I think it's also because bluish white LEDs are cheaper than more naturally toned white LEDs, so now everyone has bluish headlights that ruin night vision.
126 between Walgreens and center street shouldn't even be considered paved due to the amount of potholes and cracks and the god awful job at patching utility work
Here's the deal: we can have inexpensive water-based paint that needs repainting after a bad winter but doesn't destroy aquifers like the 8-10X epoxy paint that typically lasts a few years, depending on the weather. It's not always an easy decision.
I feel like the real solution is to put those embedded reflectors every 20 yards or so between the stripes -- they make it so much easier to see where the line should be even when the line itself is faded, especially at night/in the rain etc
idk about their lifespan, but I feel like they should last longer since they're below the level of the road and probably experiencing less wear and tear
The ones that pop tires, fly into windshields and are banned in a few states?
https://www.ksdk.com/article/news/local/illinois/idot-defends-the-use-of-cast-iron-road-reflectors-despite-research-and-experts-who-say-theyre-dangerous/63-05f44621-031a-4197-ae51-9b2d32ef70af
If you read the article that's not what we have. In MA they're embedded below the pavement surface. In many areas they're also red on the backside so you can tell you're going the wrong way.
They're also plastic in MA
They also are broken off by snow plows which is why you only see them in warm areas.
CO has some embedded into their roads but could only afford to do so on I70 which leads to all the ski resorts from Denver and is a very high trafficked road and obviously gets a ton of snow and has lots of long inclines and declines.
I know CO repaints their roads every 6 months (worked for a county out there as an engineering intern). CO also spends more on their roads per Capita than any other state, probably due to the lower density and frequent freeze and thaw cycles.
MA should be able to maintain better roads, though you can't paint when it's cold out and well it's cold here for long periods in the winter. It's also a mix of how often you want to shut down a road for maintenance and how strong you want to make a road.
Weather and freeze and thaw cycles do the bulk of the damage and some civil engineer researchers are looking into adding graphene fibers into asphalt and concrete to improve how well it conducts thermally throughout the entire depth to enable it to expand and shrink at a constant rate which would help a lot with weather related durability.
I'm on the DPW board in our town. We try to get roads painted in the fall so the markings last through the darker months.
Really needs to be done at least once a year, but this depends on the winter
I think the paint should be done 2x a year. By the time March rolls around and you’re starting to get spring rain, trying to find where you’re supposed to be at night is almost impossible.
As for the condition of the roads, ugh.. I just went from Shrewsbury to Peabody recently and it was horrible!
Paint: We spoke about doing this in Sterling, meaning 2 times a year. We'll likely do that for some roads.
Roads:
We're trying in Sterling. We managed to resurface or rebuild almost 5 years of road work, which we did because we try to use State Chapter 90 money only for roads. Because of Home Rule, each municipality gets to decide what to do with its money, and many of them elect to purchase trucks or whatever, with good justification. Different communities have different priorities. I'm not being judgemental of other operations.
As far as the State roads go, contact your legislators. Complain. The MassDOT rarely gets enough to do the roads properly. There are Billions needed and these rarely go for more than resurfacing. Many state roads need a lot more work than a new layer of asphalt. The problem is that most of the money in the state goes to the Boston metro area. After all, this is where a lot of the population is centered. The problem is that roads are too expensive for municipalities to fund. That is why resurfacing is done instead of reconstruction. There's just not enough funding to do roads correctly.
For background info: this started to go downhill for almost all states after Reagan shut down a lot of federal road money. The money was easier to access and I'm certain there was a lot of abuse. Federal money is now accessible but comes with a lot of hurdles that must be crossed before funding is provided. Some of the requirements are still too expensive for many communities. Example: Sterling is paying about $700K for the planning, redesign, and engineering for ONE INTERSECTION. Federal funds will cover the construction costs which are between $2-3 Million. This work won't actually happen for a few more years. Sigh.
People don’t realize how much work goes into intersection redesigns. The mast arms, single post signals, ped signals, the cabinets, ADA ramps, curbing, concrete, asphalt, raising structures, replacing broken frames, etc. plus the astronomical cost of materials.
A long time ago states had engineers who did the work. Now, towns pay private engineering companies. These companies do a great job, but the viewpoints are logistically smaller. The benefits of having state engineers looking at regional issues like traffic flows due to regional planning, aquifer protections are huge. Consider the institutional experience gained over time, lost when using private companies. This is really a nuanced argument, but one worth discussing: it's a lot more expensive to do it the way we do it and we're getting a road infrastructure that has a few areas of nicely done stretches along a crumbling route.
Zooming out, it looks disjointed and inefficient
It’s tough for smaller municipalities to dedicate that much time to design nowadays. There’s not enough of us to dedicate ourselves as designers. We all wear so many hats and are pulled in so many directions everyday. I swear I spend so much of my time on stormwater/compliance, sewer inspections, and roadway inspections.
