“Sign, sign
Everywhere a sign
Blockin’ out the scenery
Breakin’ my mind
Do this, don’t do that
Can’t you read the sign?” – Five Man Electric Band
It was one of those days. Disaster to the left. Disaster to the right. Disaster in front of me. Disaster behind. A choice of 360 degrees of disasters. But I digress.
Signs come in many formats. Literally roadside signs. Road marking signs. And today was filled with signs.
What does this mean for a driver?
What should a driver do?
What should a driver NOT do?
Driver’s Ed 101 taught this but I already knew it from my bicycling days.
Important meaning for anyone “out on the road”.
So why was it an issue today? Well, it was a day when twice the same vehicle passed me in a double yellow line situation.
To be crystal clear. . .
absolutely no passing
The first time I was proceeding down the road with my cruise on 59 in a 55 mph zone. I noticed the vehicle due to some unusual markings. I had planned to stop at the next Casey’s but I refrained as I perhaps would have too much fun determining the fool-hardy driver. And then within city limits, the exact same vehicle passed me again in a double solid yellow line area. Twice? I was tempted to record the license number and submit them anonymously to some vehicle enforcement group.
Tempted?
But I refrained.
My curiosity was high. This was a fairly local vehicle according to the county license plates so the vehicle was local. Maybe the driver was not. Maybe they were from New York or Florida.
But a quick search on the internet found that pavement markings are consistent across the US so any licensed driver would be aware of the meaning of two solid yellow lines.
I’ve been playing with words, definitions, visuals, quotes, and poems this month during the March Slice of Life. There are many shades of meaning . . .
House/home
Family
Reader-ness
Wordle
Frustration
Rules
Round Robin
Perspective
So what if?
The yellow double line means, “Hurry up and pass before you get to the end of the double lines.”
The yellow double line means, “Go fast, before you get caught passing in a double yellow line zone.”
The yellow double line means, “Try not to pass a vehicle where you will cross double yellow lines.”
Those possibilities seem a bit silly but so did the vehicle that crossed double yellow lines TWICE in passing me within 20 miles.
So WHAT meaning matters in life? The most obvious? The loudest? The one where you get caught and try to construct a narrative?
___________________________________________________________
Thank you, Two Writing Teachers, for this daily March forum. Check out the writers and readers here.
Resource - Full 
What ELSE could a sign mean? Love that concept.
Miss you, Fran! I haven’t made it to your blog as much as I should this month. I’m going back and reading your earlier posts later today. You always get me thinking and I love that!
Stated meaning? Hidden meanings? Inferred meanings? It’s all complex!
Something must be in the collective conscious, as I was just thinking that I tend to attach meaning to every little thing that grabs my attention (which also makes it hard to declutter, as I attach meanings to every *thing*, too). But some meanings, like yellow double lines, should be universal, for our safety!
Meanings match the universal markings but actions sure did not!
Well, I wish a police vehicle would be around to pull over a driver like this. I have never even thought about passing where the road is marked with a double yellow line. Love that you opened up with song lyrics – it’s playing in my head right now!
That song is an old fave and hit my need for something poetic!
I wonder if people don’t know the rules, or if they are distracted (on the phone, singing along to the radio), or they just don’t care. I have been passed many times on a solid double yellow line. And usually by someone who is speeding.
Whatever the reason, they are lucky to not have caused any accidents or really bad injuries!
You know what, Iam reading it at a time when I am learning to drive( Saudi Arabia).
Well, rules rule, driving or life!
Now I worry that I will rethink the signs as I encounter them….I’ll have to be careful!