The Road Not Much Less Traveled
UPDATE: Thank you for painting the road over the weekend. It was much easier to drive last night.
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Dear California –
As you are very aware, your highway system is quite extensive, transporting millions of people daily from here to there. Safety and usage concerns have led you to expand and improve the system to withstand the heavy demands, and the constant changing Earth, including the intense earthquakes that strikes from time to time.
However, I do wonders if you aspire to be like Mexico. In my trips through the country of Mexico, I am struck by their lack of use of paint on their roads. It leads to a free-for-all attitude among cars, drifting from one side to another, like a zealous NASCAR driver protecting their position.
Why do I say this? Because your interstate 405, considered as one of the heaviest trafficked road in America, and made famous for the hilarious self-titled film, is missing paint. Particularly between the Long Beach airport exit and interstate 705, there appears to be absolutely no lane paint marking going westbound.
At night, it is not an issue, as reflective prisms guide the way for us mere mortals. During the day, we have to squint to find the same reflective prisms, tiny and transparent against the whiteness of the road. This much of an attention would protect us from drifting from side to side, leading other cars and trucks to the unforgiving walls. There are a large number of curves and lane shifting through this area to make this a challenging ride.
However, bear in mind that this is a heavy-use highway, highly prone to surprise traffic jams at any time. Too much attention to the lane marking reduces our attention to the traffic in the distance. This create a very dangerous situation of rear-ended collision.
Spend the money and paint the highway marks now, please.
Yours.
