…quicker than a strapless gown.
Burma Shave.
Remember those signs? I remember that one from my youth. I guess it left a mark. And today it comes to mind in the context of freeway repair.
“Keep right except to pass.” “Left lane for passing only.” These signs reflect our driving convention. Drive on the right, pass on the left. Driving the wide open spaces in West Texas, no traffic, defying convention, rolling along in the left lane because the right lane of that section of highway is a rutted bumpy mess, it occurs to us. We know highways don’t last forever. They have to be resurfaced periodically. It costs a lot to do that resurfacing. The resurfacing is probably always driven by the condition of the right lane because that gets 90% of the wear.
Why not use the same materials, but make road surfaces last a lot longer? We could do that for the cost of a crew and some road signs. We could extend road surface life by at least 50%. When the right lane starts to wear out, put up some signs:
“Lane wear. Drive on the left, pass on the right.”
That could save millions of dollars. Say it however we need to say it. Tell us what to do and we’ll do it. Move 90% of the traffic from the right lane to the left. If the message is too much to fit all on one sign, separate the phrases. Put each phrase on a subsequent sign, Burma Shave style.
“Lane wear”
“Is such a fright”
“For the next 20 miles”
“Drive on the left, pass on the right”
“TEXDOT”
We stopped for the night at Lake Corpus Christi State Park.
An easy day from home.
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