The Night Mail

[Tony_S]

20 minutes ago, SM42 said:

 

Depends on which way you tear it I suppose

 

Andy

In half, producing a top half and bottom half. He genuinely accidentally broke the Resusci Annie device on our first aid course.  

[Dave Hunt]

I've just checked the date of the last phone book we were supplied and it's 2018. I don't know whether any of those rip off telephone number services (one was 118 I think) are still going but with the BT phone listing being available free online I don't suppose they do much business.

 

Dave

[Dave Hunt]

5 hours ago, Compound2632 said:

But it is clearly the intention of the signage to indicate a speed restriction; on smart motorways (the M42 being the one with which I am most familiar) there are speed cameras at regular intervals. So what are we saying here? That I cannot be prosecuted for driving at 70 mph on the smart section of the M42 when the overhead lane-specific signs are displaying 40 mph?

 

All I can say to that is, chance would be a fine thing...

 

I must admit that my viewpoint on speed restriction signs, whatever the colours or other design features, is that it is better to obey them rather than risk having to spend time an/or money trying to contest their legality. 

 

Dave 

[woodenhead]

Trip to Wirksworth was nice, but it does appear my car sat nav has some sort of deathwish, it has a habit of picking particularly narrow and windy roads in the Peak district - once it took me along a very long single track road part of which felt like a farmer's garden.

 

Tonight as I headed home it decided that in Buxton rather than go via the A6 (the way we came) it would head for the A54/A537 Cat and Fiddle.  Cat and Fiddle is great in daylight, but in darkness and then bonus thick FOG it was almost un-navigable.  Luckily out of the fog quite quickly, just as I found my foglights which are hidden behind the steering column and I couldn't look down to find them.

 

On the A515 we got stuck for a short time behind a chap who wouldn't go above 35 mph on a quite straight but dark road - the hills stopped me overtaking as it was pitch black and I couldn't judge for a bit whether it was totally clear or not.

 

Decided, I really don't like night driving anymore.

[SM42]

10 minutes ago, woodenhead said:

Trip to Wirksworth was nice, but it does appear my car sat nav has some sort of deathwish, it has a habit of picking particularly narrow and windy roads in the Peak district - once it took me along a very long single track road part of which felt like a farmer's garden.

 

Tonight as I headed home it decided that in Buxton rather than go via the A6 (the way we came) it would head for the A54/A537 Cat and Fiddle.  Cat and Fiddle is great in daylight, but in darkness and then bonus thick FOG it was almost un-navigable.  Luckily out of the fog quite quickly, just as I found my foglights which are hidden behind the steering column and I couldn't look down to find them.

 

On the A515 we got stuck for a short time behind a chap who wouldn't go above 35 mph on a quite straight but dark road - the hills stopped me overtaking as it was pitch black and I couldn't judge for a bit whether it was totally clear or not.

 

Decided, I really don't like night driving anymore.

 

Have you got it set for shortest or fastest route. 

 

Shortest will take you off piste on a regular basis. 

 

For fun night driving, try Poland. 

 

Not only is it hard to tell how many of those headlights coming the other way are on your side of the road, the wildlife can have suicidal tendencies too. 

 

Andy

[polybear]

30 minutes ago, Dave Hunt said:

 

I must admit that my viewpoint on speed restriction signs, whatever the colours or other design features, is that it is better to obey them rather than risk having to spend time an/or money trying to contest their legality. 

 

Dave 

 

Unless you're able to employ the services of this guy then that sounds like a very good plan:

 

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/nick-freeman-mr-loophole-david-beckham-speeding-fine-jeremy-clarkson-van-morrison-a8559411.html

 

[The Johnster]

On 09/02/2023 at 20:42, Northmoor said:

One of the (few) reasons I sometimes have sympathy for politicians, is when people complain that they'll never admit they've made a mistake.  When was the last time you heard anyone admit they'd made a mistake?  A lot of people seem to equate it to being a sexual inadequate with the IQ of a banana.

 

As a sexual inadequate (radiotherapy treatment for prostate cancer, successful btw, at least for now, get yourselfs PSA tested guys, saved my life) with the IQ of what I consider to be a fairly intelligent banana, I am happy to admit when I make a mistake.  Here we go, ok, 'I was wr9&op'.   Ok, that wasn't too good, let's try again; 'I was wrog*%_'.  Hang on, I've got the hand of it now, here we go; 'I was $I^&ibong'.  Something not quite in order here, let's try again; 'I was differently correct!!!'.  There, got it, FTFY...

