Could this be the apotheosis of Safety Cultism?
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I’m now retired from B&Q, UK’s Home Depot, they even stole the uniform orange and black. They stopped using the fork lift during opening hours. Used to be we had 4 banksman to keep the dafties out the aisle if they brought the FLT out to bring down a pallet.
People in stores and car parks get a thousand yard stare ” I want my stuff”!
Pilot car…What is???
Every sentient Tellurian understands Dominican road rules…….
Some Ahole blocking your passage ….WTF… Just go to the sidewalk passing lane!!!
Do not concern yourself over al fresco diners or ATM customers….Shit happens..Righty right?
Real time event…
DR Santiago rush hour along 27 February Avenida…..Asshole Toyota Land cruiser….
wants to pass on congested road behind us….
Jumps the curb and literally parallels our movement for about a qtr mile along the sidewalk..
Then ends up just in front of us at a stop light!!!!!!
Folks … there is a point when Libertarian philosophy, collides with Anarchy…Just saying.
I despise those pilot vehicles! Thankfully, where I live, I never see them in construction zones. But still, the fact that they exist is pretty damning.
“Relentless dumbing down” — so true, Eric.
Back in the 1980s, in the “transition years” during the rise of cable TV and the 24-hour news cycle, I noticed TV news broadcasters started talking to us viewers like we were 3rd graders. At the time I found it insulting. But on it went, and it got worse year after year. The better looking the (female) news anchors got, the more stupid they sounded.
Now it’s ridiculous to the extreme. We’re constantly being schoolmarmed … “don’t travel tomorrow because it might snow” … “the heat index is over 100, don’t leave your kids in the car” … “wear sunscreen” … “click it or ticket” … etc.
I pity my grandkids.
There are two seasons in Michigan–winter and road repair (orange cone) season…
Here in Michigan, there appears to be little or no coordination between multiple “road improvement” projects, even if multiple projects are being operated by the same state agency.
It is not surprising to those of us who travel distances on a regular basis to observe a road shut down or restricted with work also being done on the recommended detour, negating any ease in traveling.
Here in Michigan, traffic engineers are lazy and do little or nothing to ease the travel of motorists through construction zones or recommended detours. Something as simple as modifying the timing of traffic signals along alternate routes that could help ease congestion is never a part of the equation.
Road crews block miles and miles of roads without any work being done “just because they can”.
We are told to reduce speeds in construction zones, a good idea, but more than once, I have had to stop to avoid hitting a road worker mindlessly looking at his computer while walking just outside the construction zone barriers evidently unaware that he was in an active vehicle lane.
If the state and traffic engineers did their job they could easily make things easier for us motorists.
When it comes to safety, pilot cars are always ahead of the curve.
I have to wonder if the whole Pilot Cat concept
is a way to provide make-work jobs, particularly for women and minorities who are required to be a certain percentage of the workforce for these types of jobs, even though they may lack the strength, stamina, or skills to do things like operate the steam roller and spread asphalt.
I’d like to know why the “work site” was a mile long. There weren’t crews working that entire stretch. Sure they’re moving along at their whatever union approved rate of production is, so the actual work site is ever changing, but there was a pretty long stretch of nothing going on in the video.
Jeez. Are pilots idiots for needing “Follow Me” at airports, too? Those turkeys must be super clovers.
I know I’m preaching to a pre-decided angry mob here but I happen to be a civil engineer and a pilot car is an effective way to deal with having to narrow a section of road to one lane where it’s blind to both ends. The alternative is having two (or more if there’s side roads) flaggers who know how to coordinate or having temporary stop lights along the closure. You have to have some way for drivers to know to stop and hold and when it’s OK to proceed.
If you want to rail against something it’s that it’s darn near impossible to find two people to man each end that are worth a damn to keep traffic moving through without ending up with cars approaching each other. The traffic control companies we use seem to want to only pay for brain dead meth addicts.