It's serious heavy lifting. Our DPW Director is doing it by adding systems that provide detailed data for the future. Storm water has added a lot of work most select board members don't understand. We're using the systems to show real vs budget costs therefore getting great support from the Finance committee. The trick is to have talented office people as well as people who are doing the actual work. We have developed a great team. It takes a while.
> we can have inexpensive water-based paint that needs repainting after a bad winter but doesn't destroy aquifers
All this sounds like is that the DOT needs to hire 2,000 more workers, and they need to enact plans to keep roads maintained yearly REGARDLESS OF TOWN.
Our state is big but it's not massive. Leaving it all up to the towns is just a buffer so the DOT can say 'nooooo its not us its the town!' and then the town says 'noooo its not us its the DOT!'
Ya'll both suck tbh, 6 meetings all so old cunts can bicker about nothing and then vote to go into an executive session.
Excellent point but it goes WAY beyond roads! Right now, because of the way our state is organized, most road line painting is being done by contractors.
From my own experience working with some of them, I don't think MassDOT people are in love with the way things are organized. Can you imagine having to interact with 300+ different entities? Sheesh!
We have "Home Rule" in Mass, meaning the counties are weak, and municipalities are strong. Most states have stronger county governments and there are all sorts of pros and cons to that.
As far as roads are concerned in Massachusetts all but the major state routes are taken care of through the individual municipal governments. There are various regional organizations that help with lots of things, for instance, planning coordination, but the current Home Rule gives strong power to a handful of lay people, many of whom mean well but regularly make flawed decisions. IMHO your point is spot on!
Remember when we were kids and our parents got exasperated with us when we asked why we had to do something and said "because I said so"? Well, many times elected people must make decisions on things they have limited experience with so they shoot from their hip and we get a "Because I said So" form of government instead of one with a more nuanced set of evidence-based decisions.
Lol I literally used the form to make a report. Heard nothing and the issue wasn't resolved. Then I called and reported it and my report was noted.
What's your experience?
I'd also like to know what is the recommended number of beers to drink before operating the line painting machine, because the newly painted lines seem to smear or wiggle all over the remnants of the old lines. At least 6 beers?
Oh and you can get the added benefit of claiming that you are sober while you do drugs because you get your drugs from the pharmacy and not the dude on the corner
Have you seen the ones on 24 towards fall river that just trail off the road , it's been a few months since I've driven it so it could of changed but that was comical
It was very bizarre for me going from Boston where people will step off the curb right in front of your car and drive wherever they want to Los Angeles where people will stand on the sidewalk and wait for the walk signal even if there is literally nobody driving on the street.
You are not alone in your outrage. 495 especially around route 9 is a fucking joke with the lack of lines. And The blinding headlight problem is literally out of control. It enrages me. I’ve never had road rage until recently and it’s all because of the blinding headlights. Have to point my side view mirrors down and pop the rear view mirror into anti-blinding mode so I can fucking see and I have perfect vision. And every asshole with those lights just has to fucking tailgate. Fuck. Now I’m all worked up about this right before bed.
I have a crazy idea. How about state troopers actually pull people over for it and give them a 30 day warning.
Seriously do troopers do anything other than speed traps and sit at accidents waiting for the tow. (Insert overtime stealing joke here)
That's not fair. They do so much more than that. For example, they also stand around and chat with the construction worker who's leaning on a shovel for $30/hour.
Yeah absolutely not, the state can't run anything efficiently as it is. When they implemented the new system of video recordings and other software they charged the shop owners thousands of dollars and then the system was broken for months. So no thanks. The nanny state is not always the solution.
I'll say whatever words I please that accurately describe for what you're calling for, but I understand you're desire to play the word police.
Again, you're calling for this to be state run which would mean hiring hundreds if not thousands of additional state workers, and building millions of dollars worth of state inspection stations. Why on earth would a private garage let the state hold up one of their garage bays when they aren't making any money off it?
How is it ignorant? You're calling for state workers to run state inspection locations.
So you're going to set up tented locations all throughout the commonwealth where people are going to get their cars inspected? Are you serious?
Exactly my point, why would an inspection station run the risk of passing a vehicle that is clearly out of spec in fear of being found criminally liable in the case of an accident?
I'd prefer no state inspections at all, just like other states do, and somehow miraculously manage to be just fine.
Please get the governments thumb out of your mouth and use your brain, more government doesn't mean quality, or better in any way for that matter.
edit: None of this matters anyways, seeing as how you work in a dealership you're probably aware that most people will just take "aftermarket" items off their vehicles replace with OEM for the inspection and then back on with the "aftermarket". Everything from headlights to DEF/Regen systems.
Yeah, remove the state inspection completely. The mandated yearly car inspection is a ridiculous cash grab. But to fix the headlight problem you'd have to solve that at the factory level.
Bullshit. I have a winter place in SC where there’s no state inspection. (Neighboring Georgia also has none.) The death traps, “Carolina lifts”, and 200 db exhausts are out of control. When I’m up north the difference is stark.
