Factual error: In the scene at the Braidwood Inn, after Neal shakes Owen's hand and the shot is of Owen with the freeway in the background, you can see a Jays Potato Chips truck drive past. The inn is supposedly near Wichita, Kansas. Jays Potato Chips were not sold west of the Mississippi at the time.
Continuity mistake: When Neal is walking to the space where his rental car is supposed to be, he looks down as he walks past stalls V-2 and V-3, yet after V-3 he passes two more cars before arriving at stall V-5.
Continuity mistake: When Neal is scanning the parking spaces in the rental car lot, the shot switches to Neal's POV and back. When the camera is on Neal, he walks completely past the Mercury Sable in stall V-2, yet when it switches to his POV he's only just beginning to pass the same spot. As he approaches V-3 in the POV shot, the camera switches again and he's now well past it.
Continuity mistake: When Neal and Del are waiting for Owen in the Braidwood parking lot, a couple of the cars change type and position between the overhead shot when Neal says "Just get me to the train station" and when we see Owen's truck pulling up. There was not enough time between shots for any cars to have moved.
Answer: The reason was that the snowbank was on his side (the passenger side) when it should have been on the driver's side if they were driving in the right direction. Also and I'm not sure if you could see this in the film but the deflecters on the road which separate the lanes if you are going in the right direction shine yellow and if you are going the wrong way shine red.
Tobin OReilly