Southern Utah: The WEIRD Reason Why Yellow Lines Squiggle

Did the Guy Painting the Line Have a Sneezing Fit?

You may have seen these yellow lines in Southern Utah that go down the center of the road and look like someone was tipsy when they painted them. When I would drive by these spots, I wondered how that line got so jiggly? I thought maybe the guy driving had the cold shivers. Or maybe a bee flew into the window and sent him into panic mode.

You have probably seen the trucks that paint these lines. There is usually a guy in the cab and one near the back watching the paint. Did the guy watching not notice? Did he just shrug and continue on? Why didn’t they go back and fix something that bad? 

The True Culprit: Chip Seal 

I talked with Shane Greene who owns Roadrunner Striping, and he gave me new insight. “It happens sometimes when they chip seal the road,” said Greene. “The lines were painted straight.” In other words the line looked right when they put it down.

Chip seal is the process where they coat the road in tar and then lay down a layer of gravel that is then compacted by a steam roller. Sometimes when the road heats up in the summer, that tar liquifies and the road surface can slip. Cars going around a turn will pull the surface and make the line jagged where it gets pulled. 

Read More: One Of the Steepest Highways in the United States Is In Southern Utah

I want to apologize to the guy painting the lines that I have thought poorly of all these years. I am sorry that I thought you were an incompetent boob who probably drinks on the job. The whole time they did it perfectly and it was the stupid chip seal's fault. Again, I am sincerely sorry.