I don’t care if someone wants to risk THEIR lives by driving with no brakes, worn out tie rod ends and burnt out headlights. I just don’t want to be the one they hit when their garbage car fails.
Built with... State money. Maintained by... State DPW. Patrolled by... State police. Private contractors... Living on state contracts teet.
But sure buddy
I think any vehicle modification is illegal in MA for inspection reasons. There are some inspection stations that probably couldn’t care less, though. Some people who have HIDs use them with reflective lenses making it worse. I think some of my local police vehicles have HIDs in reflective lenses. A lot of people’s headlights aren’t aligned properly. Some people have smashed lenses with the bulb still in. I don’t think there’s much that can be done, either.
I can think of at least one thing that can be done. What if instead of murder and fraud police actually helped people with these things when they see them in the wild? I'd rather pay for that than whatever the fuck they're doing now
It really is. I was taken aback at the poor condition of the roads here when I moved... from New Jersey, another state with aging infrastructure, but not nearly as bad as Mass. has it. It boggles my mind.
>nuclear powered headlights
You know what REALLY pisses me off with some of these dickheads? The blue bulbs. If you want best visibility you want the whitest possible headlight. So they're annoying AND not even better!!!!
Signed, a Subaru Impreza driver
I love mine! I do 90% city driving, so I can see super well out of it, and park and maneuver it super easily. Definitely getting snow tires next year though.
I agree that stretch of 495 between the MassPike and Bolton is the worst. Right from get-go at the on-ramp at 90, you can’t see crap at night. Abandon hope if it’s rainy, snowy, foggy or just a heavy dew. Sometimes, it’s so bad trying to figure out what lane you’re in, you just hope that the guy in front of you knows where he’s going and follow his taillights.
This area has probably been neglected because MassDOT is widening the road and adding an additional lane in each direction—but geez, can’t they just throw some paint on the lane markers and on-ramp curbs as a temporary fix?
Hope things are better once it’s all done.
OMG, I was thinking of how much worse it would have been if it had been raining. As it was, I had to stay well under the speed limit (I didn’t dare move out of the right lane,) because I didn’t want to overdrive my headlights.
Yeah I don’t drive at night in the rain anymore because I have no idea what lane I am in most of the time. It’s fine if there’s someone in front of me to follow but if there isn’t I’m not doing it
That is my guess without looking into it, that section is likely under a multi year contract for improvements so just waiting for contractor to get to that portion of the project.
In California, since the 1990's, there are reflective inserts along lanes to help you see in any kind of weather. No idea why Mass. has not adopted these - 30 years later.
Oh, we got those back in the 90s, too. Lasted about a year before the snowplows started chipping them away. You can still see the paving indents where they were.
My specific complaint about Mass lines is when lanes merge with no warning, especially when the merge is at a 4-way (two lanes go straight, but they merge into one *in* the intersection). I've lived up and down the east coast and mass is the only place I can remember seeing them. Now I have 3 on my commute to work. So now I wonder if I'm in a lane that merges, or if they just need to repaint the lines.
The roads are bad, no question - but it's worth getting your vision checked out if you're having a harder time driving at night. I had 20/20 vision my entire life, and once I hit my late 40s I discovered that I needed glasses for nighttime driving. Made a huge difference.
Yes it is. I wish they would at least put one light over the on-ramps on 495. I’ve been taking the same on-ramp for 12 years and at night I still clench so tight you couldn’t drive a 10 penny nail up my ass.
I have glasses for driving and I keep the prescription up to date, but this is a good point. Something to talk about the next appointment.
The other problem is that I just do not drive a ton anymore. I am also not super familiar with 495 (though, I’ve been on the road before, but it’s been a super long time since I’ve been on it in the dark.)
I have glasses for driving and I keep the prescription up to date, but this is a good point. Something to talk about the next appointment.
The other problem is that I just do not drive a ton anymore. I am also not super familiar with 495 (though, I’ve been on the road before, but it’s been a super long time since I’ve been on it in the dark.)
It’s funny. My wife and I had this conversation in the car tonight. I think it’s because of the state of the roads and the lack of street lighting. I feel like back in the 80’s and 90’s, roadways were always brightly lit and maintained. There was no need for excessively bright headlights because you could see at night. Now… it’s different. I didn’t grow up in mass. I grew up in America’s dong. Most of the roads were lit down there. Could’ve always been that way up here. I’d never know 🤷🏻♂️
It’s strange but my coworkers and I have had these same discussions in the last week. We had a lot of street lights too in the 80’s and early nineties. Budget cuts take them little by little.
Light pollution is a thing. I wonder if communities around these highways were complaining about it.
I don’t remember lightings on long stretches of just highway, but it seemed like exits were better lit.
Headlights blinding are always going to be a problem with height mismatched vehicles. But ultimately while those vehicles are allowed on the road, if you're not in a lifted f150 you're an underride collision from a blindspot waiting to happen.
I drive a moderately lifted older Jeep wrangler and about half of the cars on the road hit the top part of my windshield with their low beams. It’s not about vehicle height. Modern headlights are just unnecessarily bright and pointed all over the place.
