Our Beautiful Trashy Roads

Wanted: Green Drivers

Once in a precious while I get to be the passenger. It is such a joy when someone else does the driving, although as the passenger you always think your driver is crazy. However, as the passenger you get to look around you and you notice things that you just don't see when you are concentrating on traffic conditions. This is as it should be, so I get a treat when I can let my attention wander all around.

Recently my wife and I went for a fairly long drive to Barcelona and back to Valencia, and we took turns at the wheel. It was then that I noticed the dark side of Spanish resident's customs by throwing so much trash out of the windows of vehicles. If you look along the sides of the roads and in the grass and underbrush you will find bottles of every description, cans, enough plastic to cover the earth, metal, parts of garden furniture (?), half eaten bocadillos, plastic food containers, car parts, like bumpers where there had been an accident; plastic gloves, big and small plastic water bottles, which probably make up the major percentage of trash, and all sorts of other small items, including baby's diapers. You wouldn't want to get hit by one of those flying at you.

I have worked on roadside cleaning crews and found all of the above, as well as used condoms, lipstick, mobile phones, and a Gps system. If I had one I would throw it away as well, but not out of the window of my car. Along secondary country roads I have seen whole bags of household trash just dumped where it should not be; and old mattresses.

I was talking to a friend about this and he said that at least its a job for someone to clean up the trash. I suppose that's true, but what is really needed is respect for the environment. I was bought up on an island that sold itself to visitors as a tourist destination. We were encouraged to treat visitors to our island in the same way as though they were visiting our own homes. We kept a pleasant attitude, and we kept our country clean. Even now I put my pieces of paper and wrappers in my pocket and transfer them to the trash when I get home. I once followed another person's example by simply dropping a chocolate wrapper on the ground at the car racing circuit, and I felt so guilty I vowed I would not do that again.

We have only one world to live in, and our own environment is our own responsibility. If we make it dirty and clustered with garbage we can expect others to do the same thing. Should we lead by example by sorting our waste, and picking up after ourselves, we can expect others to do the same thing.

May I suggest that we equip our cars with a small garbage bag to place our waste in, and at the end of our journey we can then simply clean the car out, transferring the waste in the bag into the garbage can. That is a simple, feel good custom to follow. I know this to be true because it is my custom, and I feel very good to have a clean conscience about it.

Copyright (c)  2012   Eugene Carmichael

Big Brother is Watching Us

A view from an overhead camera with a strong zoom lens

Be careful!

We have seen on television scenes from inside some cars that reveal what the driver was doing in addition to watching the road. We have seen people eating sandwiches, drinking beer, talking on their mobiles, trying to make sense of their GPS system, and we have even seen driver and passenger playing sexually with one another on the highway. I always wondered why the people didn't hear or see the helicopter, when it occurred to me that the images were from overhead cameras, not helicopters.

You are probably saying, oh! oh!, because we just don't think about the fact that those monitoring cameras are there and they see, and can follow the action in your car. That puts everything into a different context and will make a lot of us go, "Oh my Gawd!"

A small thing, but most of us commit the offence of not having both hands on the wheel other then when we are changing gears. The most frequent offence, Im sure is talking on the telephone. A call comes in, we look around us to see if the police are anywhere near us, and we pick up the phone, completely forgetting about the cameras. The DGT makes no effort to cover up their existance. Each pole with a camera has a yellow sticker with a picture of the camera at the height of a person. Alternate cameras focus on the front of the car, and others the back  of the car.

This is just a heads up to remind you that Big Brother is always watching us, and don't forget about the cameras up above, as well as those on the ground tracking our speed. Meanwhile, congratulations drivers for watching your speeds and saving ourselves a mountain of money as tickets for speeding have fallen by 50%.

Copyright (c) 2012    Eugene Carmichael

Mysteries of the Motorway

Road crashes. Stranger than Fiction

While travelling along the Autopista between Valencia and Barcelona we came upon one of those complete mysteries that happen from time to time. How they happen is beyond my ability to comprehend, and you may want to agree.

We encountered a car in the right-hand lane that had tipped forward just a few minutes before we came on the scene. It was a one-car crash, and the car was resting on its bonnet and the forward part of its roof. There were four people standing along the road waving all sorts of garments to get upcoming vehicles to slow down. We could only hope that meant that everybody was out of the car. No emergency vehicles had yet arrived, so those involved , and one or two cars that had pulled over to the side after the site were trying to manage the scene.

It seemed to me that the car had suddenly stopped so short that the backend flipped over its head and it landed they way it was resting. I'm sure there is a better and more rational explanation, but I'll be damned if I can figure it out.

Be careful when driving, its a jungle out there full of mysteries!

Copyright (c) 2012   Eugene Carmichael  

Politicians!

3-2-1 We have lift off!

I am now convinced that the world would be so much better off without politicians. These are the people whom we elected because somebody had to be chosen to do the job, but once we let them loose they seem to be only capable of making our lives worse than before.

