Paul Kuliniewicz

I may have the perfect anecdote to describe the average Maryland driver’s complete inability to handle any winter precipitation on the road, despite how getting snow or ice isn’t that unusual during winter.

This morning, there was maybe an inch of loose, powdery snow on the ground. On my commute, I had to change lanes to avoid a car jutting halfway into the right lane after having failed to allow for adequate stopping distance. Just before I passed, said car was in turn rear-ended by another car who likewise had failed to allow for adequate stopping distance.

Pop quiz: How long does it take for the lane stripings on a road to go from “brand new” to “so faded that road crews have to put up warning signs about an unmarked road”?

Apparently, around here, the answer is “less than 48 hours”.

It’s somewhat of a remarkable achievement when you think about it. How exactly does a road crew achieve this degree of epic fail for what should be routine maintenance? Did they use water-soluble paint? I haven’t seen that much suffusion of yellow since Dirk Gently lent me his calculator. Even the tape the road crew used for temporary lane markings proved more durable.

I know, I know, car navigation systems are pretty nifty, but can we please wait until they stop telling people to drive along train tracks before we start eschewing lane markings?