Q. What happens if you implement an anti-tailgating measure, and motorists obey it perfectly?
A. Traffic jams.
Last weekend, Washington State transportation officials enacted their 2 Dots 2 Safety program, which uses large white dots painted on the interstate pavement to remind drivers to maintain a proper distance from one another.
But the drivers responded a little too well: The recommended two-dot distance is designed for 60-mph travel. But traffic was heavy, so cars were moving slowly. Drivers, however, maintained the distance they were instructed on road signs. That, in turn, led to even slower traffic.
Bottom line: the obedient driving led to massive traffic jams. The state is now deciding what to do with the program.
Zach Patton -- Executive Editor. Zach has written about a range of topics, including social policy issues and urban planning and design. Originally from Tennessee, he joined GOVERNING as a staff writer in 2004. He received the 2011 Jesse H. Neal Award for Outstanding Journalism
E-mail: zpatton@governing.com 
Written and compiled by staff writers and editors, GOVERNING View is an on-the-ground, and sometimes behind-the-scenes, look at the topics we're covering in print and online. From notes on what's up in statehouses, county courthouses and city halls, to encounters with people, places and things, GOVERNING View is a window into the side of state and local government you don't always see.
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