8 December 2011
... or at least that is what I thought we would be wishing today. Yet again the BEEB got it wrong in this area.
As with most areas of the country Dorktown has its fair share of dangerous roads and junctions. There's one at a village called Astley where there are regular smashes at the cross roads. There was another one just outside of town beside Seaswood Pool where 5 young men in an old Hillman Imp were killed. there's the Red Gate on the A5/A444 junction which is also a regular smash site. About a mile north along the A5 is yet another one. This time it is at a T junction with the A5 where a few weeks ago there was a collision between a moped and two trucks. In that case the moped riding died, as you might expect considering what sort of vehicles were involved. Now there are calls for the junction to be 'improved' and our Muppet Person has raised the issue with the Transport Muppet in London.
No details of how the moped rider accident happened have been released as far as I know but the five young men smash was investigated by the police. They came to the conclusion that it happened because of excessive speed in a poor maintained car driven by a an inexperienced driver as the cause. And here's the rub really ... no matter much a road might be improved, until drivers learn to pat attention, to take their time, and mostly to be courteous to fellow road users, no amount of improvements will cut the death toll at such black spots.
In a similar vein then, the arguments against speed cameras don't wash with me. If drivers don't want to be fined, then don't speed. It seems simple to raceme. But if as they claim the cameras are just a money making scheme, then they are in the wrong place, which therefore makes that argument invalid. I sat in my car yesterday and saw it all yet again. What did I see? Drivers in too much of a rush rushing through traffic lights as they change to red or are already on red when they get to them. If the councils really wanted a money maker, that's where the big bucks are!
So here I am knocking other drivers yet again. Does that mean I think I am the very best driver on the roads of Britain? No, it doesn't and no I'm not. I am an average driver along with most other drivers on Britain's road. I do not intentionally break speed limits; I don't not race over traffic light junctions as the lights change to red; I try t be courteous to other road users. However, I invariably upset other drivers by doing so, and they are not all young kids either. There is no cure for young people being in a rush though so up to a point we have to accept that youngsters will be youngsters but I do not accept that people of my own age should behave in the same way.
A change of track now ... that epen thingy I've ordered ; yesterday I got fed up with the cursor on my lappy jumping all over the place so I went off to PC World to buy new mouse. My new one is a Logitech wireless mouse and it seems to be working a lot better than the old one. But while I was at PC World I had a look at the epens they had on display. The one I have ordered wasn't there but I was talking to one of their assistants and he has told me that the pens on work on the 'dot paper' system and won't work at all on ordinary notepads and writing paper. I bought a pack of four of the note books seeing as I would need them when the pen arrives but at £14.99 for a pack of four A5 and £19.99 for a pack of four A4 pads, that is adding a lot of cash to things. I have to say I'm not impressed so far! The refills were £7.99 a pack too and with PC World being at least 10 miles from home, the bill for them just gets longer. I have a feeling that Amazon will be getting a lot more trade from me!
We have had our first Christmas Card today. An OU friend called Joan has sent it. It's reminded me that I need to get ours done and in the post ;-)))
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