Along with the flowers and the grass, the number and volume of complaints about potholes grows this time of year.
But there's a bigger hazard out there on the roads. Rather, it's not out there, which is the problem.
The lack of lines on the highways and major city streets has been a serious threat to drive safety for the last several weeks.
Without those painted white and yellow lines, drivers have no clue where they are in relation to other vehicles, particularly when there are two or more lanes of traffic moving in the same direction. The lines serve as a compass for everyone behind the wheel and we unconsciously give them great power, talking about "my lane" and "your lane" as if they were real, physical spaces, rather than abstract suggestions.
In the last few weeks, who hasn't found themselves drifting into the middle of two lanes where there are no lines to keep us on the straight and narrow, particularly when driving on a stretch of road we don't usually drive? On those regular routes, drivers instinctively add lines that aren't there and stay to the left and the right as usual.
The line-painting crews are starting to come out and not a moment too soon. Driving around an obstacle course of potholes is challenging enough. Trying to figure out where the lanes start and end can be not just difficult, but dangerous, too.
