Genius of the morning

[Brigadier]

Seen this at about 0800 this morning - I do not have a dashboard cam, so had to lift this image from google, for illustrative purposes.

Untitled

• Brigadier
• 10 Nov 2013
• 1

Travelling southbound in the lefthand lane this morning (into low, bright sunshine), I was heading to work down the M5. Needless to say, visibility was somewhat hampered by the big yellow thing in the sky in front.


Parked, hazards on, very close to the dividing armco of the M5 and M6, was a dark burgundy-ish people carrier, of an older vintage. Breakdown?

However, standing a bit north of the gantry (although still in the chevroned area - for safety ) was a bookish-looking lady, shielding her eyes from the sun, looking up at the overhead signs.

Had she broken down, and was (foolishly) trying to "get a fix", for the AA?
Or was she just lost and, realising that she had to go either "left" of "right", thought "Sod that! I'll go back and check!"

I suppose that if the latter was the case, I should consider myself fortunate that she didn't decide to do a U'ey, and try for a second look at the overhead gantries.[/img][/b]

 

[JBR]

I suppose there's a lot of text on those signs and perhaps she's a slow reader!

Seriously, we have so many unnecessary road signs (not these, though!) these days. I know I tend not to take much notice of many of them.

 

[Big Tone]

It's called road furniture and there's far too much of it! Unfortunately, these days, we're so busy looking at dumb limits and sensless markings it is a distraction from the more important role of driving safely.

I can remember a time when there was very little road furniture or road lighting or $peed cameras etc. and it was relaxed by comparision. Even as a veteran driver, when I go to a city I'm not familiar with it can be a nightmare when you're trying to find a road or place.

 

[JohnD]

you haven't seen a US road, then.

 

[Big Tone]

you haven't seen a US road, then.

Lived and worked there for two years actually. I didn't say it was better so not sure why you bring that up. What I will say, however, where I lived in California it was built up around the car, for better or worse, so it was easier than here IMHO. I never once had a problem parking and never once had to pay to park.

This county was built up around the horse and coach but they're trying to turn it into a car culture it was never designed to accommodate. Hence 36 wheeled trucks acting like an embolism throughout our road infrastructure...

 

[Dave54]

Anyone who would stop there must be b****y crackers. I'll bet if asked, she'd consider herself to be a good driver too.
Too many signs. Country lanes down here in Cornwall with multiple speed limit signs where one would do as they're only really single track with passing places. Direction signs on the slightly wider cart tracks that pass for "main roads" down here are too large, and often block the view of drivers pulling out of side roads.
Street lights are springing up everywhere as well/ it's not so long ago that you'd come out of the pub in the local village, and it'd be pitch dark. Now it's lit up like daytime.

 

[Micilin]

Shared space is being tried in Dunstable , but has been diluted.

Previous scheme example here

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...-town-scrapped-traffic-lights-road-signs.html

 

[pred]

It's called road furniture and there's far too much of it! Unfortunately, these days, we're so busy looking at dumb limits and sensless markings it is a distraction from the more important role of driving safely.

I can remember a time when there was very little road furniture or road lighting or $peed cameras etc. and it was relaxed by comparision. Even as a veteran driver, when I go to a city I'm not familiar with it can be a nightmare when you're trying to find a road or place.

And the worst place for it is Wales, not only have you got all the usual road furniture it is duplicated in Welsh, now I think I'm a pretty good and competent driver holding motorcycle, car and hgv licenses and have clocked up thousands of miles in various countries but I've had two close calls in Wales due to trying to unravel all the names in two different languages.

 

[joe-90]

Just use your mobile sat nav and just watch which way it points before you get there.

 

[pred]

Reminds me of last year, I was heading north on the m42 and an Eastern European driving an artic had driven up the m6 toll then obviously realized his error and was reversing back down the hard shoulder with his hazards on to rejoin the 42, only fly in the ointment was that put him in the fast lane of said 42, but he did have his hazards on....

 

[Big Tone]

I've noticed, in my dotage, that many drivers use hazard lights as some kind of impunity for safe stopping/parking.

"It's ok! Yes I know I'm on the brow of a hill on a bend in the fog just dropping me gran off but hey - hazard lights on trumps anything don't you know"

I'm gunna start wearing hazard lights around my ass in the bedroom if I ever find a woman who'll have me...

 

[Dave54]

I've noticed, in my dotage, that many drivers use hazard lights as some kind of impunity for safe stopping/parking.

"It's ok! Yes I know I'm on the brow of a hill on a bend in the fog just dropping me gran off but hey - hazard lights on trumps anything don't you know"

I'm gunna start wearing hazard lights around my ass in the bedroom if I ever find a woman who'll have me...

Thing is mate, what they want to do trumps anything which anyone else might be doing. It's selfishness. Hazard lights on or not!

The ones that really nark me are the ones who are parked somewhere with a vehicle behind them, so you can only see the outside flasher going, "Now is this twonk going to pull out, or is he parked?"

 

[Big Tone]

I've noticed, in my dotage, that many drivers use hazard lights as some kind of impunity for safe stopping/parking.

"It's ok! Yes I know I'm on the brow of a hill on a bend in the fog just dropping me gran off but hey - hazard lights on trumps anything don't you know"

I'm gunna start wearing hazard lights around my ass in the bedroom if I ever find a woman who'll have me...

Thing is mate, what they want to do trumps anything which anyone else might be doing. It's selfishness. Hazard lights on or not!

The ones that really nark me are the ones who are parked somewhere with a vehicle behind them, so you can only see the outside flasher going, "Now is this twonk going to pull out, or is he parked?"

I might have which beats yours Dave..

Numpties who are parked and/or ready to pull out, who are stationery on the left side of the road facing you when it's dark or twilight. They haven't the brains to realise that because of the cut-off of the dipped beam it's dazzling the oncomming driver as if they were on main beam!

Selfish, ignorant morons...

 

[Dave54]

I've noticed, in my dotage, that many drivers use hazard lights as some kind of impunity for safe stopping/parking.

"It's ok! Yes I know I'm on the brow of a hill on a bend in the fog just dropping me gran off but hey - hazard lights on trumps anything don't you know"

I'm gunna start wearing hazard lights around my ass in the bedroom if I ever find a woman who'll have me...

Thing is mate, what they want to do trumps anything which anyone else might be doing. It's selfishness. Hazard lights on or not!

The ones that really nark me are the ones who are parked somewhere with a vehicle behind them, so you can only see the outside flasher going, "Now is this twonk going to pull out, or is he parked?"

I might have which beats yours Dave..

Numpties who are parked and/or ready to pull out, who are stationery on the left side of the road facing you when it's dark or twilight. They haven't the brains to realise that because of the cut-off of the dipped beam it's dazzling the oncomming driver as if they were on main beam!

Selfish, ignorant morons...

Yup, that beats it, especially when they are parked on the brow of a hill (as they do) so you get the full force of the beam. There's a village down here where the main road is virtually down to one lane because of people parking outside the houses. You occasionally get someone double parked at night, facing the wrong way, with headlights on, hazards going and doors open picking people up, or dropping them off. They don't realise that it's sometimes very difficult to see that the doors are open.

 

[joe-90]

I'm gunna start wearing hazard lights around my ass in the bedroom

That 'trumps' everything ( and everyone).