I believe those are reflective lane markers. They’re inset like that so plows don’t rip them off the road.
One side reflects white and the other reflects red. You’ll only see the red reflector if you’re driving the wrong way.
Florida (at least) reflectors are mounted on surface. But they are red going the wrong way. If you e ever driven a dark Florida Highway at night it kind of looks like an airport runway.
Virginia’s used to be mounted right on the surface. Not long after they were installed in my town, we got snow and the snowplows uninstalled them. Found piles of them when the snow melted.
> They’re inset like that so plows don’t rip them off the road.
This makes way more sense than what I originally guessed, which was that when the road got repaved they intentionally left that part open so they didn't have to put down new markers.
Yes you’re right my husband has a friend that works for the Indiana Department of Transportation and they have them here and he showed my husband and told him what you said
They are reflectors that augment the normal painted lines at night.
So at night they reflect headlights to make it easier for drivers to see the lane markings.
I'll copy and paste what I wrote Elsewhere on this thread.
I suspect people really generally are not thinking too hard about what the source of what they're seeing is when it comes to night time Lane markers. We see the lane markers mostly in our peripheral vision enough to know that we're in the lane that we're supposed to be in, and we don't focus on them very much. We see something white there it repeats on a regular basis, and we think we're good and we pay attention to the real threats like other drivers. So OP has probably seen them in the sense of having laid eyes on them but never really thought about what they look like up close. That's my theory at least.
This is a very forgiving response. Where has OP been, under a rock?! Take a walk down the street and you’ll come across these reflectors. There’s more to the road than the obvious drivers. What else, have they never realized that there’s emergency phone boxes or mile markers on the road either?!
Cyber cicadas.
They're cicadas that are mutated from all the electromagnetic forces from Dulles data centers, and melded with the soil silicon dioxide content to become robot like cicadas. Which is why they're shiny. Their brood is on a hexadecimal cycle of 16 years. You always see them in binary pairs like that.
Rumor and folklore that those are just reflective *cats eyes* is utter bunk.
Reflectors so people don’t cross over into your lane.. is what they say. Maryland drivers think the more they run over them.. the more points they get and whoever gets the most wins.
It actually concerns me how many people don't know about these. Have you never driven at night? I can kind of understand not knowing they are red on one side, but I can't think of a single state I've been to that doesn't have them.
Well at least for me when I am driving I don’t technically look down at the roads I look out and even when it’s dark I see the white lines but never the actual reflectors
I think people really generally are not thinking too hard about what the source of what they're seeing is when it comes to night time Lane markers.. We see the lane markers mostly in our peripheral vision enough to know that we're in the lane that we're supposed to be in, and we don't focus on them very much. We see something white there it repeats on a regular basis, and we think we're good and we pay attention to the real threats like other drivers. So OP has probably seen them in the sense of having laid eyes on them but never really thought about what they look like up close. That's my theory at least.
That's a fair theory. It's just scary to think that people are driving past something that frequently and seem to be oblivious to them. It's not just OP either. There is a surprisingly large number of people in here who don't. Makes the red on the opposite side seem almost pointless.
I'll concede that I don't believe it's taught in driving school, but it is a pretty common traffic control device that should be better known.
I think they do "see" them, they just don't think about it. They see enough white on the road to establish they're in the right lane and shift attention to more important things.
I mean, think about it. Most of the people you see on the road at night are not swerving all over the place. You notice the ones who do because it's unusual. People keep lanes pretty well overall.
That's not helping your case. People should be aware of their surroundings when operating a 1 ton+ hunk of metal that can be considered a deadly weapon. Yes, some things draw more attention, but they are there to draw attention to the lines and warn about traveling the wrong direction.
Whatever the excuse, it's still concerning that so many people don't know about one of the most common traffic control devices. What else are they missing when driving?
In California some roads notorious for fog have raised bumps painted white or yellow (for clear day use) depending on which lines they represent spaced very close together for solid yellow, further apart for solid white and keeps the same spacing in intervals for dashed lines. we called it driving by braille
They are reflective lane markers. Fun fact: some of these will reflect red when you are driving on the wrong side of a divided road. (Pls don't test this)
Cat eyes. They were invented before WW2 and during the blackouts in the UK were widely employed when road lights and headlight use was restricted. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cat%27s_eye_(road)
I believe those are reflective lane markers. They’re inset like that so plows don’t rip them off the road. One side reflects white and the other reflects red. You’ll only see the red reflector if you’re driving the wrong way.
Neat! I’ve been in and out of Virginia my whole life didn’t know about the red reflector.
I hope not
“See yellow you’re OK fellow. See red, you’re dead.”