A perfect case in point is that here in Spain a proposal is now on the table to raise the speed limit of the autovia and the autopista from 120kph. At the highest point in Spain's recorded death toll history on the highways, more than seven thousand people lost their lives in one single year.  From the time the points system was introduced the yearly death toll has been steadily dropping to below 1,500, which is still far too many. Complicit in just about all highway crashes is an element of too much speed, so it was a very good idea when the government lowered the limit to 110 kph. They said it was to lessen to need for fuel, but less fuel bought meant less tax revenue.

The thinking was that the government would claw back lost revenue in fines for speeding, but motorists frustrated that plan by driving slower, buying less fuel, and avoiding fines by driving within the limit. The government quickly changed its mind and the 120 kph was reinstated.

So now, they are talking about increasing the limit, presumably to 130 kph, just at the time when fuel prices have risen to the highest point at the pump that they have ever been. Perhaps its just me. I am searching for the logic in all this where there is no sensible logic at all. An increase in the speed limit, where a lot of people drive over the limit anyway, means an even faster movement of vehicles, and that will surely lead to an uptick in the number of crashes, and the death toll will most likely rise.

What the hell is wrong with these people? Is there a problem with a declining death rate? Are the people of Spain, for whom there is a declining inventory of jobs, to be culled to make our joblessness statistics look better?  Don't laugh, stranger thinking than that has come out of the Cortes.

Personally, I choose to ignore that lot and make my own rules. I drive at 100 kph whether the limit is 110, 120, or 130. I get to where I'm going in one hour, or part thereof, and as long as some nutcase doesn't slam into me, I promise not to slam into them, because I will have everything under control.

Amen!

Copyright (c) 2012   Eugene Carmichael

NATIONAL ROADS: DANGEREOUS BY DESIGN!

Be careful!

Spain's National Roads are those roads that served as major highways before the coming of the autovia and the autopista that now carry the major share of through traffic. The national roads now connect the many villages, and the two other types of roads are by-pass highways. National roads carry two-way traffic without a central barrier, except the centre painted line, and that's the problem.

When driving a long distance the driver can see for himself how the danger multiplies and the risk grows . Firstly, there are sections where the layout of the road is just plain confusing. While passing through El Campello in Alicante province along the N-332, it is very difficult to understand what the designer had in mind, so, if it's confusing to a moving driver, it is also helping to promote a crash.

Secondly, there are the drivers themselves, the ones who are a menace to society. They seem to have the idea that they are cool, and super good drivers. So they speed, overtake, zip in and out, and disappear in a cloud of smoke leaving a long line of drivers who have been shocked by his actions, and nearly driven into each other by his distractions.

These roads are toll-free, and that attracts a lot of traffic that is trying to keep costs down. As a result the opportunity to overtake safely is very much diminished, but that is no obstacle to the foolhardy. The result of that is there are so many head-on collisions in which dead people are hauled away to the morgue. It is all too common that innocent people lose their lives to a maniac in this manner. When I see people driving without responsibility I can only hope that there is a tree waiting for them, and only them to take them off the road.

Spain's death toll-rate is falling because so many of the lunatics have killed themselves, which is a good thing, but unfortunately they took other people with them.

Another contributing factor to head-on collisions is the fact that for many drivers they will have to make a left turn across incoming traffic in order to get to their destination. There is a lack of roundabouts that otherwise would encourage the driver to carry-on to one to make the turn that puts them on the other side and then to make their turn off the road from the right-hand lane. Making a left turn across the incoming lane is a very tricky operation. First you make certain that the traffic behind is not about to overtake you, then you check that there is nothing in the left lane before making the turn. What often goes wrong is that the driver does not check several times to make sure that the lane is clear, and in particular, that he fails to look for motorcycles. If you are looking for  cars and trucks you may completely miss the motorcycle.

National roads are certainly much more interesting, although much slower where the top speeds are 80kph. As modernisation takes place there are some stretches where the legal limit is now 120 kph which does make them more efficient in getting to your destination.

A special word of caution is appropriate about speed cameras and the many sections where it is necessary to reduce speed. I have come to agree with the reduce speed sections and generally make an effort to comply, because such zones do represent heightened areas of risk. I'm concerned about the speed cameras of course, but more importantly I would rather not crash into anyone. Instead I prefer to  do my part to make using the road as safe as possible. Whenever I pass a crash site the thought passes my mind that thousands drive pass that very position without incident, so why couldn't those two have done the same?

Yes, national roads are dangerous by design because of a variety of issues, but we drivers can help to reduce the danger by using common sense. There is no substitute for common sense which came free, and there is no restriction on when and how much we can use it.

Copyright (c) 2012   Eugene Carmichael 

Radar Speed Traps

Don't Speed: Big Brother is Watching!

I fully accept that it is absolutely necessary to regulate the speed of the motoring public because there will always be those people who have shit where their brains were supposed to be, and they make it difficult and dangerous for everyone else. My question concerns the placing of speed cameras, and whether they are fair or foul?

