
Cat's eye, invented by Percy Shaw in the 1930s, Cat's eyes equip many major routes in the British Isles.Mechanical devices may be raised or recessed into the road surface, and either reflective or non-reflective. Mechanical markers The cat's eye, showing the iron base, rubber housing and lenses White raised pavement marker near "pea-structure" side-line on highway surface Today, road markings are used to convey a range of information to the driver spanning navigational, safety and enforcement issues leading to their use in road environment understanding within advanced driver-assistance systems and consideration for future use in autonomous road vehicles.

There is continuous effort to improve the road marking system, and technological breakthroughs include adding retroreflectivity, increasing longevity, and lowering installation cost. Road surface marking can also indicate regulations for parking and stopping. They can be used to delineate traffic lanes, inform motorists and pedestrians or serve as noise generators when run across a road, or attempt to wake a sleeping driver when installed in the shoulders of a road.

However, countries and areas categorize and specify road surface markings in different ways-white lines are called white lines mechanical, non-mechanical, or temporary. Uniformity of the markings is an important factor in minimizing confusion and uncertainty about their meaning, and efforts exist to standardize such markings across borders. Road surface markings are used on paved roadways to provide guidance and information to drivers and pedestrians. In some countries and areas (France, Italy, Czech Republic, Slovakia etc.), road markings are conceived as horizontal traffic signs, as opposed to vertical traffic signs placed on posts. They can also be applied in other facilities used by vehicles to mark parking spaces or designate areas for other uses. Road surface marking is any kind of device or material that is used on a road surface in order to convey official information they are commonly placed with road marking machines (also referred to as road marking equipment or pavement marking equipment).
