The United States has one of the most elaborate and lengthy highway systems in the world. As you might imagine, then, highway engineers must contend with volumes and volumes of regulations. One such safety regulation they have to deal with is the standard lane width of American highway lanes. 

Standard highway lanes in the United States are 12 feet wide– but some engineers apply the same width to urban streets

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Federal Highway Administration has a chart. Well, it has many charts. However, this one refers to standard lane width in the United States. Specifically, the chart labels standard U.S. rural and urban highway lane width at 12 feet. 

As you might imagine, that rule doesn’t apply to every road surface. For instance, the Federal Highway Administration suggests that local rural roads can be as narrow as nine feet. 

However, the 12-foot American lane isn’t a hit with everyone. In fact, in an urban context, it could be antithetical to pedestrian, cyclist, and motorist safety. One Bloomberg piece makes a vehement, albeit long-winded, appeal to Americans’ sensibilities to reduce standard high-volume lane width from 12 feet to 10. 

The author explains that highway engineers apply the same logic behind highway design to city and town applications. He argues “pedestrians are forced to walk further across streets on which cars are moving too fast and bikes don’t fit” with 12-foot lanes. Food for thought, but pedestrians and cyclists don’t apply to highway lane widths, of course. 

Still, not every country operates with the same parameters as the U.S. highway system. For instance, a two or three-lane motorway in the UK features a lane width of around 11.5 feet. Furthermore, countries like Japan and Germany apply a standard 3.75-meter lane width (about 12.3 feet) to their highway systems. Of course, like some older cities in the United States, you’ll find narrower urban streets in Frankfurt, London, and Glasgow.