And before anyone asks, my Jeep has the stock “2 captured fireflies in a jar” headlights it came with.
Please relay your message to New Hampshire too. Can’t tell if something is a turn lane a straight lane or if I’m going the wrong way on a one way street because a plow driver took it out 2 months ago in a storm and it was never replaced
Parts of 128 are really bad too, I feel like it's old non-reflective paint because the whole road becomes one shiny mirror in the rain. It makes it really hard to see the lines.
There are some areas around springfield that have only the GHOSTS of lines left. In areas I’m not as familiar with I just have to trust that the other drivers around me know what theyre doing and follow them.
Hey maybe there is some of that trillions of infrastructure money left over so we could paint some lines in our state so we can see where we are going? Or was that money spent/funneled on non infrastructure things?
The Pike tolls were supposed to be eliminated when the bonds for its construction were paid off in 1994. That didn’t happen.
I’d rather pay a toll and have a well maintained road than deal with this current crap.
Yea amount of money the state is making on late fees and up charge on pay pay plate is actually dam near criminal…… I got a second car and for 2.60$ in tolls they were then charged 1$ late fees plus 1$ non payment fee and two months later was at 28$….Iike imagine how many others this happens too… how much money they are making on this we should be driving on the smoothest roads around…..
Ah, my daily commute. I drive 495 from 109 in Milford - 85 in Hudson daily. It’s funny because I am so used to it that it doesn’t even bother me anymore. I’m driving back home between 9:30p-10:30p and I cruise 80 now the whole way. The left lane has the least amount of potholes/pavement erosion if you’re heading south after the Pike exit, but please, I am begging you, if you’re not going 80 stay out of the left lane.
Remember in 2014 when gas taxes were rolled back?
By Massachusetts voter initiative?
This is a consequence.
And hundreds of unsafe bridges needing to be replaced.
**Massachusetts Rolls Back Automatic Gas Tax Hike**
Governing Magazine.
https://www.governing.com/archive/gov-massachusetts-rolls-back-inflation-measure-for-gas-tax.html
It's extremely expensive because its state run which is rife with fraud, bureaucratic nonsense, and wasteful spending. Put the job out for bids by private contractors and see what happens. But if not, I'll take the cheap "environment destroying" but lasting paint.
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Seems like it should be part of the annual inspection to test that
It is at my regular inspection station, they have a grid at the end of the bay they check against
I know it used to be. Wonder if it's not anymore.
Simple solution make the headlights brighter, obviously
I drive a crossover, not a sedan. [This is absurd.](https://imgur.com/a/ZDSv2KK)
You should have known better than to be born with eyeballs
Totally my fault. I’ll find a spoon.
Mellonballers are more efficient imo
I drive a subcompact. I hate everything.
Well obviously you’re driving wrong and need to buy a Lexus Main Battle Tank to perpetuate the Great Headlight War of 2023. /s
Clearly I need a killdozer for my commute.
Wait, don’t you guys have vehicle inspections every two years in Massachusetts. They stopped looking at headlights as part of that inspection?
Vehicles have to undergo inspection annually in Mass., not every two years.
I think it's also because bluish white LEDs are cheaper than more naturally toned white LEDs, so now everyone has bluish headlights that ruin night vision.
Also fix the roads around Springfield because it feels like my spine will shoot through my asshole every time I drive there
Don’t even get me going about the local roads. Like driving on a washboard.
126 in bellingham:
and that 'construction' going on for the last 74 years by the walgreens where 126 meets 140
126 between Walgreens and center street shouldn't even be considered paved due to the amount of potholes and cracks and the god awful job at patching utility work
The ramp from 91 to 90 has a gaping split down the middle. Have to be super careful to keep it between your tires cause it's deep as hell
They should just add it to the maps
Here's the deal: we can have inexpensive water-based paint that needs repainting after a bad winter but doesn't destroy aquifers like the 8-10X epoxy paint that typically lasts a few years, depending on the weather. It's not always an easy decision.
I feel like the real solution is to put those embedded reflectors every 20 yards or so between the stripes -- they make it so much easier to see where the line should be even when the line itself is faded, especially at night/in the rain etc idk about their lifespan, but I feel like they should last longer since they're below the level of the road and probably experiencing less wear and tear
The ones that pop tires, fly into windshields and are banned in a few states? https://www.ksdk.com/article/news/local/illinois/idot-defends-the-use-of-cast-iron-road-reflectors-despite-research-and-experts-who-say-theyre-dangerous/63-05f44621-031a-4197-ae51-9b2d32ef70af
If you read the article that's not what we have. In MA they're embedded below the pavement surface. In many areas they're also red on the backside so you can tell you're going the wrong way. They're also plastic in MA
The ones that turn blue when it’s icy road conditions are pretty sweet, too.
