Friday, December 30, 2011
When the motorway becomes a 30-hour maze
We all know what it’s like to get lost on the motorway – the way one wrong turn can lead us inexorably into a darkening vortex of frustration and disorientation.
So spare a thought for one 82-year-old man who was recently found by police after 30 hours lost on the motorway.The retired carpenter said that he had at first been “a little lost”, but that little wormhole of lostness had eventually led him to an abysmal blackhole of deepening displacement.
The police commented, “He had been driving around the south of the country, predominately on the M25 motorway but had also gone onto some A roads in the area.
“He had stopped to catch up on some much needed sleep – we think in a motorway service area, before setting off again.
“He is after all 82-years-old. Presumably he put fuel in the car during the service stops over the two days.”
The lost man had initially set off on a short and familiar trip to see family.
After his family reported him missing, his car was spotted by police using an automatic number plate recognition camera, the same as the kind used to identify those driving without car insurance.
We think he might have received a sat-nav from relieved family members this Christmas.
Image © Gene Hunt via Flickr, under Creative Commons Licence
Labels: 30 hours, car insurance, lost, motorway
Friday, December 23, 2011
Christmas shopping in style
When I finally bite the bullet and attempt to do my Christmas shopping, I usually decide that taking my car is definitely the way to go. Hours of shopping can make my feet very weary, and being able to pile my shopping into the boot without the need to wait half an hour for a bus tends to make my life a lot easier!
However, it seems that for a couple of shoppers in Knightsbridge a standard-size car simply wasn’t big enough for all to their Christmas shopping. It has been reported that two men pulled up outside the prestigious department store Harrods in a stretch Ferrari.
The driver of the bright red vehicle struggled to find an appropriate parking space and seemed happy to settle for stopping on the double yellow lines outside the front of the shop.
Reportedly, the car is a one off and boasts the title of fastest stretch limousine in the world – also it’s worth an estimated £250,000.
According to the designer of the Ferrari, the vehicle can fit eight people inside, so I’m pretty sure that these two shoppers will have easily been able to find space for their purchases once they had finished their (probably very expensive) shopping spree.
Photo © MikeDixson via Flickr, under Creative Commons Licence
Labels: boot, bus, car, christmas, Ferrari, shopping, stretch Limousine
Monday, December 19, 2011
Time travelling traffic warden
Traffic wardens do tend to swoop in like vultures sometimes don’t they…
One innocent man fell victim to what must be the world’s fastest traffic warden ever know to human-kind recently. A 53-year-old man had parked his car in Ludlow but was out of the parking bay for more than two hours when he went home, before he returned to park in the same space.
When he came back to his car later that day he found that he’d been given a ticket, but, unlike many people, he thought that since he’d already been ticketed earlier in the week it was a bit excessive and warranted an investigation.
Looking at the official traffic warden logs he found that the warden had noted giving him a ticket at 2.40pm in Ludlow, but apparently managed to give another car a parking ticket 35 seconds later 28 miles away in Shrewsbury.
Impressive, huh?
Needless to say, this showed that the warden hadn’t bothered checking on the man’s car. If he had he’d have noticed that the car had been moved during the day before returning and therefore not been in the space for longer than allowed in one stretch.
Luckily, a tribunal ruled in the motorist’s favour and overturned the ticket.
Still, beware the lightning-fast traffic warden. He is estimated to travel at 3,013mph, so you might have an unfair ticket before you know it!
Photo © Instant Vantage via Flickr, under Creative Commons Licence
Labels: car, parked, ticket, traffic warden
Friday, December 16, 2011
More than your five-a-day
At a traffic junction in Coundon, Coventry this week something very strange occurred.
Motorists in the UK always have to be prepared for precipitation, but drivers in this area were witness to a very different sort of rain. Out from the sky fell – not water – but apples.
Yes. Apples.
One road user stated, “The apples fell out of nowhere. They were small and green and hit the bonnet hard. Everyone had to stop their cars suddenly.”
There have been two theories presented since the fruity downpour. One involves a plane losing its cargo, and the other involves a mini tornado sucking apples from an orchard somewhere and then letting them go over Coventry.
Well, you’ve heard the stories about raining frogs and fish – now you’ve heard of apple-rain.
We’d quite like it to rain money next. We’re carrying buckets around with us just in case.
