BOISE, Idaho — Driving on the highway during bad weather can often be a white-knuckle affair. It's even worse if you can't see the painted lines separating the lanes of travel.
A KTVB viewer reached out to us with the following question:
"Any idea why Idaho doesn't put reflective lane markers on the roads? Most states I've been to have them and they greatly increase visibility at night, especially when it rains. I've lived here my whole life and always wondered."
We checked with the Idaho Transportation Department and it turns out, they do use reflective paint on all roadways they manage, including freeways and highways. But there are reasons why it may not always seem that way.
ITD says road crews apply a coat of reflective beads and lane marker paint every summer.
The Ada County Highway District, which handles surface streets in the county, also says they use reflective paint.
According to ITD, wear and tear over the course of the year and wet pavement at night reduce the effectiveness of the reflective paint - which may be why it is more difficult to see the lines in the rainy weather and during the winter and spring months.
Here is ITD's full response to our question about the reflective lane markers:
"The paint ITD uses to stripe highways includes retro-reflective beads that assist drivers to see lane boundaries. The effectiveness of this reflectivity diminishes over time due to wear and tear. For that reason, ITD paints a fresh coat of paint and beads on all our highways every year. You are likely to come across our painting trucks when temperatures warm up – a requisite for the paint to cure quickly. Wet pavement at night can also reduce the effectiveness of the lines."
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