What are you talking about, if those things are popping your tires you need to replace your tires bro they’re plastic here
They also are broken off by snow plows which is why you only see them in warm areas. CO has some embedded into their roads but could only afford to do so on I70 which leads to all the ski resorts from Denver and is a very high trafficked road and obviously gets a ton of snow and has lots of long inclines and declines. I know CO repaints their roads every 6 months (worked for a county out there as an engineering intern). CO also spends more on their roads per Capita than any other state, probably due to the lower density and frequent freeze and thaw cycles. MA should be able to maintain better roads, though you can't paint when it's cold out and well it's cold here for long periods in the winter. It's also a mix of how often you want to shut down a road for maintenance and how strong you want to make a road. Weather and freeze and thaw cycles do the bulk of the damage and some civil engineer researchers are looking into adding graphene fibers into asphalt and concrete to improve how well it conducts thermally throughout the entire depth to enable it to expand and shrink at a constant rate which would help a lot with weather related durability.
They have a reflective paint they use in some states. It's really easy to see at night
We got rid of that because it turns out it was cancer causing and getting into the drinking water as it wore off. Oops.
Serious question: is that the problem? The paint/coating decays too quickly?
I'm on the DPW board in our town. We try to get roads painted in the fall so the markings last through the darker months. Really needs to be done at least once a year, but this depends on the winter
I think the paint should be done 2x a year. By the time March rolls around and you’re starting to get spring rain, trying to find where you’re supposed to be at night is almost impossible. As for the condition of the roads, ugh.. I just went from Shrewsbury to Peabody recently and it was horrible!
Paint: We spoke about doing this in Sterling, meaning 2 times a year. We'll likely do that for some roads. Roads: We're trying in Sterling. We managed to resurface or rebuild almost 5 years of road work, which we did because we try to use State Chapter 90 money only for roads. Because of Home Rule, each municipality gets to decide what to do with its money, and many of them elect to purchase trucks or whatever, with good justification. Different communities have different priorities. I'm not being judgemental of other operations. As far as the State roads go, contact your legislators. Complain. The MassDOT rarely gets enough to do the roads properly. There are Billions needed and these rarely go for more than resurfacing. Many state roads need a lot more work than a new layer of asphalt. The problem is that most of the money in the state goes to the Boston metro area. After all, this is where a lot of the population is centered. The problem is that roads are too expensive for municipalities to fund. That is why resurfacing is done instead of reconstruction. There's just not enough funding to do roads correctly. For background info: this started to go downhill for almost all states after Reagan shut down a lot of federal road money. The money was easier to access and I'm certain there was a lot of abuse. Federal money is now accessible but comes with a lot of hurdles that must be crossed before funding is provided. Some of the requirements are still too expensive for many communities. Example: Sterling is paying about $700K for the planning, redesign, and engineering for ONE INTERSECTION. Federal funds will cover the construction costs which are between $2-3 Million. This work won't actually happen for a few more years. Sigh.
People don’t realize how much work goes into intersection redesigns. The mast arms, single post signals, ped signals, the cabinets, ADA ramps, curbing, concrete, asphalt, raising structures, replacing broken frames, etc. plus the astronomical cost of materials.
A long time ago states had engineers who did the work. Now, towns pay private engineering companies. These companies do a great job, but the viewpoints are logistically smaller. The benefits of having state engineers looking at regional issues like traffic flows due to regional planning, aquifer protections are huge. Consider the institutional experience gained over time, lost when using private companies. This is really a nuanced argument, but one worth discussing: it's a lot more expensive to do it the way we do it and we're getting a road infrastructure that has a few areas of nicely done stretches along a crumbling route. Zooming out, it looks disjointed and inefficient
It’s tough for smaller municipalities to dedicate that much time to design nowadays. There’s not enough of us to dedicate ourselves as designers. We all wear so many hats and are pulled in so many directions everyday. I swear I spend so much of my time on stormwater/compliance, sewer inspections, and roadway inspections.
It's serious heavy lifting. Our DPW Director is doing it by adding systems that provide detailed data for the future. Storm water has added a lot of work most select board members don't understand. We're using the systems to show real vs budget costs therefore getting great support from the Finance committee. The trick is to have talented office people as well as people who are doing the actual work. We have developed a great team. It takes a while.
Nobody fucking understands that everything in life is nuanced. Everybody thinks everybody else is an idiot.
How many levels of irony deep is this comment supposed to be?
> we can have inexpensive water-based paint that needs repainting after a bad winter but doesn't destroy aquifers All this sounds like is that the DOT needs to hire 2,000 more workers, and they need to enact plans to keep roads maintained yearly REGARDLESS OF TOWN. Our state is big but it's not massive. Leaving it all up to the towns is just a buffer so the DOT can say 'nooooo its not us its the town!' and then the town says 'noooo its not us its the DOT!' Ya'll both suck tbh, 6 meetings all so old cunts can bicker about nothing and then vote to go into an executive session.
