oldtimer
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| posted on 21/9/08 at 07:55 PM |
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Sunday Times: Lollipops, Drinking and Texting.....
Two quite interesting articles in todays ST. Lollipops - as carried by School Crossing Patrol Officers are to be fitted with cameras to aid
prosecutions for those who don't stop, endanger or attack SCPOs. I for one didn't know that the upright lollipop was legally the same as a
red light.
The other one was research that showed that texting increased your reaction time more than drinking. Conclusion, it is even more dangerous to text
drive than drink drive. Only flaw in the article was a bit of a mix up between speed of reaction and time - hence the article actually read "
texting decreases your reaction time" NO!, it decreased the speed of your reaction, not the quantity of time of your reaction... never mind, we
know what they meant....
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David Jenkins
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| posted on 21/9/08 at 08:08 PM |
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Struck me as another example of "scientists stating the bleeding obvious" - basically "if you drive at 70mph, look down at your
phone and use one hand to enter characters, you have a greater risk of having an accident than if you had both hands on the wheel and looking where
you're going".
I think I could have worked that out without using a driving simulator in a research lab...
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smart51
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| posted on 21/9/08 at 08:27 PM |
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The problem with drinking and driving is that drinking slows your brain function right down so you react slower. Secondarily it makes you think you
are better than you are. You still concentrate on your driving, just not as well and with slower reactions.
The problem with texting and driving is that you don't concentrate on your driving and you're looking elsewhere. You only notice hazards
with your peripheral vision or when you occasionally look up. You're not aware how bad you're driving because you're not watching
how your driving.
The stop lollipop and abuse of lollipop men and women is altogether different. As a nation we're becoming more selfish, more arrogant and more
violent. At one time we would stop at traffic lights because it was the right thing to do. Now, more and more of us want to get our own way at the
expense of everyone else. Anyone who gets in the way will feel our wrath. It is a result of the 70s and 80s liberal parenting idea where kids
shouldn't be stifled with rules and should be allowed to get their own way all the time. The thought was that it will boost their self
confidence and creativity and anyway, they'll grow out of it. The 90s parenting model of stick them in front of a DVD, that'll shut them
up has a similar effect. Eventually, an expert will work this out, popular women's magazines will run endless articles about it and popular
parenting will change, but as will all cyclic things, it won't last.
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oldtimer
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| posted on 22/9/08 at 06:53 AM |
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You are right of course, smart51, on all accounts. My conclusion was too flipant by half. The point they were trying, but failing , to make was that
use of a mobile phone was a serious distraction whilst driving or anything else.
One of the most hazardous things on today's streets are texting ipod users - Fd (distraction factor) seems near 100%.
The school my children go to has for the first time a 'Lollipop Lady' and after 3 weeks she has already had to call the council in as she
is finding it hazardous and herself the object of aggression.
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Peteff
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| posted on 22/9/08 at 08:28 AM |
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There is a black section on the lollipop for the crossing warden to write down numbers of offenders with a piece of chalk they are supposed to carry
in their pocket. There is one near us who uses this power and has had quite a few people prosecuted. I have seen people drive round him as he stands
in the road as their business is far more important than the lives of mere children.
yours, Pete
I went into the RSPCA office the other day. It was so small you could hardly swing a cat in there.
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