Anti-tailgating strategy backfires on Interstate 5

LACEY, Wash. – An anti-tailgating strategy on Interstate 5 backfired in the form of unexpected traffic jams, state transportation officials have discovered.

Officials from the state Transportation Department and Washington State Patrol planned to meet today to reassess the $35,000 Two Dots To Safety pilot program on a two-mile stretch of the freeway north of this Thurston County town. Similar programs are in use in Maryland, Minnesota and Pennsylvania.

Road crews painted dots that were 160 feet apart, according to a transportation employee, and posted signs that urged drivers to space themselves at least two dots behind the vehicle ahead, based on the traffic safety principle of being at least two seconds behind another vehicle when going 60 mph.

Long backups developed Saturday, the day after the program began, when drivers slowed down because of heavy traffic and continued to maintain the two-dot separation, although that much distance was not necessary at slower speeds, said Lisa Murdock, a Transportation Department spokeswoman.

Road crews covered the signs later Saturday pending reconsideration of the program, including the wording on the signs, Murdock said.