The first thing you notice is that in spite of the signs that state that speed is being checked by radar, there are those people who plough on regardless at very high speeds. If the camera is doing its job they must be issuing speeding tickets by the millions. When I am on the road, I am such a slow poke that everybody passes me by anyway, but when I approach a radar warning sign I do check my speed and adjust accordingly. Usually the signs are placed where it is necessary to reduce from the maximum, but I have been noticing the following:

Radar machines placed along entry lanes onto the motorway that also serve as exit lanes. As such there will be a lower speed limit for exiting vehicles, but that will also govern entering vehicles.

Radar machines placed along stretches that allow 120 kph, but the machine is placed just before a sign that demands you slow down to 100. When you pass the machine you might be doing 120, but when you reach the 100kph sign you must be travelling at no more than 100. The distance between the two is too short to safely slow down. I think you are still within picture range.

Radar machines are faced to only be able to take a picture of the back end of the car, but who was driving? This can be a real problem when the family car is used by more than one driver, particularly because points can be lost from one's license. In France the camera faces the on-coming car.

Along stretches of road where there are several lanes, what if the speeding car is in the far left lane, or in the middle lane, but there are cars in every lane? Does the camera record the speed of the fastest car only?

You can record your own observations, and I am sure you will find a whole lot of situations that bring into question the integrity of whomever was responsible for placing the bloody things where they are.

Drive carefully, and at a reasonable speed.

Copyright (c)  2012   Eugene Carmichael



Celebration Time in Valencia

No place for machines!  Waiting for the Mascletá.

I am going to make this short and to the point. We are celebrating not one, but two major festivals that overlap one another, The festival of La Magdelena in Castellón de la Plana, and Las Fallas in Valencia City and the surrounding towns. the area is heaving with people who have travelled in to join the multitudes already here.

My one word of advice is to leave your car and bike as far away from the centre of activities. My other is a wish that you fully enjoy the celebrations that chase away Winter and usher in Springtime. For the time being we are forgetting our problems and its on with the show.

Enjoy!

Copyright (c) 2012  Eugene Carmichael

Gasoline and Diesal

We have come a long way from the days when only truckers and farm machinery used diesal. The diesal family car was a clunky thing that was also noisy as hell. Now, manufacturers are turning out diesal cars that are super quiet, and they start with the turn of the key. I know without doubt that my wife's diesal Seat runs much, much farther on a litre of diesal than my volvo does on a litre of gasoline, but how much farther I can't say without doing a test. Bit it is significant.

Diesal, by its very nature is cheaper to produce, and the cost at the pump is also lower than standard non-leaded gasoline. However, when some governments get involved and place crippling taxes on diesal, it can actually be more costly at the pump. For now, diesal is more economical here in Spain.

So why, in the name of all that's sensible, does an examination at ITV for a diesal car cost euros 65:00, and euros 51:00 for a gasoline powered seven seater?

I recall the time when diesal was promoted as a more friendly fuel, and new buyers were encouraged to take home a diesal. Buyers did that, and now we find that in some countries you pay more for the fuel and more for the annual examination.

I would suggest we not waste even a minute trying to understand the logic of that. There is no logic. Yes, they are a bunch of people with excrement for brains, but they are the government.

Copyright (c) 2012   Eugene Carmichael

Motorcycle Trouble

A very roadworthy Honda Goldwing

March the First is the beginning of Valencia's month for Las Fallas. Everyday at 2pm there is a massive firework display in the central square outside of City Hall that is attended by thousands. They are there for the noise because during the day there are no beautiful coloured explosions. If you have never attended a Mascleta it is really something to experience. It doesn't last long, about five to seven minutes, but it is the most violent five to seven minutes you could ever hope to be involved in. Even serving soldiers have said that it puts real live fire in the battle arena in the shade.

Las Fallas culminates with monuments that are planted in the streets on the 15th, and they remain until the 19th, when they are simplly set on fire. Many of these monuments cost the equivalent of building a house.

The First of March is also traditionally the start of the Valencia police campaign to focus on motorcycles. There are check points set up exclusively for this purpose in various parts of the community to examine motorcycles with a fine tooth comb. Recently, the law has made motorcycles subject to the annual roadworthy examination, but not everybody has got into the swing of it. If you are found to be operating your bike without having renewed your bike's certificate you are fined euros 500, and depending on the state of the bike, it may be taken into the impound centre.

Strictly speaking, every vehicle that does not have a current certificate should be pulled off the road because no-one can know whether it is roadworthy, and if it is the cause of an accident chances are that the insurers may not want to pay out.

So, while everybody else will be having a fun time with fireworks, making as much noise as they can, you are reminded to attend to your bike's papers. 

Ride safely, Ride well, and wear a reflective jacket to be seen to be safe.

