You know how some things really piss you off…
Well, I can’t stand all those audible warnings that assault us daily. I’m talking here about vehicle warning sounds. I’m talking about the absurd situation where any reasonably sized vehicle emits a verbal warning to announce it’s in reverse.
To think there was a time when drivers had responsibility not to reverse over someone, and pedestrians had a similar responsibility to see a 30ton truck backing towards them. First we had the beep–beep sound but this has been replaced by a recording of some jumped-up twat calmly announcing, “Stand well clear. This vehicle is reversing”, repeated in an endless loop.
Who is this supposed to help?
Most of us can see the bloody thing, and the only additional information for those with limited sight is that it’s a lorry moving backwards rather than forwards that will mow them down – and that’s only if they can speak English. Pointless health & safety bollocks made worse because it’s seriously annoying.
And, whilst I’m on the subject, I can’t stand Emergency Vehicle sirens either.
How did they get it so wrong?
The drivers of these vehicles have a range of sounds from which to choose, each one is, apparently, to describe the severity of the situation. Unfortunately, they haven’t let us know what they mean.
But the worse thing is – you just can’t tell which direction the vehicle is coming from.
Madness! Couldn’t they test these things before introduction, or is that an insanely sensible thing to do?
At the first hint of a siren, everyone within a mile radius drives along with their eyes glued to their rear-view mirror, occasionally daring to make glances at other drivers and shrugging their shoulders as if to say, “Have you any idea which direction it’s coming from – coz I haven’t a clue”.
And when it finally arrives, what chaos ensues.
The minority who finally capture a view of the vehicle in their mirrors feel rewarded. All that anxiety has been worth it. They are, indeed, the chosen ones.
Their destiny in life is now to perform a give-way manoeuvre with as much panic as they can muster. They will slow down and form a congested queue or stop on a blind bend or mount the pavement, scattering the momentarily deafened pedestrians. I’ve yet to see more than a couple of well-considered avoidance techniques. Most appear to hinder rather than help the oncoming vehicle.
There is a known phenomenon where an Emergency Vehicle constantly leaves a smattering of minor accidents in its wake.
And isn’t it remarkable how the most hardened road user, who wouldn’t normally give an inch of space to anyone in case they achieved the unheard of and managed to get in front of them, suddenly clambers all over the road furniture to allow room for an emergency vehicle.
Well, I can’t stand all those audible warnings that assault us daily. I’m talking here about vehicle warning sounds. I’m talking about the absurd situation where any reasonably sized vehicle emits a verbal warning to announce it’s in reverse.
To think there was a time when drivers had responsibility not to reverse over someone, and pedestrians had a similar responsibility to see a 30ton truck backing towards them. First we had the beep–beep sound but this has been replaced by a recording of some jumped-up twat calmly announcing, “Stand well clear. This vehicle is reversing”, repeated in an endless loop.
Who is this supposed to help?
Most of us can see the bloody thing, and the only additional information for those with limited sight is that it’s a lorry moving backwards rather than forwards that will mow them down – and that’s only if they can speak English. Pointless health & safety bollocks made worse because it’s seriously annoying.
And, whilst I’m on the subject, I can’t stand Emergency Vehicle sirens either.
How did they get it so wrong?
The drivers of these vehicles have a range of sounds from which to choose, each one is, apparently, to describe the severity of the situation. Unfortunately, they haven’t let us know what they mean.
But the worse thing is – you just can’t tell which direction the vehicle is coming from.
Madness! Couldn’t they test these things before introduction, or is that an insanely sensible thing to do?
At the first hint of a siren, everyone within a mile radius drives along with their eyes glued to their rear-view mirror, occasionally daring to make glances at other drivers and shrugging their shoulders as if to say, “Have you any idea which direction it’s coming from – coz I haven’t a clue”.
And when it finally arrives, what chaos ensues.
The minority who finally capture a view of the vehicle in their mirrors feel rewarded. All that anxiety has been worth it. They are, indeed, the chosen ones.
Their destiny in life is now to perform a give-way manoeuvre with as much panic as they can muster. They will slow down and form a congested queue or stop on a blind bend or mount the pavement, scattering the momentarily deafened pedestrians. I’ve yet to see more than a couple of well-considered avoidance techniques. Most appear to hinder rather than help the oncoming vehicle.
There is a known phenomenon where an Emergency Vehicle constantly leaves a smattering of minor accidents in its wake.
And isn’t it remarkable how the most hardened road user, who wouldn’t normally give an inch of space to anyone in case they achieved the unheard of and managed to get in front of them, suddenly clambers all over the road furniture to allow room for an emergency vehicle.
Do you think it’s some form of soul-cleansing exercise?