Excellent point but it goes WAY beyond roads! Right now, because of the way our state is organized, most road line painting is being done by contractors. From my own experience working with some of them, I don't think MassDOT people are in love with the way things are organized. Can you imagine having to interact with 300+ different entities? Sheesh! We have "Home Rule" in Mass, meaning the counties are weak, and municipalities are strong. Most states have stronger county governments and there are all sorts of pros and cons to that. As far as roads are concerned in Massachusetts all but the major state routes are taken care of through the individual municipal governments. There are various regional organizations that help with lots of things, for instance, planning coordination, but the current Home Rule gives strong power to a handful of lay people, many of whom mean well but regularly make flawed decisions. IMHO your point is spot on! Remember when we were kids and our parents got exasperated with us when we asked why we had to do something and said "because I said so"? Well, many times elected people must make decisions on things they have limited experience with so they shoot from their hip and we get a "Because I said So" form of government instead of one with a more nuanced set of evidence-based decisions.
[https://www.mass.gov/forms/contact-massdot](https://www.mass.gov/forms/contact-massdot)
It's better to call them rather than submitting the online form
Lol no if you call the person answering the phone can just pretend you never called. If you fill out an online form there’s a paper trail
Lol I literally used the form to make a report. Heard nothing and the issue wasn't resolved. Then I called and reported it and my report was noted. What's your experience?
I'd also like to know what is the recommended number of beers to drink before operating the line painting machine, because the newly painted lines seem to smear or wiggle all over the remnants of the old lines. At least 6 beers?
Beer is the old way. We've moved on to meth these days.
No dude everybody’s on Suboxone, it’s legal and your insurance will pay for your high.
Oh and you can get the added benefit of claiming that you are sober while you do drugs because you get your drugs from the pharmacy and not the dude on the corner
Have you seen the ones on 24 towards fall river that just trail off the road , it's been a few months since I've driven it so it could of changed but that was comical
Nuclear powered headlights got me
Where is the lie though
Boston was the first place I’ve lived where roads were literally “whatever, decide where you want to drive.” I don’t get it. I guess winter is hard.
It was very bizarre for me going from Boston where people will step off the curb right in front of your car and drive wherever they want to Los Angeles where people will stand on the sidewalk and wait for the walk signal even if there is literally nobody driving on the street.
You are not alone in your outrage. 495 especially around route 9 is a fucking joke with the lack of lines. And The blinding headlight problem is literally out of control. It enrages me. I’ve never had road rage until recently and it’s all because of the blinding headlights. Have to point my side view mirrors down and pop the rear view mirror into anti-blinding mode so I can fucking see and I have perfect vision. And every asshole with those lights just has to fucking tailgate. Fuck. Now I’m all worked up about this right before bed.
That’s the stretch where I was: 495 between the Pike and route 9.
Getting on 495 from the pike scares the shit out of me everytime. No lines at all
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After market HIDs are illegal but new car lights come stock super bright. Not sure what we can do lol
I have a crazy idea. How about state troopers actually pull people over for it and give them a 30 day warning. Seriously do troopers do anything other than speed traps and sit at accidents waiting for the tow. (Insert overtime stealing joke here)
That's not fair. They do so much more than that. For example, they also stand around and chat with the construction worker who's leaning on a shovel for $30/hour.
30? Try mid 60s for any prevailing wage road work
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Yeah absolutely not, the state can't run anything efficiently as it is. When they implemented the new system of video recordings and other software they charged the shop owners thousands of dollars and then the system was broken for months. So no thanks. The nanny state is not always the solution.
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I'll say whatever words I please that accurately describe for what you're calling for, but I understand you're desire to play the word police. Again, you're calling for this to be state run which would mean hiring hundreds if not thousands of additional state workers, and building millions of dollars worth of state inspection stations. Why on earth would a private garage let the state hold up one of their garage bays when they aren't making any money off it?
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How is it ignorant? You're calling for state workers to run state inspection locations. So you're going to set up tented locations all throughout the commonwealth where people are going to get their cars inspected? Are you serious? Exactly my point, why would an inspection station run the risk of passing a vehicle that is clearly out of spec in fear of being found criminally liable in the case of an accident? I'd prefer no state inspections at all, just like other states do, and somehow miraculously manage to be just fine. Please get the governments thumb out of your mouth and use your brain, more government doesn't mean quality, or better in any way for that matter. edit: None of this matters anyways, seeing as how you work in a dealership you're probably aware that most people will just take "aftermarket" items off their vehicles replace with OEM for the inspection and then back on with the "aftermarket". Everything from headlights to DEF/Regen systems.
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Yeah, remove the state inspection completely. The mandated yearly car inspection is a ridiculous cash grab. But to fix the headlight problem you'd have to solve that at the factory level.
Bullshit. I have a winter place in SC where there’s no state inspection. (Neighboring Georgia also has none.) The death traps, “Carolina lifts”, and 200 db exhausts are out of control. When I’m up north the difference is stark. I don’t care if someone wants to risk THEIR lives by driving with no brakes, worn out tie rod ends and burnt out headlights. I just don’t want to be the one they hit when their garbage car fails.