Copyright (c) 2012   Eugene Carmichael

Driving Spain's EMT

Spain's EMT Bus-Right on Time!

They are so numerous that they are invisible. I'm talking about Spain's city buses, red in colour, very comfortable, and they squeeze in the most impossible spaces. For the passengers the sight of something big and red is welcomed. The system apparently works extremely well and is sent by God himself to deliver those who need to get from A to B within the city.

Here in Valencia the buses were the last thing for me to master. Moving into a new location is always confusing, and for me buses simply appeared from parts unknown, and they went onto places mysterious. However, there are clues to help the passenger. Each bus has a number, and they have two names, one shows the bus starting point and the other it's destination. I'm sure that if I look I will find that there is a complete route map for every bus. I have never made that search, instead I find the bus I need by observing which ones pass by the place I am, and deciding next time I will come by the number 49 bus, instead of making life so difficult.

Being the driver of such buses seems to assure him of continuous employment. They seem to made their work appear stress-free, but I'm certain that nothing could be farther from the truth. Firstly, they have bus lanes at their disposal, but bloody drivers of all sorts of vehicles insist on parking in their lanes, "just for a minute." I am under the impression that each bus carries a video camera and recorder that is turned over to the police who send out tickets to such offending vehicles for illegal parking.

The driver has to collect the fares, which is the easy part, then comes the hard part of navigating a very large vehicle through city traffic without crashing into anything, and without having to make sudden stops that would result in throwing his passengers around. He does all that while maintaining a courteous attitude and staying on schedule.

In my own country I have known some really great people who drove the bus, people who got joy from their routine by interacting with the passengers, even to the extent of stopping at people's homes or gates for them. For me, I would have to be one of those drivers, because otherwise the humdrum of crisscrossing the city day after day would drive me crazy.

I am a very infrequent passenger on Valencia's buses but I don't take the driver for granted because it is easy to see the stress that he copes with on behalf of we passengers. I for one appreciate it, and deem the bus drivers of Valencia as our unsung heroes.

Copyright (c) 2012   Eugene Carmichael 

A World Upside Down

Stay Right side Up. The view is better

The past week I was driving along a straight and level road with two lanes in the same direction, when I came upon a car in the left lane that flipped and lay on its roof.  An ambulance was there, several police cars, and a tow truck. There was loads of glass in the road, but the driver and his passengers, if any were nowhere to be seen. The emergency personnel all seemed to be scratching their heads in trying to figure out how he managed to flip his car on an uncluttered street.

My question would be: "Why?"  Why did he flip his car? Many years ago while driving over in the vicinity of Torreviejo I came across a bridge and found a car that was flipped on its side with driver and passenger still inside and buckled in. I was the first person on the scene.  My first action was to  release them from their seat harness, which was very tricky, and to haul them out of the car.

I asked the driver what happened, and he said he didn't know. That he had been talking to his girlfriend and the next he knew was that the car was on its side. Since then I have conducted a little experiment with flipped vehicles. Most contained one or more passengers, and very few had only the drivers. My theory is that a failure to take due care and attention to the job at hand is the cause because of the distraction of talking to the person beside you.

Here's an experiment that you can conduct for yourself; preferably it should be off-road and in a field. While staring straight ahead turn your head to the right and focus on what happens to the hand that holds the steering wheel. The tendency is for the hand to follow the head, so that the driver who turns to look at his front seat passenger automatically drives the car into the ditch if he is not careful.

A driver alone who lights a cigarette experiences the same motion and ends up driving into trouble. Remember, your car will do what you tell it to, so be careful!

However, having said all that does not explain what happened in the story at the top of the page, because the car was on its roof in the left hand lane, with no suggestion that it was ever in the right side. So, how the hell do you flip your car when there is nothing around to trip you up?  I compare that to walking along and stumbling, but when you look around to see what tripped you up, there is nothing.  Very strange !!!

Copyright (c)  2012  Eugene  Carmichael

A St. Valentine's Day Fable

Once upon a time there was a man who fell deeply in love, not with a person, but with an inanimate object. He loved the object as dearly as he could ever love a person, and he pampered, and cared for the object with all his might.

That certainly sounds like a fable, but the reality is that men all over the world are guilty of having such love affairs with a variety of objects. There are those who love their fishing tackle; golf clubs; gardening tools; but I think that there are none so rabid about the objects of our love as car and motorcycle aficionados.

I am a member of the Jaguar Enthusiasts Club, a worldwide grouping of mostly, grown men, who go "ooh!" and "aah!" over the sight of a Jaguar model, especially if it is standing shiny and bright in the midday sun. Very occasionally I find myself admitting that our enthusiasm is over the top, but then I revert to form and go back to being a silly youngster about my ride.

In our club there are periodic meetings where we bring our much prized possessions to meet others of a like persuasion. We show our model off, and even if it is exactly like one hundred others there at the time, I don't think there is any jealousy. It's not like showing off our women, which we do as well, and we may even get a little envious on that subject, but with the cars we discuss problems and where to get parts, and even make deals to swap with one another. That is the cars, not the wives.

