Slow Down: Those Lines On The Road Are Longer Than You Think
Wednesday, February 11, 2009 - 13:14
in Paleontology & Archaeology
How long are the dashed lines that are painted down the middle of a road? Most people answer, "two feet." The real answer is 10 feet. That's the federal guideline for every street, highway, and rural road in the United States, where dashed lines separate traffic lanes or indicate where passing is allowed. A new study found that people grossly underestimate the length of these lines -- that implies we're all misjudging distances as we drive, and are driving too fast as a result.