Why You and Florida Man Should Avoid Following the Yellow Brick Road
Yellow lines on the road are usually there for a good reason – when to pass, when not to pass, caution.
But when it comes to Florida Man, “good reason” is open to interpretation.
FLORIDA MAN STRIKES AGAIN!
DATELINE – Jacksonville, Florida, and the Saga of, well, so far, an unidentified Florida Man.
But who got sucked into the mess?
Well, as you’ll hear in this audio, courtesy of First Coast News, New Jersey man Richard Campbell.
“It was definitely noticeable. Couldn’t not notice it.” Richard Campbell has spent two days on the road from New Jersey, driving down to Melbourne to visit family. If any highway hypnosis was creeping in, well, it didn’t last once Campbell discovered an out-of-place yellow line, tracing the path south.
“Yeah, I don’t know what they’re going to do, how they’re going to rip know, take it off and repaint it. I don’t know.”
Frankly, the Florida Department of Transportation doesn’t know what it’s going to do about the line at this point, either. A department spokesperson says the paint is a spill from a truck, but they’re not sure who who exactly is responsible.
I traced the line to a business in the Cumberland Industrial Park in St. Augustine, where stacks of road paint sat outside. FDOT says its crews have assessed the spillage and are working toward a solution. But a solution could be tricky.
One school of thought they’ve considered is painting over it. However, that could wind up being more distracting than the line already is. Another thought is blasting it off. However, the FDOT spokesperson says they’d have to be careful not to damage the road or the lane paint that is supposed to be there. While they work on a solution, the Department of Transportation is telling drivers to be aware of the yellow line and do their best to simply ignore it.
“At first, I saw it come on, and then, like, got over into the other lane because I thought it was, like, merging me somewhere. And then I was like, it’s in the middle of the lane.”
Campbell’s trip on the yellow line road is over. Now at least he’ll have a story for when his family inevitably asks the question, “How was the drive?” “Yeah, it was pretty long. That’s crazy.”
If only there was a pot of gold or something at the end of it. But FDOT says it’s hoping this serves as a reminder for contractors to make sure their loads are secure before they head off from a job site.
Now, we reached out to the company where the yellow line ends, but they were closed today, Sunday afternoon, and they have not responded yet. In the studio, Zach Wilcox, First Coast News, On Your Side.
There’s a little bit of conflicting information there.
First, they tell you to be aware of the yellow line, and then they tell you to ignore it. Uh, okay.
You can imagine this poor guy from New Jersey, this Richard Campbell, driving down the highway, and then all of a sudden, there’s this yellow line that’s not supposed to be there.
Follow the yellow brick road.
Only in Florida, man.
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