Stupid?
Posted: Mon 4 June, 2007 Filed under: 1BEM, Charm School 2 Comments »When I first read this story about drivers not recognising various road signs I figured that it was hardly news to know that two-thirds of the drivers surveyed couldn’t identify the ‘no through road’ sign, or that a third didn’t recognise the ‘no motor vehicles’ one.
But when it got to the second section, about the signs that (supposedly) people did want, I just despaired.
I’m sorry, but how is a sign saying ‘Wifi Zone’ going to help things? Or one saying ‘Drive-Through Approaching’? (although I bet Mac-fucking-donalds would sponsor those) The final quote just made me laugh, though:
“We’ve all been on wild goose chases looking for cash machines. A new road sign could save endless hours searching the streets.”
No, I’ve never been on a wild goose chase looking for a cash machine. If all else fails, go to the nearest supermarket. Simple.
Grrr.
Idiot
Posted: Fri 25 May, 2007 Filed under: 1BEM, Cynicism, D4D™ 1 Comment »Newsflash
Hey, like tell me something I didn’t already know…
Invisible
Posted: Mon 14 May, 2007 Filed under: 1BEM, Cynicism, Driving, Thoughts, Travel, Weirdness 5 Comments »One thing I did notice this weekend while driving, thanks to the shitty weather, was how certain cars just disappear in particular types of weather. (And yes, yes, I know, every time I do a long drive, I do a post about driving standards – or lack of them – afterwards. Live with it) With road conditions the way they were – heavy rain, lots of water on the road surface – there was a massive amount of spray in the air, and I realised that white and silver cars just disappear in those conditions.
On the way up, I saw the aftermath of an accident where a silver-grey car (unsurprisingly, a BMW) had obviously been driving with no lights on, and another car (amusingly, another BMW) had come up behind it at speed, and just stoved in the entire back end of the car, run straight into it. I’ve no idea about injuries – by the time I went past, it was only the police directing drivers round the wreckage- but it was impressive.
On the return journey, in the really heavy rain and spray, I was amazed by how many people still didn’t have even sidelights on, let alone headlights and/or foglights. Yes, OK, it was daylight – in theory – so lights didn’t need to be on, but the visibility was so bad, it was worth having lights on so you could be seen, even if they weren’t necessary to see. And the majority of the cars with no lights on were – you guessed it – white or silver. And they just disappeared. You be going along, knowing there was something ahead because of the spray, but you couldn’t see the car at all.
At some points, I even used the fog lights – although I had enough of a memory-span to remember they were on, and turn them off when visibility improved again- because the range you could see dropped right down to about 30 feet max. at some points. And still drivers didn’t turn their lights on. Bizarre. I swear I’ll never understand the mentality of some drivers.
IQ Test Necessary
Posted: Sun 13 May, 2007 Filed under: 1BEM, Cynicism 3 Comments »In my opinion, some people just shouldn’t be allowed in a car.
Fair enough, I don’t have a problem with someone being reliant on a sat-nav unit for directions. Hell, I’m using one this weekend, as I’ve never done the drive before. But relying on that sat-nav to tell you “You’re about to get out of your car on a railway crossing” is unreal.
“I came to this crossing at Ffynongain and there was like a metal gate, which looked like just a normal farmers’ gate with a red circle on it. I thought it was a dead end at first and then there was a little sign saying, if the light is green, open the gates and drive through. So I opened the gate, drove forward, closed the gate behind me and then went to go and open the gate in front of me. “
So, go through one gate, stop the car, get out, close one gate behind you, open the one in front. (all the time not noticing the sodding great lines of metal – also known as train tracks- going across the area) Common sense would say ‘open both gates, get in car, go through gates, pull in, get out of car, close both gates, get back in car, continue driving’ – or is that just me?
Bridge Jumping
Posted: Tue 1 May, 2007 Filed under: 1BEM, Cynicism, Thoughts 3 Comments »I thought I’d written about this before (although, on searching, it looks like I might not have done so) but in my opinion, the May Day celebrations at Oxford’s Magdalene Bridge have always just struck me as something that should be filed under “Darwinistic”.
Fair enough, the traditional bit involving the Magdalene choir singing at dawn on May Day is pretty cool. But the people (generally students) who then take it upon themselves to jump off Magdalene Bridge into the Thames (sorry, Isis – one assumes that ‘Thames’ is just a bit too common for Oxford) where it’s all of two or three feet deep just deserve to be damaged.
In fact, I’d consider aiming to get some kind of insurance absolution, on the lines of “Anyone who jumps off this bridge is responsible for their own actions, and should not expect to be able to claim for damages or injury caused under any circumstances”
Considering that these people are supposed to be intelligent, you’d think they could figure that out for themselves, wouldn’t you?