 

Actually, admitting mistakes is good game.  Puts bosses, significant others, teachers, lecturers, judges and those in similar positions of authority on the back foot, there they are all primed up to have a go at you and they're stuck for how to deal with the situation.

 

Back in the 80s, I was working for Royal Mail loading and unloading bags at Cardiff Central station, and was tasked with loading from a trolley onto a specific GUV bag tender on the 20.25 Cardiff-York TPO, this was traffic to be transferred at Crewe on to the West Coast Down Postal, Auden's famous Night Mail shovelling white steam over her shoulder. As the train pulled out I noticed that I'd loaded my bags into the wrong GUV.  Now, like the rest of you, I'd seen the film, and also seen the action at Crewe in the small wee hours as the main hub of the TPO network develops into a magnificent choreographed ballet against the clock; everybody knows what to do and where everything is and where it is to go, what looks like chaos is in reality a highly skilled professional operation carried out with supreme efficiency.  Bags are loaded, unloaded, transferred to other vehicles, some to TPOs for further sorting, some out at Crewe for local distribution; a huge portion of the nations morning delivery depended on this all going off without a hitch, and by and large it did! 

 

The thought of my error causing mayhem to this operation could not be bourne; I'm not a monster, and I had perforce to confess.  The boss that night was a particularly fearsome and borderline psychotic (on the psycohotic side of the border and some way over the border into full maniac territory according to some who had crossed him; they'd lived to tell the tale but you couldn't really call that broken, stunted, shadow, whimpering, cowed, half-existence living) ex-biker with a short fuse and a reputaion for balling people out in public and fetching them one upside the head in private (ah, the good old days), but I couldn't hold the awesome burden in, went into his office, and confessed, fully, accepting complete blame and responsibility.  His sequence of expressions were a marvellous minute or two of entertainment, and I knew my life expectancy as a fully developed and functioning human being was short...

 

When his facial muscles had worked through the emotions, which at one point had  indicated that I might be let off by a major coronary episode, he sighed, thanked me perfectly genuinely for my honesty, the like of which he had never previously experienced, and assured me he'd inform the platform inspector at Crewe immediately so that arrangements could be made to forward my mis-stowed mail.  He did gently suggest that I might learn from the mistake, and finished with 'well done, Mr.Richards, we can get this sorted now'.  See, wrong-footed the 'stard, brilliant!

[woodenhead]

3 minutes ago, SM42 said:

 

Have you got it set for shortest or fastest route. 

 

Shortest will take you off piste on a regular basis. 

 

 

It's usually quite good, but in the Peak district it goes off piste quite regularly.

 

One of them today to be fair was my fault, I missed a turning because it was not obvious at a junction where the road split two ways, then rather than u-turn I let the car find me a new route which it did admirably - a single track curving incline that had me in first gear and praying no-one would come the other way.

[bbishop]

Sad news for Richard  Charlie Faulkner has died.  B

[The Johnster]

51 minutes ago, Dave Hunt said:

 

I must admit that my viewpoint on speed restriction signs, whatever the colours or other design features, is that it is better to obey them rather than risk having to spend time an/or money trying to contest their legality. 

 

Dave 

 

Apart from anything else, the signs are set out to be read at the maximum limited speed, I mean the directional and safety signs and road markings as well as the speed limit signs.  A reasonably competent motorist should be able to drive on an unfamiliar road sober in a well maintained vehicle with up-to-standard headlights safely and comfortably at night in most weather conditions at up to the speed limit, slowing for bends and overtaking where signs and road markings allow, but it requires observation and reaction to the signs and road markings, which are laid out and positioned for you to be able to observe and react to them in safe and sufficient time to perform any braking or steering necessary.

 

Tip I learned from an old lorry driver once, actually two, the first one helps with oncoming traffic in night-driving.  If you are dazzled by oncoming headlights, slow down but don't brake, and steer towards the space immediately to the left of the dazzling lights.  Irrespective of how many bends are between you and them, you will come out safely.  Not sure of the mechanics of this, it's counterintuitive, but my experience is that it works, every time.  Second tip; you know those rumble strips that wake you up when you are approaching a roundabout on a fast road, bububububububumbump.  Well, irrespective of the speed you are going over them at, if you can brake at a rate that allows the rumble beats to be evenly spaced to your ears, you will stop on the line.  If they're getting faster, brake harder and brace for impact, if not, don't worry.

