What is "ghost island"

n. (context British English) An area of road surface, marked with crosshatch, as a means of separating traffic, reducing speed, or to provide a safe area to turn right across approaching traffic

Ghost Island may refer to:

• Wheeler Island, Connecticut
• The Isle of Wight in England
• Hashima Island in Japan
• A road marking consisting of central cross-hatching which separates on-coming traffic and provides safe turning areas. In the United Kingdom the design of Ghost Island priority junctions is described in the Design Manual for Roads and Bridges Volume 6 Section 2 Part 6 (TD 42/95) Geometric Design of Major/Minor Priority Junctions.

A ghost island is a United Kingdom highway term referring to a painted traffic island, typically a central area of a single carriageway road that is hatched with paint to indicate that vehicles should not enter. Ghost islands are frequently used at junctions to discourage overtaking and to provide space for turning traffic to wait. They are also sometimes used for longer sections where a road is exceptionally wide (e.g. where it has been converted from three lanes to two).