This Makes Montana So Much More Dangerous Than It Needs To Be
It doesn't really matter the season or the weather, the roads of Montana are busy, and with that traffic comes wear and tear. You may notice as you drive through town and the on the interstate there is a bit of a groove in the lanes. I won't lie, there are times when those grooves have given my car a little jolt to one side or the other.
These grooves are the least of my concerns though. There is another issue I have noticed while on the interstate especially, and I am not the only one that has noticed this.
Now before you tell me to "go back to where I came from", or "don't drive at night if you don't like it", it has nothing to do with either of those two things. I got my license young and have been driving for well over 20 years, and never had an issue such as this.
What is making Montana roads more dangerous? The lack of paint on the major roadways.
So many spots of I90 (especially Billings to Bozeman) have spots with little to no paint left on the roads. This includes the line that separates the two lanes. With winter just around the corner, I am guessing that these lines will just continue to fade into next year.
As I grew up in a state that has a ridiculous amount of snow every year, I was first taught that when it's blizzarding, you watch the lines to make sure you are safely staying on your side. In Montana, that isn't really an option. You will either go in the ditch watching a line that will suddenly fade in and out, or you will suddenly be in the opposing lane because the paint dividing the two lanes is damn near gone as well.
Let's add rain and darkness into the mix. Again, can't see the lines especially when a vehicle is coming toward you with those incredibly bright head lights, or heaven forbid, someone forgets to turn their bright lights off. Either way, just as scary.
If you are coming from Livingston and heading toward Bozeman, you will notice that around the curvy mountains, there is no way to see which lane you are in. In more than one situation in life, we are told to "stay in your own lane", in this case, it's just not possible.
With all of the tax money, tourism money, recreational marijuana money, etc., we should be able to take the time to have one of the busiest roads in the U.S. stripped appropriately.