Drivetime Mahatma

Dilemma: Take call or stay in lane

Dear Mahatma: I sense the centerlines between traffic lanes are becoming invisible in Little Rock. Why else would oncoming traffic drift into my lane? The problem seems especially acute on Hinson Road. I realize the city's plan to slow traffic on Hinson has been put on hold. Why not put rumble strips in the center? -- Scared of the Center

Dear Scared: First a thought.

Those centerlines aren't invisible -- people are talking and texting on their stinking cellphones. Phew. Don't we all feel better? No.

Now an answer, the question having been pitched to Nat Banihatti of the city traffic engineering office.

Banihatti said rumble strips are uncommon on city streets or in urban areas. Shoulder rumble strips are more common than centerline strips on interstate highways, where they tell drivers this: Dude, you are fixin' to run off the road at 70 mph and into a ditch! (Melodrama added.)

Transverse rumble strips are used to warn drivers of an approaching condition such as a stop sign on a high-speed rural highway.

A review of research, Banihatti said, shows that centerline rumble strips aren't recommended for city streets unless there is a history of cross-centerline crashes. Why? Because rumble strips make a lot of noise.

He also said the city will check the condition of the double-yellow centerline on Hinson Road and will restripe as needed.

Vanity plate seen on a Smart car: SMARTY.

Dear Mahatma: I was almost involved in a pileup on the Interstate 30 bridge in North Little Rock. The middle lane had come to a sudden stop. A pickup driver pulling a trailer had stopped in the middle lane. He got out to pick up a plastic trash barrel from the passing lane. Drivers in the passing lane were swerving wildly to avoid him. I was astounded at his lack of concern but didn't know whom to contact. -- Unnerved in NLR

Dear Unnerved: This is similar to the worst thing that almost happened to us. We were driving on an interstate highway in Texas. A flatbed trailer came off some goober's pickup in the opposing lane. The trailer rolled across the median, passed right in front of us and came to rest on a grassy rise to our right. Ten seconds farther along and -- obliteration.

Twenty-five years later, this is still sharp in whatever is left of our minds.

Do this. Put into your cellphone contacts -- who doesn't have a cellphone -- the number of Troop A of the Arkansas State Police. That number is (501) 618-8282.

Troop A, based in Little Rock, covers Pulaski, Faulkner, Lonoke and Saline counties.

Live outside these counties? The state police has 12 troops, each serving four to nine counties. A moment with asp.arkansas.gov will give the interested citizen the location and phone number of the nearest troop. Put those numbers in your cellphones, people.

Vanity plate seen on an SUV: HIMAINT. Self-awareness is a good thing.

Mahatma@arkansasonline.com

Metro on 10/03/2015

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