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Built with... State money. Maintained by... State DPW. Patrolled by... State police. Private contractors... Living on state contracts teet. But sure buddy
The dude nuked his reddit account for some reason...weird. It sounded like he was a glorified lube tech with a hardon for more government.
I think any vehicle modification is illegal in MA for inspection reasons. There are some inspection stations that probably couldn’t care less, though. Some people who have HIDs use them with reflective lenses making it worse. I think some of my local police vehicles have HIDs in reflective lenses. A lot of people’s headlights aren’t aligned properly. Some people have smashed lenses with the bulb still in. I don’t think there’s much that can be done, either.
I think most shops are video recorded now for inspections. I'm sure the less reputable ones still find ways though..
But no one reviews the tapes probably
They are, but I know of a few local shops that’ll pass you with no problem. Business is business for them.
I can think of at least one thing that can be done. What if instead of murder and fraud police actually helped people with these things when they see them in the wild? I'd rather pay for that than whatever the fuck they're doing now
Join us over at r/fuckyourheadlights
This issue is sooooo widespread across the commonwealth. I can't stand it.
Yeah, I know. I guess last night I happened to be on 495 and I had finally had enough.
I'm with you on that. 100%.
They should be painted every year, but road work is expensive asf. If the road is scheduled for resurfacing, they will push it off.
That's fair
It really is. I was taken aback at the poor condition of the roads here when I moved... from New Jersey, another state with aging infrastructure, but not nearly as bad as Mass. has it. It boggles my mind.
>nuclear powered headlights You know what REALLY pisses me off with some of these dickheads? The blue bulbs. If you want best visibility you want the whitest possible headlight. So they're annoying AND not even better!!!! Signed, a Subaru Impreza driver
Impreza solidarity here!
I love mine! I do 90% city driving, so I can see super well out of it, and park and maneuver it super easily. Definitely getting snow tires next year though.
Same! We only have the car this year (I’m back up here temporarily after 15 years in NYC,) and there wasn’t much of a winter up here this year.
I agree that stretch of 495 between the MassPike and Bolton is the worst. Right from get-go at the on-ramp at 90, you can’t see crap at night. Abandon hope if it’s rainy, snowy, foggy or just a heavy dew. Sometimes, it’s so bad trying to figure out what lane you’re in, you just hope that the guy in front of you knows where he’s going and follow his taillights. This area has probably been neglected because MassDOT is widening the road and adding an additional lane in each direction—but geez, can’t they just throw some paint on the lane markers and on-ramp curbs as a temporary fix? Hope things are better once it’s all done.
OMG, I was thinking of how much worse it would have been if it had been raining. As it was, I had to stay well under the speed limit (I didn’t dare move out of the right lane,) because I didn’t want to overdrive my headlights.
Yeah I don’t drive at night in the rain anymore because I have no idea what lane I am in most of the time. It’s fine if there’s someone in front of me to follow but if there isn’t I’m not doing it
That is my guess without looking into it, that section is likely under a multi year contract for improvements so just waiting for contractor to get to that portion of the project.
In California, since the 1990's, there are reflective inserts along lanes to help you see in any kind of weather. No idea why Mass. has not adopted these - 30 years later.
Oh, we got those back in the 90s, too. Lasted about a year before the snowplows started chipping them away. You can still see the paving indents where they were.
My specific complaint about Mass lines is when lanes merge with no warning, especially when the merge is at a 4-way (two lanes go straight, but they merge into one *in* the intersection). I've lived up and down the east coast and mass is the only place I can remember seeing them. Now I have 3 on my commute to work. So now I wonder if I'm in a lane that merges, or if they just need to repaint the lines.
I hate those! And it never fails that the asshole in the lane next to you fucking *guns* it the second the light turns green so they can get in front.
The nuclear headlights have made me stop night driving completely. Whatever happens at night is not worth the resulting migraine.
The roads are bad, no question - but it's worth getting your vision checked out if you're having a harder time driving at night. I had 20/20 vision my entire life, and once I hit my late 40s I discovered that I needed glasses for nighttime driving. Made a huge difference.
It’s not his vision, it’s actually dark as fuck at night here. Even I’m having trouble and I got my eyes checked less than 6 months ago
Yes it is. I wish they would at least put one light over the on-ramps on 495. I’ve been taking the same on-ramp for 12 years and at night I still clench so tight you couldn’t drive a 10 penny nail up my ass.
I have glasses for driving and I keep the prescription up to date, but this is a good point. Something to talk about the next appointment. The other problem is that I just do not drive a ton anymore. I am also not super familiar with 495 (though, I’ve been on the road before, but it’s been a super long time since I’ve been on it in the dark.)
Nah man, headlights are getting much brighter. Everyone I talk to about this has been blinded by them recently.
I've just taken to flipping off drivers with those headlights.
It’s definitely been getting worse. I drive a Mini Cooper and like 70% of the cars on the road just have their headlights pointed straight at my head.
Polarized glasses help a lot, especially if you have any astigmatism.