Why this should be something that interests predominently males is really quite beyond me. After all, women are free to buy Jaguars, and do so, but they just don't get the bug to swagger and show off something that anyone with the money can acquire. Women, however are smart enough to support their men in our infantile pursuit of pleasure of this sort. If the car is the other woman, at least she is one that the wife can control.

A reminder to all of my fellow Jaguar petrolheads that for St. Valentine's Day the order is, celebrate your wife first and your Jag takes second place. Now, repeat after me, "Wife first, Jag second!"  Bear that in mind and you should have a pleasent week. Get it wrong, and I wouldn't want to trade places with you.

Copyright (c) 2012   Eugene Carmichael

The Fate worse than Death

A Humble mode of Transport

We generally think in terms of road casualties resulting in death, as that seems to be the worst case concerning vehicle crashes, but perhaps there is something far worse. Yes,  we are aware that people sustain injuries in the course of collisions on the road, but curiously, that stastic receives little emphasis. The truth is that even an injury received from a minor accident can cause the person who has to live with it, discomfort and disfigurement for the rest of their life.

However, there are those who are very aware of personal damages received. They are the insurance companies to whom we turn to request help in coping with our disabilities. The human body is the most fragile participant in a collision and the least able to be returned to the situation in which they were before the occurrance.  Here in Spain young children under the age of 14 are the greatest group affected, followed closely by the over age 65. Most of the people in these groups are hit during daylight hours, within cities, and the months of April and June are the worst months for such happenings. The Spanish insurance giant Mapfre has reported these findings from their research, which, they say arise from general carelessness, high speed on the part of drivers, and a loss of awareness on both the parts of children and senior citizens.

Adults get hit usually during the evening between six and nine pm. These are the hours when children are mainly at home and adults are leaving work after a hard day at the office. Perhaps they are still preoccupied with office-type things on their minds and they simply fail to realise they are about to step out into the path of traffic. I personally experienced this situation as a driver, when a lady simply stepped off the sidewalk. I had another car on my right, so my movement was restricted. Had she taken two steps more I would have had no choice but to hit her. Fortunately another person yelled at her and awoke her from her reverie.

As a pedestrian I only knew I had to cross the road, and I was at a pedestrian crossing about to step out into the path of an oncoming car. Fortunately for me a man grabbed me by the arm and saved me some serious pain. Can I explain that? No!  I have no idea where my mind was. I have fallen from my motorcycle, the last time resulting in permanent screws in my leg. I have been very lucky in comparison with so many other people who are confined to their wheelchairs without even the hope of being released to be able to walk again.

Unfortunately, many very young men and women are injured for life in their teens. Perhaps it was because they rode too fast, or took unreasonable chances, because that is what you do when you are young and indestructable. The truth is that we are mere mortals and we break all too easy. To find out the hard way is a lesson we can do without.

I'm thinking about a young man who lived in my native country who had a massive crash that left him paralysed in a wheelchair. He lived in a full-service home located close to the sea, and several times security found him leaving the home at night. He would be returned to his room. Finally, one night when the security officer was busy with something this young man glided soundlessly out the door, and drove his electric chair along the roadway for three kilometros until he arrived at a boat launching ramp. With determination he drove his chair into the sea where he was electrocuted and drowned.

Being confined to a bed or wheelchair is no laughing matter, especially if its a life sentence. Let us spare a thought for people in these situations, and especially be careful when driving where there are people about. 

If you can avoid injuring someone because you moderated your speed, or thought ahead, that would be a very fine thing indeed. If we all do that, you may be the one to be spared the agony of an existence worst than death.

Copyright (c)  2012   Eugene Carmichael 

Excrement for Brains- The other view!

http://www.thecv35.com/

Going where you have never been before. Careful!

Last week I related how my wife and I narrowly escaped death at the hands of a lunatic who overtook another car at the brow of a hill. He found himself in our lane and we were headed for a head-on collision. Needless to say, I was angry when I wrote that column and very shaken. Since then two things have happened: (a) I have calmed down and driven that stretch of road again, in both directions, and (b) I have thought of a different theory other than the offence was committed by someone who knew exactly what he was doing but who was reckless.

To summarize the situation, when travelling between the town of Lliria and Pedralba, the road takes us down into a deep valley, and when at the bottom we cannot see whether there is any traffic coming towards us, and neither can oncoming traffic know if there is anything there. As I drove up the other side I suddenly popped into the view of on-coming traffic, and they will see me for the very first time. To them I will appear as though a piece of toast popping up from the toaster.

Such was the case on the night in question and no doubt the driver who nearly crashed into us would have been very surprised. I now think that the driver must have been someone new to the area, because anyone who knew the road would not have done something so stupid ,simply in the interest of self preservation.  I noticed, during the day that when traffic approaces the valley from the Pedralba end, at first glance you might think that you were on a straight and level roadway. If there was a vehicle in front of you the fact that the road dips sharply would not become apparent until the last minute.

