The Overtaken

Everbody overtakes me! Driving on Spanish roads it seems no matter how quickly or slow I’m driving, I get overtaken. I’m no slouch, but even at 120 there’s a constant parade of cars going past me as though I have my brakes on.

Well, I’m sorry, but I just won’t drive at a speed greater than 120 in a 120 zone. I just can’t get my head around why people seem to think that driving at 180 is just fine. I think it important to remember that practically every collision involves too much speed. That does not necessarily mean that it was a case of exceeding the posted speed limit. It just means that there was too much speed for the circumstances at the time.

Driving along country roads at night that are not lit by road lights should encourage the driver to reduce speed. But no, for many, it means light traffic indicates I can go as fast as I want.

Wet road conditions suggests to common sense to reduce speed. For many drivers it appears that they are desperately trying to make up the extra time spent in bed by pushing hard to get there on time. Many do not arrive at all. That wouldn’t be so bad by itself, but they too often take others with them. I hope people are allowed to fight in the after-life.

I have no intention of changing the way I drive. Fundamentally I try not to exceed the posted limit by more than ten kilometres because I get to pass in case of speed traps. But, it boggles my mind when I see drivers treating police officers in their official cars in the same way they treat me. It appears that they are simply not there, and to make matters worse I have never seen a patrol car go after one of these speed demons.

So maybe it’s just me after all. If you are one of those people to go flying past me, you might like to wish me to have a good day, preferably by not showing me the middle finger.

Happy Motoring!

Copyright © 2008 Eugene Carmichael

Stupidity Once More

I wrote a couple of weeks ago that I thought that if stupidity could be eliminated from our roads so would what we call accidents. And then I witnessed an incident of stupidity so grave, so outrageous, that if I had the power I would have liked to have caught up with the cretin responsible, and at that point I would have pointed out to him that he had provided evidence that he was so stupid as to be a clear and present danger against all humankind. I then would have placed a bullet between his blank eyes.

The incident took place on a roundabout that is encountered when exiting a motorway. The roundabout is also used as part of the system to enter the motorway. There were four cars involved. I was car number one; the car ahead of me was car number two. We were both using the left hand lane of the two-lane roundabout. Car number three was an Audi that entered the roundabout in spite of the presence of the two of us. That was the first stupid thing to happen, although not particularly dangerous. Car number four, a red Volkswagon also decided to squeeze on to the roundabout. The Audi took the first exit and was gone. The red car increased its speed and inserted itself across the path of the car ahead of me, just as that driver was about to cross over to the right hand lane to leave the roundabout.

No collision occurred, but the margin between the two cars must have been so small I wouldn’t have tried to pass a slip of paper between them. The other driver didn’t even touch his brakes as it happened all so very fast, but I’m fairly certain there would have been a lot of cursing in that car.

The most awful part of this scene is that had a broadside collision occurred, when the police attended they would have applied the blame on the driver who was ahead of me, as the law states that no car may lawfully leave a roundabout at the expense of impeding the progress of the car in the right-hand lane. For red car driver to have deliberately inserted himself in that position takes the act of stupidity to a very high art.

That bothered me intensely, and every time after that when I came on to that roundabout I remembered the incident. About ten days later, while being on the roundabout in the left-hand lane, as I approached the point at which traffic from the motorway should have come to a halt, another dopey driver shot out alongside me and sped up to get ahead of me so that he could do the exact same thing as red car driver. That did enrage me, but it also taught me a lesson. In order to control such morons, and apparently there are more than one on our roads, I need to take charge of the right hand lane as soon as possible and to hold my ground.

As for yourself, you may wish to take this as a reasonable warning.

Copyright © 2008 Eugene Carmichael

Parking in the Blue Zone

I suppose you could say that as part of my research I was issued a ticket for parking in a blue zone without paying the twenty cents for a half hour. But I was just running to the ATM at the bank. How long would that take? Long enough for the warden, who was evidently near enough to have watched my actions to write out a ticket for a 20 euro fine.

I was back in minutes, and there to greet me was my ticket. A kind stranger gave me this advice, and I’m sharing it with you, dear reader, as like most English residents of Valencia we don’t have a clue about these things.

There is s facility whereby if you come back to your car within one hour of the tickets having been written, you can “anul la denuncia” by paying 4:00 euros into the machine on the spot, instead of the 20 euros that it would otherwise cost. Following the instructions you will push the button on the top for tarifas and the screen will give you the option to cancel the ticket. Pay in the four euros, then push the button towards the bottom to receive your receipt.

At the end of the receipt there is a part that you are expected to clip off with scissors so that you can retain it for your records. (No problem this as we all walk about with a pair of scissors for just this purpose.)

Put the receipt with the parking ticket and place in the envelope supplied. Then, at the base of the machine there is a small box into which you can insert the envelope. And that should be the end of it.

However, my ticket was issued on a windy nasty night, I tried reading the instructions in the dark that were first in Valenciano; and the box is so well hidden that at night it is invisible. During the day it can be found.

I am usually so good about paying to park in these zones as they are usually the concession of a charity. On this occasion I neglected to do so and turned an expense of 20 cents into four euros. I hope I won’t be required to pay anything additional as I left the scene before depositing the envelope. I went back the next day and did that, so I might not be out of the woods yet.

A country that gives discounts on fines is a country that loves a bargain.

Copyright © 2008 Eugene Carmichael