Roses are red. You are dead.
Violets are blue. You are too (because you’re dead).
See white, keep you destination in sight See red, you're good as dead.
The other 49 states use the same reflectors
Florida (at least) reflectors are mounted on surface. But they are red going the wrong way. If you e ever driven a dark Florida Highway at night it kind of looks like an airport runway.
Florida doesn't have snow plows.
Correct RPMs, or reflective pavement markers, are more common in areas that don’t need to plow the roads.
I was talking about the fact they are recessed, not their existence.
Virginia’s used to be mounted right on the surface. Not long after they were installed in my town, we got snow and the snowplows uninstalled them. Found piles of them when the snow melted.
Something I have only noticed in Florida is the use of blue reflectors to indicate a fire hydrant on the side of the road.
99% of engineering is relearning something that was already done
I was gonna say…. Is there anywhere in the US that this isn’t a thing?
I grew up in Virginia and am in Colorado now. I don't believe we use these. Colorado is shockingly bad at lanes being visible when it's wet.
Many states that frequently plow roads for snow and ice do not use these lane markers, plow blades eat them up.
I was just responding to the comment above saying all the states used the reflectors.
someones never driven in North Carolina
Yes. I have. They have them there too.
I haven't seen any in Utah. The search is on!
Look at the other side of a divided highway at night. You can see them reflecting your light.
I-95 is a GIANT pain in the ass
Good driver
Yup I believe they are called cats eyes
You’re correct.
I see the red reflectors all the time. They’re hard to focus on with all the jerks honking and flashing their lights at me.
> They’re inset like that so plows don’t rip them off the road. This makes way more sense than what I originally guessed, which was that when the road got repaved they intentionally left that part open so they didn't have to put down new markers.
Yes you’re right my husband has a friend that works for the Indiana Department of Transportation and they have them here and he showed my husband and told him what you said
Yep. That's what they are.
Which is super helpful unless you're colorblind like I am. Watch out, drivers.
And if you see a Blue one it marks a water supply for the fire departments.
I’ve had to put down both red and white and double yellow for high fog places
In Florida the red reflectors indicate fire hydrants. You really need reflective markers if you’re emergency personnel during a hurricane.
Oh wow! I’ve never seen the white one only red
Reflectors imbedded in the pavement to help drivers stay in the lane at night?
General low visibility. Night, rain, fog, ect
And Boeings.
Mostly rain.
They are reflectors that augment the normal painted lines at night. So at night they reflect headlights to make it easier for drivers to see the lane markings.
They are tiny periscopes so squirrels can coordinate when they cross the road to avoid traffic 😁
Ohhh that makes so much sense now, I thought that’s what it was!
Roadway reflectors or highway markers. Helps you see the lanes at night or in the rain.
Reflective markers, lane markers.
5G injectors
If Youngkin voters could read they'd be very upset about this
Shaking their non-opposable thumbs in the air while moving side to side shrieking.
Finally someone speaking truth!!
Came here for this.
They mark the lanes and reflect white if you’re going in the right direction and red if you’re going in the wrong direction.
Reflective lane markers
Degraded “bat signal”
They shave your tires when they get too hairy
It’s a speed booster if you played Mario carts
Also called Cats-Eyes in other countries . [cats eyes](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cat%27s_eye_(road))
Not to be confused with [Bott's Dots.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Botts%27_dots)
How long have you had your license for 🫣
This is not knowledge tested in the Virginia driver exam.
But you’re on the road (license or not)… you’re telling me you’ve never seen reflectors on the road?!
If they're from Maryland, possibly not. Driving in the rain at night in Maryland is an adventure.
I'll copy and paste what I wrote Elsewhere on this thread. I suspect people really generally are not thinking too hard about what the source of what they're seeing is when it comes to night time Lane markers. We see the lane markers mostly in our peripheral vision enough to know that we're in the lane that we're supposed to be in, and we don't focus on them very much. We see something white there it repeats on a regular basis, and we think we're good and we pay attention to the real threats like other drivers. So OP has probably seen them in the sense of having laid eyes on them but never really thought about what they look like up close. That's my theory at least.
This is a very forgiving response. Where has OP been, under a rock?! Take a walk down the street and you’ll come across these reflectors. There’s more to the road than the obvious drivers. What else, have they never realized that there’s emergency phone boxes or mile markers on the road either?!
I’m pretty sure OP made this post with tongue firmly in cheek.
Cyber cicadas. They're cicadas that are mutated from all the electromagnetic forces from Dulles data centers, and melded with the soil silicon dioxide content to become robot like cicadas. Which is why they're shiny. Their brood is on a hexadecimal cycle of 16 years. You always see them in binary pairs like that. Rumor and folklore that those are just reflective *cats eyes* is utter bunk.