Bear in mind that this incident happened at night, and so anyone who was not familar with the area would have been in for a double surprise as I suddenly appeared and the road fell away. I prefer to believe that is what happened, rather than having almost lost our lives to someone with excrement for brains. (There are a lot of people on the road who fit this description.)

You will recall that the crash did not occur because I was already as far to the right as I could be. There was not time to correct for this, I had to be already positioned. That particularly piece of roadway has always bothered me and I always drive it on the assumption that the thing that eventually happened, would happen. However, much to my delight I came to realise that as a matter of habit I approach every crest of a hill where I cannot see over the top, in the same cautious manner.

I simply didn't even realise I was doing that!

It is wonderful to still be around to rationalise and anaylze what happened. Last year 1,459 people were not given that opportunity.

Copyright (c) 2012   Eugene  Carmichael 

Excrement for Brains

You don't want to be facing a situation like this!

It has been said that there is no thrill like having been shot at, and missed. I know that feeling, and more. January 19th, 2012 at 7:15pm was the date and time when my wife and I cheated death. We did this by having cultivated a habit over many years that finally saved the day for us.


As is my custom, when driving I tend to take notice of passages of roadways that seem to be innocent enough, but I see things that perhaps others don't, and I ask the question, "What if?" What if someone else did something they should not do, how can I best defend myself. This is the basics of defensive driving. For instance, if you crest a hill and over the other side there is an entrance to the main road, if a truck with a very long trailer is pulling across the road, he will take ten seconds to clear my lane. I need to be travelling slow enough to give him the time to do that. If I know the entrance road is there then I must assume that the truck will also be there. That is driving with anticipation.


In the incident I am referring to, I was passing through a passage of roadway that took us down into a deep valley, and at the bottom I cannot see whether there is any traffic coming towards me. The road is only a two-lane ribbon with two-way flow of traffic. As we rise up the other side we only see traffic coming towards us at the last minute.


My question was what do I do if there is a car coming towards me on my side. For seven years I have been treating that piece of road by positioning my car to the extreme right, with my rightside wheels along the white line marker that signifies the exterior of the road. That is where we were at 7:15pm on January 19th, when I saw a car coming straight towards us headed for a full-on crash that would have killed us and the other driver. This man, and it was a man with excrement where his brains should be, because no woman would be so stupid, was overtaking another car, but that driver was evidently so horrified by what the man was doing that he moved as far to the right as he could, and between he and myself, we made a hole for the moron to squeeze through. He was so close that we felt his force field rock our car.


It's a strange feeling to have cheated death. At first I felt numb, not fully understanding the significance of the moment. The next day, when I awoke I just lay still and looked at the ceiling in amazement, because that was a day I was not supposed to see. My taste of Life is different somehow. My routines that had become jaded and blasé suddenly had colour.


Where I might have slept through things, I now have a new lease on life, but everyday I ask the same question: "Now What?"


There are a lot of really stupid people who should not be behind the wheel of a car. Eventually they end up killing themselves, but not without taking innocent people with them. It's a shame it has to be that way.


Copyright (c) 2012 Eugene Carmichael

Better Watch Out!

Give us your money or your car!


We sang this song as little children as Christmas approached: "Better watch out, better not cry, better be good I'm telling you why, Santa Clause is coming to town." That was fine then, but we're all grown up now, and while it's still O.K. to sing the refrain we need to substitute that it's the police who are coming to town and they are stepping up their efforts to extract money from you and me as drivers. Every town's coffers are dry. We, here in Spain have sailed through periods of spend, spend, spend, and now the chickens are coming home to roost.


Who, and where else is fast money to come from other than the soft targets that we drivers make. We could cooperate and continue to do things as we have always done, and pour money into the modern highwayman's bags, that are the police, or we can make life difficult by sticking to the rules and being obediant. That just sticks in my throat saying that, but frankly I don't have the money to bail out the town hall, I can hardly pay the bills I am already saddled with.


What are they picking on? Speeding, of course. Parking the wrong way along two way streets. Double parking; not fully coming to a stop, where required; parking in spaces maked "Vacio siempre; parking along streets that are designated no parking at any time, even although the signs have long faded; over staying the allotted time for parking. Driving your car beyond the date designated for renewal of the ITV examination. Not having insurance is a true no-no; and if you are still driving a foreign plated car that should have been re-matriculated for Spanish plates, your time is up. They will simply take the whole car.


To be forewarned is to be forearmed, so they say, so I hope you will take this seriously. The one thing I have learnt is that the local police will not enjoy taking these steps against their neighbours. The other guys, I'm not so sure.


Copyright (c) 2012 Eugene Carmichael

Bittersweet News to start the Year

Driving as it should be done


My joy in seeing the news that the number of deaths on Spanish roads has declined again is tempered only by the fact that while 250 fewer people died during 2011 than the previous year, there were still far too many people whose lives ended needlessly in 2011.


