About five years ago I called in an accident on U.S. 395. The CHP dispatcher asked me what postmile it was located at. Unfortunately the postmile signs in California are not as useful as those in other states, most notably Arizona, where I lived for many years. Their "mileposst" were very prominent, with large numbers and nothing else. the "postmile" signs in California have the county on them along with hard to read numbers that sometimes have small fractions, such as 121.815 when used to locate a drainage structure or such. They also might be side by side with another sign showing realignment figures after a construction project.
I would bet that very few drivers in California know that there are "mileposts" on the highways. Even when they do, it is most difficult to use them.
but I'm the same way about the mileposts. At first it mildly impressed my wife, but now she's convinced it's just another of my obsessions with trivia. When traveling in the boondocks, and nearly everything is boondocks for 100-300 miles in all directions from where I live, I tend to keep a running mental track of my MPs, just in case I come across or get involved in a problem requiring a call to 9-1-1 or AAA. CHP's dispatchers seem to love it when I can tell them right off the bat that "there's a rockslide blocking both lanes of Highway 299 at Trinity County milepost 30.21." Usually eliminates or at least streamlines the 20-questions routine they otherwise have to go through.
