Somebody asked me about the usage of the word distance in a sentence. I have my own ideas about it, particularly the difference between at a distance of and for a distance of.
Unfortunately, I’m afraid that the whole answer is in fact connected to something else: a bit of knowledge of road markings perhaps. So I hesitate to talk about only the grammar aspect.
My friend wants to express this:
Do not paint 50 m on the right and left sides from the ends of the
ramp, and plus the width of the ramp.
My friend thinks she can say this:
Do not paint the edge line of the road along every ramp at a distance
of 50 m on the right and left turns.
This is how far I’ve gotten in reconstructing it in my head:
Do not paint the edgelines of the road for a distance of 50 m on both
sides of a ramp
Am I still on the right track?
Best Answer
As far as at vs for goes at specifies a point at which something is important. For specifies a length over which something occurs. I ran the car for a distance of 5 miles. I stopped at a distance of 10 miles from home.
As far as your requirement goes I'd propose something like this:
Road edge lines shall terminate at a distance of 50 meters plus half the ramp width measured from the center of the ramp on both sides of the ramp-road intersection.
(Requirements should be phrased in the positive rather than the negative)