Edited February 10, 2023 by The Johnster

[SM42]

I was taught that for dazzling lights, look towards the kerb or whatever marks the left edge of the road ( right if you are of a continentally located location, but not down under  etc etc)

 

It probably works as you are looking slightly off to the side so the bright light does not hit the back of the eye at full pupil concentrations. 

 

You can also see something to guide you along on your way whilst your peripheral will monitor the other vehicle

 

Andy

[Dave Hunt]

33 minutes ago, polybear said:

 

Unless you're able to employ the services of this guy then that sounds like a very good plan:

 

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/nick-freeman-mr-loophole-david-beckham-speeding-fine-jeremy-clarkson-van-morrison-a8559411.html

 

 

Thanks Bear but the use of one ars**ole is enough for me.

 

Dave

[Dave Hunt]

27 minutes ago, bbishop said:

Sad news for Richard  Charlie Faulkner has died.  B

 

Bad news indeed. I met him once and he was a great guy as well as being part of the legendary Pontypool front row. I think that Wales could do with his like today.

 

Dave

[Gwiwer]

4 hours ago, AndyID said:

I still find it odd that the UK still uses miles per hour. Is this an homage to the USA?

Of course we use miles per hour.  The UK has not yet converted to the metric clock. 🤣

 

Miles - everyone knows what a mile is don't they?  I always found kilometres hard to gauge when living and driving where they were used as the standard.  My instinct was that I must have been speeding to have travelled 100 kms in 60 minutes; the needle on the dial pointing to somewhere between 100 and 110 didn't help one bit.  In fact I had travelled around 60 miles at speeds of 60 - 66 mph.  

 

In other news why fuss around with a system based on tens when it is much easier to remember and work with a system based on what I presume were once Saxon or Norse measurements.  Ask me what a rod, pole or perch looks like (and indeed how long each is - they are exactly the same) and I have no trouble.  Nails of fabric?  Sure.  I understand exactly the size of a horse described as 14hh (hands high) .  Who needs the complexities of needing to know how many zeros go after the whole number and whether it is deci or deka, centi or kilo?  I measure my work in miles and chains not in fancy modern units and the sport of cricket - about which the less I know the better - just doesn't work on a wicket measured in anything other than a chain.  Reams, quires, ems, bee-spaces ..... I know them.  Ands yes a bee-space is a recognised unit of measurement.  

 

I note that tonight's pizzas were advertised as 10 inches (and the boxes even said 10" on them) rather than so many cms., my ale was a pint not an odd fraction of a litre and my brain still freely converts currency to £sd.  What was so wrong with a system where we had to use a bit of brain to work in multiples of 12 and 20?  

 

And I'm glad my car's fuel consumption is in miles per gallon.  Because gallons per mile would be quite excessive.  

 

Luddite? Moi???  It's what I grew up with and it's all very firmly ingrained in the grey matter.  

[Dave Hunt]

8 minutes ago, SM42 said:

I was taught that for dazzling lights, look towards the kerb or whatever marks the left edge of the road ( right if you are of a continentally located location, but not down under  etc etc)

 

It probably works as you are looking slightly off to the side so the bright light does not hit the back of the eye at full pupil concentrations. 

 

You can also see something to guide you along on your way whilst your peripheral will monitor the other vehicle

 

Andy

 

That generally works for me too but the lights on some new cars are so dazzling even when dipped.

 

Dave

[Gwiwer]

Just now, Dave Hunt said:

10 minutes ago, SM42 said:

I was taught that for dazzling lights, look towards the kerb or whatever marks the left edge of the road ( right if you are of a continentally located location, but not down under  etc etc)

 

It probably works as you are looking slightly off to the side so the bright light does not hit the back of the eye at full pupil concentrations. 

 

You can also see something to guide you along on your way whilst your peripheral will monitor the other vehicle

 

Andy

 

That generally works for me too but the lights on some new cars are so dazzling even when dipped.

As a former professional driver my instruction was to follow the white line rather than the kerb.  That worked until the lane was a little under-width for an 8' 0" wide vehicle.  Bouncing off the kerb would have got you a shriek or a cheer from the passengers and a "Please Explain" when they reported you.  

