Driveway Edge Markers

mr-incredulous on 10/12/2020 - 15:35

I have pretty poor visibility seeing the edges of my driveway when backing in/out at night so I was thinking to mark the edges somehow. It's so bad that my wife once spent about 30 minutes trying to back out of the driveway.

It seems people tend to use those solar garden lights to mark their driveways because they look nice but I'd rather get something that lasts longer and is more visible so I was thinking good old retroreflective road markers. I'm wondering if anyone has tried this before and has any tips? Probably I will get some markers like these and use some exterior grade adhesive/liquid nails type thing to stick them directly to the concrete.

There's also reflective tape but seems like it wouldn't last long plus its a bit garish.

Any tips would be appreciated!

Home & Garden

Comments

  • Nugs on 10/12/2020 - 15:40
    +2

    have you checked that your reversing light provides enough light to make the reflector stand out? in a car park or deserted road. headlights are a lot brighter
    .

    • mr-incredulous on 10/12/2020 - 16:02

      Hmm I would think its fine but I will check… retroreflectors are incredibly effective at what they do. I could see about replacing the reversing lights but that doesn't help visitors.

  • SF3 on 10/12/2020 - 15:43
    +2

    It's so bad that my wife once spent about 30 minutes trying to back out of the driveway.

    Does she drive with the car lights off? and not crash into anything?!

    I usually find the rear lights is sufficient to light the surrounds… maybe you need to show us some diagram of your driveway (and length!), its sounds like you are in some wilderness (e.g. lost in some maze)?

    • mr-incredulous on 10/12/2020 - 15:56
      +3

      Please enjoy this lovely diagram. As you can see there are many things to hit and the driveway has a very slight elbow in it that is difficult to judge.

      • orangetrain on 10/12/2020 - 16:10
        +1

        Is it possible to straighten the driveway?

        Other ideas:
        Mail box reflective
        Reverse into driveway or vice versa

        • pjetson on 10/12/2020 - 20:00
          +1

          Reverse into driveway

          +1

          • mr-incredulous on 10/12/2020 - 21:37

            @pjetson: Guys the number of times I drive forwards = the number of times I have to drive backwards. There is no avoiding it. Driving backwards sucks into either direction.

            • SF3 on 10/12/2020 - 21:54

              @mr-incredulous: I agree, on a narrow driveway with objects on each side ( I assume object are lower than the mirrors? are they hedges? ) - reversing out is better as you can see with your mirrors.

              Looks like your where your driveway bends, is where the trouble is, is there anyway to cut away the objects at where the bend, I can only assume that is where the trouble is?

            • pjetson on 10/12/2020 - 22:51

              @mr-incredulous: Yes, clearly the numbers must be equal. But the time of day may be different, allowing you to shift the reversing into daylight hours.

      • SF3 on 10/12/2020 - 16:32
        +1

        looks narrow? a car would just fit through?

      • Screamingeagle on 10/12/2020 - 22:42

        Follow a procedure to reverse out of the driveway.

        1. Reverse back x car lengths
        2. Turn wheel left/right so many degrees
        3. Reverse back for y car lengths
        4. Straighten wheel
        5. Reverse back z car lengths
  • CheapandUsed on 10/12/2020 - 15:46

    Someone at an apartment block I previously lived in used the reflective tape, it wasn't very obvious during the day but at night really helped in seeing the low rock wall for the gardens and in a few other strategic places really helped in reversing in a pretty tight carpark.

    I should try some in the gutters out front of our place to see if it reduces the amount of people stopping across our driveway. Although only one person has parked there for an extended time.

    Polite edit: have you both had your eyes tested for 'night blindness'? Basically at night some people can't see a wide enough range of light which would make reversing out a dark driveway difficult.

    • mr-incredulous on 10/12/2020 - 16:00

      Yeah I know it sounds like I have poor eyesight but I promise that is not the case. It really is just a very awkward driveway (see diagram in comment above). On a normal night it is just a minor annoyance and on a rainy night I might have to get out the car once or twice to look. Everyone who visits has the same complaint.

      • ShannonN on 10/12/2020 - 21:18

        does the car have a reversing camera? most of those utilise the reversing light to give good vision?

    • Trance N Dance on 10/12/2020 - 16:02
      -1

      I was about to suggest this, if you have pretty poor visibility at night to the point you can't back out of a driveway but can in daylight, are you actually fit to drive at night?

  • Travis J on 10/12/2020 - 16:07
    • Solar powered garden lights
    • reverse park into the garage
  • Hithere on 10/12/2020 - 16:17

    Rustoleum Reflective Finish

    https://www.paintworld.com.au/products/rustoleum-reflective-…

    And night driving lessons?

  • Euphemistic on 11/12/2020 - 07:45

    I’d get the raised markers. RPMs or Cateyes. Stick them down with appropriate adhesive, some already come with sticky stuff on the base that works pretty well.

    Any line marking paint will be flat on the surface and provide less reflective surface to the plane of your lighting. Unless you can paint on the obstacles that are sitting up higher than the driveway, then paint might work.

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