Here’s Why Lines on Maine Roads are so Hard to See in Winter

Is there any reason to like driving in the winter?

I admit, when I first started driving, I was kind of enamored with the idea of driving in the snow. Danger aside, it was kind of fun. I safely enjoyed a little slip-sliding here and there. It all seemed harmless enough, and I never did crazy road stunts or anything like that. Just a slow steady drive to work in the snow.

These days, not so much. I live in a somewhat rural area, so the plows don't make out my way with much consistency. But even more than all that, there's on thing that kind of drives me bananas... It's the inability to see the lines on the roads in winter. And not just because they're covered in snow sometimes.

During the day, this isn't really a huge issue. But when you're driving at night, and some road hog with LED headlights as brighter than the sun is coming at you, it makes you begin to wonder where your spot on the road is. I find myself occasionally having a small panic attack wondering if I'm about to end up in the ditch.

Road lines become much less visible in winter months, specifically.

So why does this happen? Well, it's a combination of things, according to the BDN. It's a perfect storm of road salt, plow scraping, and the kind of paint Maine uses on it's roads. For instance, the paint used on the highways is much more durable. Whereas the paint on non-highway roads is a water-based latex paint.

In every gallon of the paint, roughly six pounds of tiny glass beads are added. this is what makes the lines so reflective. As winter rolls on, between all the salt and plowing, those lines pretty much disappear. Maine, like a lot of other snowy states, ends up repainting the lines pretty much annually.

But there you have it. Between the plows knocking beads out of the paint, and the salt just turning everything white, it's almost impossible to see the lines. There's no real solution, either. Towns can try more expensive, sturdier paints, but that will likely come with it's own issues. But at least now you know why you're mad when you can't see.

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