After a snap election on 2 March, political parties had until 4pm this afternoon to form a new government. They failed, and even wondered out loud how hard the other had tried in the first place.

Michelle O’Neill announced yesterday that the current talks process had “reached the end of the road.”

Both sides are, predictably, blaming the other for the lack of progress. Regardless of who is to blame, and for whatever reason, the reality remains this: Northern Ireland is without a government for the foreseeable future.

Is that really what the 803,315 voters who cast a ballot just 25 days ago deserve?

Northern Ireland politics have many peculiarities. But we are not unique. Politicians all over the world struggle to reach agreement. The citizens they represent are also divided about the future direction of their respective countries.

Look at the United States. It has become increasingly polarised for decades. Members of Congress have consistently shown that they prefer gridlock to governing. On healthcare reform, judicial appointments, and public spending, the two parties have been in a standoff.

Neither wants to be seen to give ground, and so a vicious circle ensues.

Sometimes those vicious circles can be broken, often in small, simple ways.

A few weeks ago, US congressmen Beto O’Rourke and Will Hurd were trying to get back to Washington DC. Both represent districts in Texas, but Beto is a Democrat and Will is a Republican.

After their flight was cancelled due to a winter storm, they decided to think outside the box. They hired a car and drove the 1,600-mile trip from San Antonio to Washington.

The best part? They made a video of their spontaneous road trip.

The two politicians talked NATO, voter fraud, immigration, healthcare reform and, of course, ‘the wall’. They were always going to have plenty of policy disagreements, but perhaps what was most interesting wasn’t simply the substance of their discussions, but their tone.

They ate doughnuts, sang along to the radio, and chatted to members of the public along the way (who often didn’t have a clue who either of them were).

“This gives me faith for our country,” one woman commented on Facebook.

One of the most moving – and spontaneous – images to come from Martin McGuinness’s funeral last week was that of Arlene Foster and Michelle O’Neill stretching their arms to shake each other’s hand. Despite a bitter election campaign it gave many people hope that the two leaders would be able to pull something out of the hat before today’s deadline.

They didn’t. Instead of reciting their red lines across a negotiating table for another matter of weeks, Foster and O’Neill could do a lot worse than get in a car and go for a long drive.

As they discuss a budget, legacy and victims’ issues, hospital waiting lists, Irish language rights and plenty more, they might have an easier time understanding each other’s positions than if they were waiting for party colleagues to add their voices to a round-table negotiation.

In lighter moments, as they chat about their families, sing along to Ed Sheeran (perhaps ‘Castle on the Hill’), and complain about the BBC’s Stephen Nolan, they might just be able to respect each other more as human beings.

It might be hard to find a 1,600-mile route for a road trip on these islands, let alone this part of them. They could, of course, just drive in circles. After all, we’re used to that – and we’re all strapped in to the back seat anyway, wherever they choose to go.

This doesn’t have to be the end of the road for talking. As long as Northern Ireland remains driverless, it’s hard to say where we will end up.