 

I agree that the intensity of modern LED headlamps is excessive.  I also dislike the arrays they now come in having driven for over 40 years encountering nothing but "round" lights.  And as Dave says even on dip some of them appear to be on full beam especially if approached at just the wrong angle.  

[jamie92208]

From somewhere in the dim and distant recesses of what nowadays passes for a brain, I seem to remember that it is the red circle that makes a speed limit enforcible. A red triangular border is advisory.  The Highway code is a guide to good practice , created under a statute. It can be very useful for proving things like driving without due care and attention.  However the finer points of the Construction and Use Regs are what you use when a driver has failed the attitude test.  That test has no syllabus but it was always obvious when someone had failed it. An empty washer bottle was a good one.  Useful if someone claimed that he know the Chief Constable or was telling me that he paid my wages.  You don't pay enough was my usual reply.

 

Bon nuit.

 

Jamie

Edited February 11, 2023 by jamie92208

[Dave Hunt]

5 minutes ago, Gwiwer said:

Of course we use miles per hour.  The UK has not yet converted to the metric clock. 🤣

 

Miles - everyone knows what a mile is don't they?  I always found kilometres hard to gauge when living and driving where they were used as the standard.  My instinct was that I must have been speeding to have travelled 100 kms in 60 minutes; the needle on the dial pointing to somewhere between 100 and 110 didn't help one bit.  In fact I had travelled around 60 miles at speeds of 60 - 66 mph.  

 

In other news why fuss around with a system based on tens when it is much easier to remember and work with a system based on what I presume were once Saxon or Norse measurements.  Ask me what a rod, pole or perch looks like (and indeed how long each is - they are exactly the same) and I have no trouble.  Nails of fabric?  Sure.  I understand exactly the size of a horse described as 14hh (hands high) .  Who needs the complexities of needing to know how many zeros go after the whole number and whether it is deci or deka, centi or kilo?  I measure my work in miles and chains not in fancy modern units and the sport of cricket - about which the less I know the better - just doesn't work on a wicket measured in anything other than a chain.  Reams, quires, ems, bee-spaces ..... I know them.  Ands yes a bee-space is a recognised unit of measurement.  

 

I note that tonight's pizzas were advertised as 10 inches (and the boxes even said 10" on them) rather than so many cms., my ale was a pint not an odd fraction of a litre and my brain still freely converts currency to £sd.  What was so wrong with a system where we had to use a bit of brain to work in multiples of 12 and 20?  

 

And I'm glad my car's fuel consumption is in miles per gallon.  Because gallons per mile would be quite excessive.  

 

Luddite? Moi???  It's what I grew up with and it's all very firmly ingrained in the grey matter.  

 

Well said Rick. Although I can work in metric units, I find that in terms of what distances, volumes, weights etc. 'mean' to me, i.e. the mental image I get from them, I think in imperial units. If I am shown distances in metres or kilometers I automatically convert them to yards or miles; the same goes for litres to pints or gallons and as far as fuel consumption goes, mpg means a lot more to me than kilometers per litre or whatever. Mind you, none of this compares with aviation where height is in feet, speed in knots, visibility in metres etc. but I was so used to using them that they 'meant' something to me.

 

Dave

[SM42]

15 minutes ago, jamie92208 said:

From somewhere in the dim and distant recesses of what nowadays passes for a brain, I seem to remember that it is the red circle that makes a speed limit enforcible. A red triangular border is advisory.  The Highway codevis a guide to good practice , created under a statute. It can be very useful for proving things like driving without due care and attention.  However the finer points of the Construction and Use Regs are what you use when a driver has failed the attitude test.  That test has no syllabus but it was always obvious when someone had failed it. An empty washer nottle was a good one.  Useful if someone claimed that he know the Chief Constable or was telling me that he paid my wages.  Ypundon't pay enough was my usual reply.

 

Bon nuit.

 

Jamie

 

Red circles are mandatory prohibitions 

 

Red triangles are warnings

 

Rectangles are for information 

 

Blue circles give mandatory instructions

 

Yellow rectangles are temporary signs

 

The stop sign is the odd one out. 

 

As far as C& U regs goes, how do all those trucks festooned in blue lights get on? 

 

White to front, red to rear, orange down the sides

 

The same regs are also why the number plates are different colours front and rear. 

Can't show white to rear.

 

Reversing lamps are the exception. 