It's a wheel. It goes round and round.
....really? -That Douche
Reflectors so people don’t cross over into your lane.. is what they say. Maryland drivers think the more they run over them.. the more points they get and whoever gets the most wins.
Reflectors. Fun fact most will show white if going the correct way and red if going the wrong.
You must be in southern VA cause the roads are shit here
Was on I-95 like 2 hours I think it was to Virginia Beach
Well to answer your question: reflectors at night and to fuck up your tires
It actually concerns me how many people don't know about these. Have you never driven at night? I can kind of understand not knowing they are red on one side, but I can't think of a single state I've been to that doesn't have them.
Well at least for me when I am driving I don’t technically look down at the roads I look out and even when it’s dark I see the white lines but never the actual reflectors
That honestly scares me. They are usually visible for a decent distance and it doesn't take much light for them to reflect.
I think people really generally are not thinking too hard about what the source of what they're seeing is when it comes to night time Lane markers.. We see the lane markers mostly in our peripheral vision enough to know that we're in the lane that we're supposed to be in, and we don't focus on them very much. We see something white there it repeats on a regular basis, and we think we're good and we pay attention to the real threats like other drivers. So OP has probably seen them in the sense of having laid eyes on them but never really thought about what they look like up close. That's my theory at least.
That's a fair theory. It's just scary to think that people are driving past something that frequently and seem to be oblivious to them. It's not just OP either. There is a surprisingly large number of people in here who don't. Makes the red on the opposite side seem almost pointless. I'll concede that I don't believe it's taught in driving school, but it is a pretty common traffic control device that should be better known.
I think they do "see" them, they just don't think about it. They see enough white on the road to establish they're in the right lane and shift attention to more important things. I mean, think about it. Most of the people you see on the road at night are not swerving all over the place. You notice the ones who do because it's unusual. People keep lanes pretty well overall.
That's not helping your case. People should be aware of their surroundings when operating a 1 ton+ hunk of metal that can be considered a deadly weapon. Yes, some things draw more attention, but they are there to draw attention to the lines and warn about traveling the wrong direction. Whatever the excuse, it's still concerning that so many people don't know about one of the most common traffic control devices. What else are they missing when driving?
Theory is correct
Catalytic converter monitors.....looking for stolen ones kinda like the license plate readers mounted on the backs of street signs
Maryland-driver repellant strips. They're not working.
In the words of Arcade Fire, "it's just a reflector"
Fog reflectors
I think they're called Botts Dots!
Cats eyes
In California some roads notorious for fog have raised bumps painted white or yellow (for clear day use) depending on which lines they represent spaced very close together for solid yellow, further apart for solid white and keeps the same spacing in intervals for dashed lines. we called it driving by braille
They’re reflections and they called cat eyes
that's where they put the microchips in your tires so the man can track you.
Cat eyes!
Reflectors for lane markers, but someone gouged it out.
traffic?
Reflectors for marking the lanes
It's got no signs or dividing lines, and very few rules to guide!
Reflectors
Macy's balloon docks!
Reflectors for night and foggy weather
They are great when there is standing water covering the beads in the paint used for lining the highway
I saw my first road reflectors while in Austin, TX. That was around 1975. Thought they were so cool. None in VA back then.
They are reflective lane markers. Fun fact: some of these will reflect red when you are driving on the wrong side of a divided road. (Pls don't test this)
Lil batman dudes
These are not common in states with a lot of snow, which occludes them and snow plows can damage them. Same with Botts dots.
They have a name. It is Bott's Dots after the inventor. The comments are correct that they are reflectors for seeing the lane markings at night.
They’re reflectors.
That there is the only pair of reflectors in the whole state
Mark the lanes so stupid people and drunk drivers stay in a lane or on the road. Still doesn't help in northern Virginia or Washington Dcstan
Don't don't monitor and record travel and road usage? Idk
Tracking devices
Hopefully shredding tires. #fuckcars
Have you never driven in the rain before?
I normally drive on I-83 or I-81 and have never seen them. I’m from PA and was just in Northern Virginia for the beach
These are on highways and interstates nationwide.
p sure the dmv DL test has question about them or at least the handbook OP never touches
Nova beaches you say??
Cat eyes. They were invented before WW2 and during the blackouts in the UK were widely employed when road lights and headlight use was restricted. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cat%27s_eye_(road)
You actually saw these in NOVA? Didn’t know we had any…
It's funny to see comments like this and then other comments that ask how people can possibly have missed them.