Still, it’s rare you get them traveling fast enough to head-on but we had a situation a few years ago where a car was able to slip in going the wrong way and when they tried to divert they drove off the edge of the pavement into prepared subbase. That was a half a day shut down and another day delay. The cops came, we had to get a tow truck to pick them, re-grade the subgrade and subbase, which had dried out and was no longer at our moisture. Trust, me it’s cheaper to have a half competent pilot car in some cases.
Hi Tyler,
This Pilot Car thing is another species of modern-day idiocy. It used to be assumed drivers could figure out that one lane closed means drive on the lane that’s open and don’t run anyone over. Today, it is assumed – with reason – that “drivers” can’t handle this. And it makes my teeth ache.
That’s not the type of closure where a pilot car is used. You’re talking about taking two same-direction traffic lanes into one. This is a two-lane divided road where one lane is closed so all the traffic is diverted to the other. If the pavement has a wide enough shoulder they can move both lanes over.
You still need to keep minimum widths even in that case. I know thinking about things like can an 8 foot wide, 12 ton fire engine get through and turn around without bogging in soft material is stuff of nannies and clovers, until it’s your house they can’t get to and it burns down. Or you have to establish suitable detours for semis and delivery trucks.
Hi Tyler,
If you watched the vid, you saw that all that was happening was one lane was being paved while the other was open to traffic. There was a flag guy at the beginning and end of the work zone and it was self-evident which lane to drive on. That baseline competence to drive on the right lane and stay on it without needing “guidance” used to be assumed. Now it is assumed that all drivers are inept morons who need to be “guided” through a work zone – because some are inept morons.
It is this relentless dumbing down I object to.
About the need for a flagman for the forklift driver at a Lowe’s: I don’t know. Based on how many people back out and nearly hit me, and my 4500 pound truck that is 6 feet tall because it’s an FJ, when they pull out of a parking space, maybe Lowe’s actually does need that flagman.
Horst, the guy backing out can’t see you, he as a minimum has vehicles obstructing his view on both sides, and is backing into his blind spots. It’s on you, the guy who can see, to watch out for him and avoid the accident. I had some idiot honk at me because he came blazing by as I was halfway backed out of a spot- he deserved a modest dose of wood shampoo.
No. Im already at the spot when they decide to pull out. They cant see because they aren’t looking.
Wood shampoo? You must be the AGW who ticketed the guy he t-boned Eric posted about the other day.
Unless that means Armed Guy in the Woods, then no. And a 2×4 up to the side of the head is entirely apropos to certain arrogant stupidities.
I’ve seen both scenarios, but since I’ve been driving my 87 year old Dads Taurus wagon lately, I’ve noticed NOBODY looks for a car frantically looking around and trying to slowly back out between a couple 7 foot high pickups. Even the pedestrians just wander aimlessly across rather than have the sense to look at what’s going on around them.
I believe that the whole damned country has been demoralized by the last 20 years and nobody gives a f#$k anymore.
OT: If they were really honest, they would send a full investigation team to Epstein island(s) and make a video of the underground tunnels and buildings etc. And they would make video of lots of victims telling what went/goes on there. I think I know what is on all those video tapes: I think it’s worse than pedo stuff, I think they are axe murderers. Yes, that’s what I think now, it’s only logical, I’ve discerned this from all information I’ve seen. Plus they abduct millions kids & adults worldwide for trafficking including off planet. They should just come clean with all of this, but they’re trying to cover it up.
Saaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaafteeeey.
Eric,
You should continue to follow the Pilot Car back-and-forth for some time, being as you can’t possibly think beyond what you are told, and that sign says “FOLLOW ME”, by the gods. Also, meander between the freshly-laid asphalt and the right lane, being as there are no lines in the road and there is absolutely no way to discern between the two. Time to take this ineptitude for a ride!
Germany uses Traffic Lights for One-Way Traffic Zones – no People.
Mexico doesn’t use any of this Shit – only two Guys at each End with a Radio.