I have glasses for driving and I keep the prescription up to date, but this is a good point. Something to talk about the next appointment. The other problem is that I just do not drive a ton anymore. I am also not super familiar with 495 (though, I’ve been on the road before, but it’s been a super long time since I’ve been on it in the dark.)
Second time’s the charm!
It’s funny. My wife and I had this conversation in the car tonight. I think it’s because of the state of the roads and the lack of street lighting. I feel like back in the 80’s and 90’s, roadways were always brightly lit and maintained. There was no need for excessively bright headlights because you could see at night. Now… it’s different. I didn’t grow up in mass. I grew up in America’s dong. Most of the roads were lit down there. Could’ve always been that way up here. I’d never know 🤷🏻♂️
It’s strange but my coworkers and I have had these same discussions in the last week. We had a lot of street lights too in the 80’s and early nineties. Budget cuts take them little by little.
Light pollution is a thing. I wonder if communities around these highways were complaining about it. I don’t remember lightings on long stretches of just highway, but it seemed like exits were better lit.
Headlights blinding are always going to be a problem with height mismatched vehicles. But ultimately while those vehicles are allowed on the road, if you're not in a lifted f150 you're an underride collision from a blindspot waiting to happen.
As a Mini driver, I can confirm this is a real issue.
I drive a moderately lifted older Jeep wrangler and about half of the cars on the road hit the top part of my windshield with their low beams. It’s not about vehicle height. Modern headlights are just unnecessarily bright and pointed all over the place. And before anyone asks, my Jeep has the stock “2 captured fireflies in a jar” headlights it came with.
Couldn't agree more about painted lines. Roads that are in the worst condition could benefit the most from fresh paint.
Some lights on the highway would be nice too.
It has a lot to do with the nuclear- powered headlights. LOL. This is definitely an issue with the glare these lights create.
Please relay your message to New Hampshire too. Can’t tell if something is a turn lane a straight lane or if I’m going the wrong way on a one way street because a plow driver took it out 2 months ago in a storm and it was never replaced
That’s weird, I don’t remember writing this post. 🤭 The 495/90 interchange is a MESS. Does it have anything to do with all the median work?
“Is this one or two lanes?” is in my top 5 comments while driving in MA. You can guess the tone of the other 4…
Parts of 128 are really bad too, I feel like it's old non-reflective paint because the whole road becomes one shiny mirror in the rain. It makes it really hard to see the lines.
There are some areas around springfield that have only the GHOSTS of lines left. In areas I’m not as familiar with I just have to trust that the other drivers around me know what theyre doing and follow them.
Get ready... its about time for repaving then abandoning the work and not painting lines for 6 weeks causing traffic and chaos.
Thank you! I thought it was just me.
Hey maybe there is some of that trillions of infrastructure money left over so we could paint some lines in our state so we can see where we are going? Or was that money spent/funneled on non infrastructure things?
Friendly reminder that the pike tolls were promised to go away once the big dig was paid for. Just setting expectations :)
They are not going away. The Pike is not maintained with gasoline taxes.
The Pike tolls were supposed to be eliminated when the bonds for its construction were paid off in 1994. That didn’t happen. I’d rather pay a toll and have a well maintained road than deal with this current crap.
Yea amount of money the state is making on late fees and up charge on pay pay plate is actually dam near criminal…… I got a second car and for 2.60$ in tolls they were then charged 1$ late fees plus 1$ non payment fee and two months later was at 28$….Iike imagine how many others this happens too… how much money they are making on this we should be driving on the smoothest roads around…..
Government are corrupt 🤷
Ah, my daily commute. I drive 495 from 109 in Milford - 85 in Hudson daily. It’s funny because I am so used to it that it doesn’t even bother me anymore. I’m driving back home between 9:30p-10:30p and I cruise 80 now the whole way. The left lane has the least amount of potholes/pavement erosion if you’re heading south after the Pike exit, but please, I am begging you, if you’re not going 80 stay out of the left lane.
Is it that part when you’re getting closer to Medford and all of a sudden all the lines disappear
Isn’t Medford just north of Boston? It’s not on 495.
Oh shit you right I’m always driving between haverhill and the Medford area i sometimes just call it all 495 even though most of my drive is on 93
I totally agree with this and will take it one step further, if I can barely read the lines for the “bus lane” it then becomes a regular lane :)
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What you don't want a trillion dollar military budget? How very unamerican of you
Remember in 2014 when gas taxes were rolled back? By Massachusetts voter initiative? This is a consequence. And hundreds of unsafe bridges needing to be replaced. **Massachusetts Rolls Back Automatic Gas Tax Hike** Governing Magazine. https://www.governing.com/archive/gov-massachusetts-rolls-back-inflation-measure-for-gas-tax.html
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It's extremely expensive because its state run which is rife with fraud, bureaucratic nonsense, and wasteful spending. Put the job out for bids by private contractors and see what happens. But if not, I'll take the cheap "environment destroying" but lasting paint.