Wonderful! We hear a lot of "won't somebody think of the children" moral panics these days, curiously so few of them are about things that matter like mowing kids down with cars.
For many years I did a couple or three mornings a term parent duty at one of the patrolled crossings outside my son's school. It was a tricky site, a corner not far away, on a steep slope and at the end of the drop-off zone where parents were inclined to do u-turns.
The first time I saw somebody drive between the signs I was astounded. They gave a cheery wave as if "no harm done". One driver screeched to a halt on the crossing to scream at the kids that they'd scratched his BMW by having the signs out. He soon saw the looks on the faces of the parents and took off. We had a little notebook to write down license plate numbers of offenders. Amazing how often the same numbers came up.
The terrible thing was that in nearly all cases these weren't foreign tourists or lost out of towners or fatigued commercial drivers. These were people in our community, parents of current or ex-students of the school in many cases. It really felt like we don't care enough.
Can’t wait to hear your take on Luxon’s latest brain fart (which he just lifted whole-as-boulders from poor old Bill English’s folder of Top 10 disastrous ideas).
By hook or by crook I'm the first in this book and road safety messages for children make me wonder where I put the blue primary school-traffic-monitor cap badge I never returned could be. Last seen at a Law Soc fancy dress party
From my observations there seems to be very little thought applied to most people’s driving. It’s something you do whilst thinking about the next thing, or drinking a coffee or texting or whatever.
So they speed, cut corners, run red lights, weave around the road. Some of the worst are Aquas and Tiidas which are often Ubers. “Professional” drivers!
Good one. We're now getting raised pedestrian crossings at the busy roundabout by work so we don't have to do a dodgem style gallop to the centre island, wait then repeat on the other side. The raised bit gives me confidence ppl will be more likely to stop (some evidence from Innovating Streets trial last year) but wish was safer and more courteous all round.
This lesson in today's Epistle from the Book of David is lost on those freshly out of school and at university.
I'd just like to be "that guy" for a moment and say, this would have to be the most ignored rule in the entire Road Code, IME: Don’t step out suddenly onto a pedestrian crossing if any vehicles are so close to the crossing that they can't stop. It takes time for a vehicle to stop, so wait for a gap in the traffic before crossing the road.
Especially in Wellington. Kelburn in particular. Something about pedestrian entitlement at an especially gnarly three-point roundabout with concealed pedestrian access and the complete inability of road users to psychically know when students will step out onto the crossing without stopping, waiting, checking or generally GAF...
Lol. Ever driven along Sandringham Rd near the wonderful Indian food places? Pedestrians rule, OK? Crossings are ho-hum if your car isn't near one, so you can just cross wherever.
Cars also can park where they like, even on broken yellows, because ..... that food place the driver wants to go to is right there!
I do think Indian people are very like Italians....have done so for ages.
As an aside: I knew some lovely folk aeons ago; friends of the singer Petula Clark, who had an apartment in Rome she let them to stay in. One night, they said, they were woken by a huge noise from the street, a series of metallic bangs. They looked out, and there was someone determinedly making space to park using their car, in a line of parked cars. Apparently, people parked without putting their handbrakes on, to allow for this sort of thing!!
Wonderful! We hear a lot of "won't somebody think of the children" moral panics these days, curiously so few of them are about things that matter like mowing kids down with cars.
For many years I did a couple or three mornings a term parent duty at one of the patrolled crossings outside my son's school. It was a tricky site, a corner not far away, on a steep slope and at the end of the drop-off zone where parents were inclined to do u-turns.
The first time I saw somebody drive between the signs I was astounded. They gave a cheery wave as if "no harm done". One driver screeched to a halt on the crossing to scream at the kids that they'd scratched his BMW by having the signs out. He soon saw the looks on the faces of the parents and took off. We had a little notebook to write down license plate numbers of offenders. Amazing how often the same numbers came up.
The terrible thing was that in nearly all cases these weren't foreign tourists or lost out of towners or fatigued commercial drivers. These were people in our community, parents of current or ex-students of the school in many cases. It really felt like we don't care enough.
Can’t wait to hear your take on Luxon’s latest brain fart (which he just lifted whole-as-boulders from poor old Bill English’s folder of Top 10 disastrous ideas).
So that’s what ‘hollis-bollis’ really is. I never knew. It makes such good sense.
Ebike reference. Nice.
By hook or by crook I'm the first in this book and road safety messages for children make me wonder where I put the blue primary school-traffic-monitor cap badge I never returned could be. Last seen at a Law Soc fancy dress party
Hope you are gonna right something about Luxo's reprogramming youth comments. OMFG
Like when the orange cones are out for roadworks and you actually slow your speed to 30km.
And then a SUV drives touching your bumper for the duration of the restriction. Grrr.
Hi David, Glad that the Kia Kaha weekly bulletin has made it through the COVID fog. Well done.
I just went straight to Yes Minister (is about national service but still applies)
For and Against National Service | Yes, Prime Minister | Comedy Greats
https://youtu.be/ahgjEjJkZks
Wonderful example! I loved this programme - always clever and funny.
From my observations there seems to be very little thought applied to most people’s driving. It’s something you do whilst thinking about the next thing, or drinking a coffee or texting or whatever.
So they speed, cut corners, run red lights, weave around the road. Some of the worst are Aquas and Tiidas which are often Ubers. “Professional” drivers!
Good one. We're now getting raised pedestrian crossings at the busy roundabout by work so we don't have to do a dodgem style gallop to the centre island, wait then repeat on the other side. The raised bit gives me confidence ppl will be more likely to stop (some evidence from Innovating Streets trial last year) but wish was safer and more courteous all round.
A particularly fine lesson, PC Marple.
It's a pity that the thank-you wave at pedestrian crossings is no longer so common.
This lesson in today's Epistle from the Book of David is lost on those freshly out of school and at university.
I'd just like to be "that guy" for a moment and say, this would have to be the most ignored rule in the entire Road Code, IME: Don’t step out suddenly onto a pedestrian crossing if any vehicles are so close to the crossing that they can't stop. It takes time for a vehicle to stop, so wait for a gap in the traffic before crossing the road.
Especially in Wellington. Kelburn in particular. Something about pedestrian entitlement at an especially gnarly three-point roundabout with concealed pedestrian access and the complete inability of road users to psychically know when students will step out onto the crossing without stopping, waiting, checking or generally GAF...
Lol. Ever driven along Sandringham Rd near the wonderful Indian food places? Pedestrians rule, OK? Crossings are ho-hum if your car isn't near one, so you can just cross wherever.
Cars also can park where they like, even on broken yellows, because ..... that food place the driver wants to go to is right there!
Sounds like Italy - parking is gestural and pedestrian crossings only exist if/when some fearless person begins to walk across it.
I do think Indian people are very like Italians....have done so for ages.
As an aside: I knew some lovely folk aeons ago; friends of the singer Petula Clark, who had an apartment in Rome she let them to stay in. One night, they said, they were woken by a huge noise from the street, a series of metallic bangs. They looked out, and there was someone determinedly making space to park using their car, in a line of parked cars. Apparently, people parked without putting their handbrakes on, to allow for this sort of thing!!