A system and method for reliably determining lanes of a roadway includes an optical sensing arrangement for sensing metallic striping from photoelectric effect. The location of the striping that defines a border of a traffic lane is determined and the location of the striping is displayed on a graphical user interface. The location can be used to provide lane control to ensure the vehicle maintains proper position in a traffic lane, lane warning assistance, collision avoidance, parking control, and guidance for autonomous driving.