Pilots need to confirm where they are when lining up. The first thing one can do is to have in mind to never line up on a stretch of pavement intended to be used for takeoff that has blue lights or green centreline lights. Be looking for white lights. Seems obvious but it happens.
Many companies have checklists with runway confirmation. Your best bet is to use the painted runway number, even if you already used a sign for runway confirmation as this also ensures that you are on the centreline because there have been attempted takeoffs from the runway edge.
Of course there is the possibility of an approach localizer for confirmation(which is frequently used in low vis ops due to reduced ability to see markings properly) but there is the risk of forgetting about it being in the FMC and therefore losing auto-tuning and the problems that can cause.
Using heading only is insufficient to ensure that one is on the proper runway at many airports. Best to look for the runway numbers. And there is frequently a yellow taxiway line leading one toward the runway centreline with that yellow taxiway line ending and the white runway centreline continuing.
Last edited by tcasblue; 19th Aug 2021 at 01:55.