 

Andy

[SM42]

1 hour ago, polybear said:

 

Unless you're able to employ the services of this guy then that sounds like a very good plan:

 

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/nick-freeman-mr-loophole-david-beckham-speeding-fine-jeremy-clarkson-van-morrison-a8559411.html

 

 

As I understand it, David Beckham's speeding ticket was thrown out as the leasing company that was the registered keeper of the car and to whom the first RTA section 172 notice was sent, stamped all correspondence with the date received. 

 

They could therefore prove it was not delivered within 14 days of the offence as required by law and thus was invalid and thus any further notices failed. 

 

It is presumed that any notice is delivered 2 working days after posting unless the contrary can be proved. 

 

In that case it was. 

 

Interestingly ( or not as the case may be) if DB had not responded to the notice he received within 28 days  having been nominated as the driver, he could have been convicted of a separate offence carrying 6 points and a hefty fine, regardless of whether the first step in the chain had failed in law. 

 

Andy

Edited February 10, 2023 by SM42

[pH]

5 hours ago, SM42 said:

May we remind you who invented the USA. 

 

The Americans did. Before that, it had been ‘The Thirteen Colonies’.

[AndyID]

1 hour ago, Gwiwer said:

Of course we use miles per hour.  The UK has not yet converted to the metric clock. 🤣

 

Miles - everyone knows what a mile is don't they?  I always found kilometres hard to gauge when living and driving where they were used as the standard.  My instinct was that I must have been speeding to have travelled 100 kms in 60 minutes; the needle on the dial pointing to somewhere between 100 and 110 didn't help one bit.  In fact I had travelled around 60 miles at speeds of 60 - 66 mph.  

 

In other news why fuss around with a system based on tens when it is much easier to remember and work with a system based on what I presume were once Saxon or Norse measurements.  Ask me what a rod, pole or perch looks like (and indeed how long each is - they are exactly the same) and I have no trouble.  Nails of fabric?  Sure.  I understand exactly the size of a horse described as 14hh (hands high) .  Who needs the complexities of needing to know how many zeros go after the whole number and whether it is deci or deka, centi or kilo?  I measure my work in miles and chains not in fancy modern units and the sport of cricket - about which the less I know the better - just doesn't work on a wicket measured in anything other than a chain.  Reams, quires, ems, bee-spaces ..... I know them.  Ands yes a bee-space is a recognised unit of measurement.  

 

I note that tonight's pizzas were advertised as 10 inches (and the boxes even said 10" on them) rather than so many cms., my ale was a pint not an odd fraction of a litre and my brain still freely converts currency to £sd.  What was so wrong with a system where we had to use a bit of brain to work in multiples of 12 and 20?  

 

And I'm glad my car's fuel consumption is in miles per gallon.  Because gallons per mile would be quite excessive.  

 

Luddite? Moi???  It's what I grew up with and it's all very firmly ingrained in the grey matter.  

 

And I had you down as an old reactionary. 😁

 

I've had to switch to different unit systems so many times it no longer bothers me. Oh, and even in the USA speed limits are posted in kilometers per hour (in some places).

[Happy Hippo]

2 hours ago, woodenhead said:

  Cat and Fiddle is great in daylight, but in darkness and then bonus thick FOG it was almost un-navigable.  Luckily out of the fog quite quickly, just as I found my foglights which are hidden behind the steering column and I couldn't look down to find them.

Did you have to leave the car on cruise control as you manfully climbed out of the driver's window to secure them to the front grill before clambering back in?

[PhilJ W]

3 hours ago, Tony_S said:

I knew someone who used to tear phone books (old ones of course) in half. He was quite strong I think. 

 

3 hours ago, SM42 said:

 

Depends on which way you tear it I suppose

 

Andy

I was told that they were baked in an oven first to make them brittle and easy to tear.

[AndyID]

1 hour ago, SM42 said:

I was taught that for dazzling lights, look towards the kerb or whatever marks the left edge of the road ( right if you are of a continentally located location, but not down under  etc etc)

 

It probably works as you are looking slightly off to the side so the bright light does not hit the back of the eye at full pupil concentrations. 

 

You can also see something to guide you along on your way whilst your peripheral will monitor the other vehicle

 

Andy

 

Definitely better than following the car in front of you. The Arizona driver's manual advises that, in the event of a dust storm (not very uncommon), you should drive on to the scrub well off the freeway, park, and turn all your lights OFF!