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ST. GEORGE — In a state that typically receives a fair share of precipitation, some motorists are drawing attention to the fact that when it rains at night – or following the salting of roads after a snow storm – the striping that marks travel lanes on the roadway seemingly disappears, making drivers clutch their steering wheels in fear that they or one of the vehicles around them may unwittingly drift into another lane and oncoming traffic.
The issue of painted traffic lines disappearing during inclement weather is the subject of an online petition that has garnered over 33,600 signatures as of Wednesday afternoon.
“From the moment it starts to precipitate the existing road lines become invisible, making it excessivly (sic) dangerous to travel, even during mild weather,” Utah resident Nick Bodkin said in the petition he posted on Change.org, which asks the state to remark “interstates, highways, and surface roads with higher visibility lines.”
Originally posted nearly a year ago, recent snow storms across the state have renewed interest in Bodkin’s petition.
Kevin Kitchen, communications manager the Utah Department of Transportation’s Region 4, told St. George News that the paint it uses for striping already is reflective. This is accomplished through tiny glass beads used in the striping paint. Unfortunately the reflectiveness of the beads suffers in the rain.
Read the full article at St. George News.
