Driving has gone from a luxury for the rich to an everyday thing for most people. Driving is how most of us have gotten to and from work, school, and other events in our life. The roads didn't always look the way they do now going from dirt roads to brick to the asphalt we currently have.

Road markings are extremely important to the safety of all drivers and pedestrians. I feel like most of us don't take in the full value of the lines and road markings we see on a daily basis, but they save our lives every day. Including the double yellow lines in the middle of the road that separate the opposite flows of traffic.

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Way back in 1911, Michigan Native Edward N Hines created the idea that has kept so many of us alive and breathing for decades. Hines worked for the Wayne County Road Commission during this time. Ironically, this idea didn't come from him being in an accident or seeing one but from something completely different.

After watching a leaky milk wagon leave a trail along the road, Hines had a lightbulb moment. He realized there is no way to separate the flows on traffic on the roads across America, meaning more accidents could happen, so he decided to make the roads safer.

Painting the bold yellow lines that sit in the middle of the road allows for drivers to know where they should or shouldn't be driving according to which way their vehicle is traveling. This invention has been considered the most important traffic safety device ever invented.

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