That little white line is my friend
Posted on August 2, 2004
Filed Under /dev/null/ | 44 views |
Researchers in the UK are looking into ways to force people to drive slower. That’s probably a good idea I guess, though I’m not convinced that speed is the primary cause of accidents (though speed is undoubtedly the cause of deaths, I’d wager that cellphones, reading, smacking the kids in the backseat and falling asleep are just as culpable in cause) so whatever, except for this little bit:
…and removing white lines from the middle of roads.
The researchers said the changes would prompt drivers to automatically slow down because they would fear straying on to the edge of the road or risk a head-on collision.
The other weekend, while driving up to go camping, I became acutely aware that the only thing preventing the oncoming traffic from drifting into my lane as we went around blind corners was those little white lines. Think about that the next time you’re driving towards oncoming traffic: the only reason they haven’t driven into you is because the lines tell them not to.
What say we keep those lines so everyone knows where they ought to be? I’d much rather have someone whip past at 200Km/h on the proper side of the road than get into a head-on at 50.