Herringbone
Also: Herringbone diagram, Fishbone
A herringbone shows your route as one straight line, with side roads drawn as short strokes to the left and right.
A herringbone is a route diagram where your route is drawn as one straight line. Every side road along the way is shown as a short stroke to the left or right. The result looks like a fish skeleton.
How to read it
You read a herringbone from bottom to top. You always stay on the line, which is your route. Each side stroke is a road that branches off your route and that you drive past. So you count the side roads as you go. Bends in the real road do not show up, only the order of side roads on the left and right.
Where you see it
Herringbones are mainly used in orientation rallies and in navigation sections of a roadbook. They are sometimes combined with Chinese signs or map extracts.
Common traps
- Which roads count as side roads is set in the regulations. Farm tracks or driveways are often excluded.
- One missed side road shifts everything after it. Driver and co-driver should count together.
- The herringbone tells you where not to turn. Where the line ends or bends, the next instruction usually starts.
Practise with our guide to reading the roadbook.