'brain burps' can kill!!!

[Slytovhand]

Yes - that's right!

I now have a new job - traffic controller.

It means standing on a road with a sign in my hands, surrounded by cones on the road to indicate that you don't go that way.

But, unfortunately, people turn their brains off... and for some strange reason think that, even though there are a couple of clearly marked lanes that we've created with those brightly coloured cones, and even though I'm standing in the middle of a road - behind me being some form of construction... and a big truck taking up half the damn road... and the fact that I'm waving which direction to go... people will still try to drive straight at me thinking that's where they should be going.

They've even managed to travel down 1 lane, and get halfway down, and decide to swing into the other lane (ie - into oncoming traffic).

Trust me, this last week I've been working on the roads has just dumbfounded me as to how stupid people can actually be!!!

[crazylegs]

I know exactly how you feel.

I've enacted road closures, I've put out cones, road signs, flashing amber lights, parked the car across the road which has blue flashing lights, headlight flash, flashing clear strobes and I'm stood in the middle of the road wearing a hi viz jacket wildly waving my arms around and people still stop and ask "Can I drive down there...?"

[Lingering Grin]

My dad works for the police department, and has similar things happens.

DUI Stop... they close down a 3 lane road so that only the middle lane is passable on.

They put a big flat-bed truck on both of the side lines with 4 foot tall FLASHING YELLOW arrows on em pointing to the middle lane. Behind the trucks is a series of police cars, with flashing blue lights, and bright as hell white lights, and along the white-lines in the road are a couple DOZEN road flares.

There is also a line of cars lined up, waiting to go through the checkpoint in the middle lane.
You can see this thing from at LEAST a mile away.

So what happens? Well they're minding their own business, checking cars... when.... *SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE* *SMASH*.

Somebody, RAN INTO, one of the arrow-trucks...



Or another one (This one was bad). Traffic accident at a four way intersection, my dad and another officer park their cars diagonally across the intersection to block it off completely. Again, bright flashing blue lights.

My dad gets out of his car, walks 5 feet, when *SLAM*... somebody T-bones his car...

[smileyeagle1021]

Somebody, RAN INTO, one of the arrow-trucks...
.

bets on how many drinks that guy had that night

[Difdi]

So what happens? Well they're minding their own business, checking cars... when.... *SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE* *SMASH*.

Somebody, RAN INTO, one of the arrow-trucks...

If there were some sort of mandatory driving re-test to maintain a license, some people would not be able to drive, I swear.

I used to be a law enforcement explorer as a teenager. and we'd often get assigned to direct traffic so police officers could handle more important things. I was directing traffic outside this one mega-church, and nearly got run over one day by a guy who absolutely REFUSED to stop when signaled to do so. I literally had to dive head-first out of the way, due to the fact he swerved towards me as he floored the gas pedal. I don't know what it is, but something about going to church on Sunday drives some people into a killing rage. The really funny thing about it, is he bore an incredibly striking resemblance to Santa Claus...bushy flowing white beard and hair, very overweight, driving a red 2-seat convertible sports car...I doubt he was very jolly though, after I reported the attempted hit & run (caught on the church's security camera system) and his license plate to the dispatcher on my handy-dandy police-issue radio...

But that's nothing compared to what happened to a local sheriff's deputy outside the same church one day a couple years before my close call...he had to dive away much like I did, but he actually got close enough to leave scuff-marks on the paint from where he pushed off the car as he dove. The driver SLAMMED on the brakes, jumped out of the car, and SCREAMED profanities at the deputy as he tried to kick the crap out of said deputy. Why? Because the deputy dared to damage his car!

[edible_hat]

Trust me, this last week I've been working on the roads has just dumbfounded me as to how stupid people can actually be!!!

One day at a kindergarten my mum used to work at (not the one she works at now), she was talking about drugs with some of the mums. On hearing that my mum has never tried marijuana, one of the mums pulled out a joint. Not only did this woman bring drugs to her children's kindergarten, she wanted the person looking after her children to get stoned.

So nothing about human behaviour surprises me any more.