing crash risks.
Road studs complement pavement markings by improving guidance under poor visibility conditions.
Common road stud colours include:
Together, road studs and pavement markings create a highly visible traffic guidance system.
IRC Code 35 emphasizes continuous monitoring of pavement marking performance.
Assessment criteria include:
Traditionally, these inspections were manual and resource-intensive.
Today, AI pavement marking condition assessment systems enable authorities to evaluate marking quality rapidly across thousands of kilometres of roadway.
RoadVision AI helps agencies modernize road marking inspections through advanced computer vision and automated analytics.
RoadVision AI supports network-wide road safety assessments by automatically identifying pavement marking deficiencies.
The platform can detect:
Computer vision algorithms evaluate marking visibility and positioning with high accuracy.
Road authorities can use RoadVision AI to monitor large highway networks and ensure continued compliance with IRC Code 35 standards.
These capabilities reduce manual inspection efforts while improving maintenance planning and safety outcomes.
IRC Code 35:2015 provides the foundation for safe, consistent, and effective road markings across India. From material selection and colour coding to retroreflectivity requirements and maintenance standards, the guideline plays a vital role in road safety and traffic management.
As road networks continue to expand, technologies such as AI road safety audit tools, road marking fading detection AI, automated lane marking detection, and AI pavement marking condition assessment solutions are becoming essential for maintaining compliance and ensuring long-term roadway safety.
By combining IRC standards with AI-powered monitoring platforms like RoadVision AI, agencies can improve visibility, strengthen compliance, and build safer roads for all users.
See how RoadVision AI automates road marking inspections, detects faded lane markings, and supports IRC Code 35 compliance through AI-powered roadway assessments.
IRC Code 35:2015 is the Indian Roads Congress standard that defines specifications for road markings, pavement marking materials, visibility requirements, and traffic control markings across Indian roads.
Retroreflectivity ensures road markings remain visible at night by reflecting vehicle headlight beams back to drivers, improving safety and reaction time.
AI-powered inspection platforms can automatically detect faded markings, evaluate pavement marking conditions, monitor retroreflectivity performance, and support large-scale compliance audits more efficiently than manual inspections.
The Autonomous Road Engineer
AI-powered road condition monitoring, asset management, & infrastructure intelligence helping agencies move from reactive maintenance to predictive road management.
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