Photo © Grey World via Flickr, under Creative Commons Licence
Labels: apples, Coventry, drivers, experienced motorist, fruit, junction, precipitation, rain, road user, traffic
Monday, December 12, 2011
Indoor positioning system
If you find sat-navs useful when you’re trying to make your way around the UK’s roads, a new gadget which technology companies have created could help you when you’re out of your car!
Such firms as Google and Nokia have developed an ‘indoor positioning system’ so that people walking around very large buildings, like shopping centres, can navigate the area easier.However, some people are worried that individuals using this system could be tracked, or that companies could collect information about which shops they went into and spam them with targeted advertising.
Nevertheless I think this gadget could be useful. Many huge shopping centres have maps scattered about for customers to look at – but they’re not always that easy to find.
My experience is that I walk past the shop I was looking for in an attempt to find a map!
Photo © Jeppestown via Flickr, under Creative Commons Licence
Labels: gadget, Google, indoor positioning system, map, Nokia, road, sat-nav, UK
Friday, December 9, 2011
Getting onto the motorway
When I was taking my driving lessons I found ‘A’ roads frightening enough to tackle with my instructor next to me, so I can well imagine that there is some merit in the new scheme coming into effect next year.
Apparently, road safety minister Mike Penning has stated that soon learner drivers will be allowed to go onto motorways as long as they have a qualified instructor with them. The aim of this initiative is to familiarise learners with the 70mph (perhaps eventually 80mph) speed limit and the motorway layouts, so that their risk of suffering an accident on these roads once they pass their practical test is reduced.
The head of road safety at the AA stated, “This is good news. It will end the ludicrous situation where people can live near a network of motorways and pass their test without ever having been on one.”
I have to say I agree. The first time I went onto the motorway I had to take my dad with me for support and almost missed my exit because I suddenly forgot how to change lanes through fear of the high speed I was traveling at.
Exactly when this scheme will begin hasn’t been reported, but I have a feeling learner drivers will really appreciate the experience. I know I would have.
Photo © Firing up the quattro… via Flickr, under Creative Commons Licence
Labels: 70mph, AA, accident, driving lessons, learner drivers, motorway, road, road safety, speed
Monday, December 5, 2011
A Marmity mess
Whether you hate Marmite or you love it – no one likes having to take a detour because there’s been a Marmite spill all over the road.
However, recently some poor motorists who had been travelling along the M1 had to take alternative routes when a lorry crashed and spilled sticky goop all over the highway.
Ok – it wasn’t actually Marmite – it was waste brewers yeast – but it was first reported to be Marmite and as a Marmite hater I personally can’t see the difference between the disgusting brown spread and waste yeast encrusted with tarmac anyway.
The motorway had to be closed in both directions between junctions 32 and 33, the lorry driver was taken to hospital with non life-threatening injuries, and The Environment Agency was called to help clean up and check that waterways hadn’t been polluted.
What a mess! It proves how evil Marmite is once and for all!
Ok, yes, it wasn’t Marmite…
Photo © Jacob Rickard via Flickr, under Creative Commons Licence
Labels: detour, highway, junction, lorry, M1, Marmite, motorist, motorway, road, tarmac, yeast
Friday, December 2, 2011
Disobeying disabled bay rules
Here at Hoot we are often baffled by the arrogance of some of the motorists we read about in the news, and we’ve found a new driver to shake our heads and tut at today!
A man in his 40 in Essex decided to park his Bugatti Veyron, a sleek car worth around £839,000, in a disabled bay.It is important at this moment to say that there was no disabled badge on display!
Passers by were taking photos of the fancy car on their mobile phones when a traffic warden spotted the offending vehicle and wrote the driver a well-deserved ticket.
When the owner returned to his vehicle, a witness states that he didn’t seem that bothered by the ticket, got into his car and sped away from the scene.
It is irritating that although the man didn’t escape without a ticket – the maximum fine is £1000 – it’s probably just loose change for someone who owns such an expensive vehicle!
We can only hope that this fine means he can’t buy as many cocktails when he goes on his yearly tropical holiday this Christmas…
Grrr!
Photo © Sudhanwa.. via Flickr, under Creative Commons Licence
Labels: Bugatti Veyron, car, disabled bay, Essex, fine, motorists, park, ticket, traffic warden, vehicle