Up until the introduction of the points system, deaths on the road were out of control. It was obvious that as drivers we held the key in our hands to stop the madness, but people were unimpressed. It was always something likely to happen to others because "although I drive fast," so the saying went, "I drive with security." Not so! At the height of the madness the death toll was over 7,000 in a single year. Figures did drop slowly as we went through the years, perhaps because the more irresponsible killed themselves, but then the points system came in and drivers came to realize that if they accumulated sufficient points they would lose their license, and because you have to go through a process of earning your license back from scratch, that means that you would likely never drive again.


Driving while under the influence of alcohol or drugs became something to be avoided like the plague. Well, of course. The DGT has been saying that all along. Driving within the speed limit means a better likelihood that you will be in control of your car. Of course! Too much speed is almost always part of the cause of car crashes.


Every year since points appeared the death toll has steadily dropped. In 2010, 1729 lost their lives. During 2011, 250 families were spared the draining experience of having to go to the cemetry to bury a family member. This year we lost 1,479 people, a figure that has not been this low for 50 years. However, that only tells part of the story because the intensity of traffic over 50 years has grown by massive proportions, and driving in today's traffic is nothing like it was all those years ago.


The very automobiles that we drive are superbly crafted machines, and the roads along which we travel are ribbons of smooth asphalt. As drivers we really don't have any excuses to rely on. We have to drive unimpeded by drink or drugs, or lack of rest, and we must pay strict attention to what we are doing. When we take the controls of our driving machine we are no longer in our living rooms, we are in control of our lives and the lives of others, and we must be responsible.


That is an awesome responsibility, but the fact that more of us are recognising it is reason for hope. I feel certain that we can conduct ourselves to see the day when the figure drops below 1000. We can do it. Yes! We can! Meanwhile, Congratulations to us all for our positive contribution.


Copyright (c) 2012 Eugene Carmichael

A Sad note to end 2011

This is not a picture of the actual car involved in this story, but gives a very good idea of its condition



This is an obvious statement, but I will make it anyway: Life, giving animation and thoughts and actions, is a very wonderful but fragile thing. On second we can have it, the next it could be gone.

What makes me think that is an incident that happened on December 29, 2011.


A Morrocan man was driving his family along the A-35 in the direction towards Valencia in the early hours of the day. In the people carrier there were nine people, all of one family. As they were passing Moixent something happened that has changed the man's life in ways that we cannot even begin to imagine. Evidently he allowed himself to become distracted and what followed next has us all shaking our heads in disbelief.


Before I explain, let's refer to the rules for driving:


Rule number one: There is an attitude for our living rooms and an attitude for when we are driving our cars. They should never be confused or mixed.


Rules two to ten: Be sober and concentrate!


Back to the story:


The time was about 6am when the people carrier was following a road train consisting of the truck that was hauling two containers. The driver of the people carrier became distracted just at the time that he put his foot down to overtake the vehicle ahead, but instead of moving clearly to the other lane he drove straight into the rear left end of the container. In doing so the van made no impression on the trailer, but the trailer acted like a buzz saw slicing through the van, instantly killing the man's wife, aged 35, and sitting behind her another woman, aged 39 was actually thrown out of the car and killed. Everyone else in the car was injured, and the car itself became hooked onto the trailer and dragged for half a kilometre.


My wife and I passed the site at about 11am, travelling in the opposite direction. The truck with its trailers was still there. The driver was getting out of the cab, presumably having retrieved something for the police. There was a massive police presence, and lying next to the van were two bodies covered by drop sheets. There were no ambulances in situ at that time, presumably all the injured had been transported to hospital. That was all that we could see before having passed on by.


My impression was that the driver of the truck with trailers had stopped to give assistance, and that the ambulance had not yet arrived. However, the crash had happened about four hours previously and the scene was still in progress of being sorted out. It is always upsetting to pass a site where there has been a crash and to see bodies spread out on the ground.


The rest of the people in the carhad to be cut free in an operation that took 50minutes. Included in the injured was a 13-year old boy whose injuries were the worst and had to have an operation to correct a broken leg, among other problems. The person who suffered the least injuries was the driver.


The driver will have a lot of explaining to do, and he will have a tough time convincing the authorities that he didn't deliberately drive into the road train. As I've stated, it's a very sad note to end the year on.


Copyright (c) 2012 Eugene Carmichael

MERRY CHRISTMAS! If you can.

Christmas Day, 2011






Here in Spain we have awakened to a simply lovely Christmas day. We are having our traditional Christmas Day high where the sun is out in all its glory, the wind is nil, there are no clouds in the sky, and all is right with the world.


If you have to go anywhere today, please drive carefully. On this day we are celebrating a birthday and most people are having a wonderful and very fragile experience.


