Why a Blue Line Painted on the Street Is Illegal in Washington State

Why a Blue Line Painted on the Street Is Illegal in Washington State

So one of the coolest tributes I've seen on the roadway is the blue stripe right down the middle of the road.

I first saw this done in New Jersey and I thought it would be a cool thing to see in Washington State.

According to the Baltimore Police Museum, in Mahwah, New Jersey, an additional blue line was painted between road markings in October 2016 but the line didn't last as officials got involved in the legality of the extra stripe.

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So the reasoning for the extra stripe is in honor of law enforcement but it raises a lot of questions.

I think it's an awesome idea for in front of police stations and a great way for residents to show their community pride. The town in New Jersey painted the stripe and soon got backlash for the incident, not from the residents but from the law enforcement officials.

I did a quick search for Washington laws on adding a blue stripe to our roadways and this is what pulled up:

A blue line painted on the street is considered illegal in Washington State because it violates the "Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices" (MUTCD) set by the U.S. Department of Transportation, which states that road markings should only use specific colors and patterns, and a blue line is not one of them; essentially, painting a blue line on the road is considered an unauthorized modification of traffic markings, creating confusion for drivers

It's a bummer that the law won't allow a blue line in between the yellow stripes, even for a great cause, but now you know that if you see any other markings on a roadway, it's illegal in Washington State.