So this is just to wish each and everyone, together with your families a truly glorious day. Let nothing spoil the mood, and the world over should be free from tragedies of any kind.


Merry Christmas to All!



Copyright (c) 2011 Eugene Carmichael

Christmas is a Terrible Time to Die!

Do you believe in Santa Claus?




If you, as a rational and wise person had complete control of your life, would you choose to die in the midst of Christmas, or Hanakah, or Kwanza celebrations?


I think the answer would be, "Certainly not!" These holiday times are for spreading peace, love, happiness and goodwill throughout the world. The same is the case for other religious celebrations and for things such as the American Thanksgiving Day, National holidays, family birthdays, family vacations, and all other times during the year that are intended for relaxing and having a good time. I don't think you would deliberatly make your family miserable during those times.


Consider the merits of the time to pay your taxes. Would that work for you?


There will be people who will get in or on their means of transportation this end of year celebrations, and they will leave their intelligence and responsibility behind and go and kill themselves and other people as well. I have never understood such insanity. The best I can do is attribute such actions to a very high level of stupidity. If a person is that stupid he should be consigned to walking as he will be manifestly too irresponsible to be in charge of something like a car.


For these coming celebrations when we are going to and fro to visit friends and family, and to dine in restaurants, one person must assume the role of designated driver, and he, or she must assume the responsibility of ensuring that the family will survive the holidays safely. That is a very serious task. The police cannot do this for us, we are in charge of this part of our destiny.


So, from me to you, Merry Christmas, Happy Hanakuh, Happy Kwanza, Happy Holidays!


May the New Year give you and your family the golden gift of Good Health and Good Cheer!



Copyright (c) 2011 Eugene Carmichael

Car for Car the Most expensive crash in History

A Tsunami of Ferraris

I look at these pictures and I make a face like sucking lemons

I'm sure everyone reacted as I did when I heard of the crash in Japan of all those top flight cars. Involuntarily I went "WoW!" Followed by, "Oh my God!" The pictures were even more heartbreaking. To see eight Ferraris, three Mercedes a Lambourgini, a Nissan Skyline Gt-R, and a Toyoto Prius in such a state almost made my knees buckle. From my point of view I was seeing the incident as the worst nightmare of any and all aficianados from any club.

Imagine this: every person who has a top flight car or motorcycle will treasure it and treat it like nothing else. In my current case I have a black shiny Jaguar Sovereign that is sitting in my garage, under a cover. There was a time when I had a GoldWing motorcycle. I know of people who only bring their Goldwings, or Harleys outside if the sun is shining. Otherwise, they are parked in the house, under cover.

Once in a while we get together and go for a run. The mood is happy. We get all dressed up in our special gear, we spend even more time in polishing our motor, and we go off in strictly disciplined regimen. We observe all traffic laws; sometimes we even have police escorts. It's a day out, a time to be seen and for good camarderie. The absolutely worst thing that could happen is to have a crash that destroyed fourteen vehicles.

There was one time when I was on a run with the Essex GoldWing Club. We were over 250 bikes and riding under police supervision. As my section was passing one of the exits a car came out fulling expecting to merge. At the last moment, before he would have ploughed into us he came to a screeching halt. He missed me by inches.

In the crash in Japan ten of the drivers were taken to hospital, not, I suspect because they were hurt, but when the gravity of what had happened finally sunk in, it was better that they were in the hospital to have their heart attacks.

I know ladies, you are all shaking your heads and wondering out loud about Men! It's a guy thing and I know, we're so silly at times, but then, we're just guys.

Copyright (c) 2011 Eugene Carmichael

A Rock in the Road

I was driving along a two lane road, heading uphill just after the sun had set. Up ahead I could see that a car had pulled off to the side at an angle with part of the vehicle still in our lane. Cars ahead of me were pulling around him, but they seemed to be going well out of their way. I found out to my surprise why that was. There was a huge boulder sitting in the middle of the lane, and I was headed straight for it. I swerved violently to the left, striking the tapered end of it, and my car flew up in the air, causing a little damage to my undercarriage.

The car behind me saw what had happened and stopped in front of the stone and presumably secured the situation until the police arrived. That is what I would have done had I seen the rock in time. All this because some idiot trucker was proceeding along with an unsafe load. A motorcyclist would have been killed had he run into that rock.

That got me to thinking about being surprised by things in the road that we are not expecting. I wondered how often this sort of thing might happen, and perhaps there might be a website dedicated to these events. I found http://www.truckspills.com/. I also got far more than I expected.

There were sixty-three entries, and basically, anything that you can imagine that is carried by road, has ended up in the road. In my mind the most horryfying was a load of alligators that were thrown into the road because the truck crashed. As you can see from the above picture, how would you like to have been confronted by the image of several alligators facing you. On the light side, they were already dead and frozen.

A happy and exciting situation to suddenly drive into was the siht of bags of money lying all over the place, and people engaged in a free for all trying to scoop it all up. Or, there were all those scratch and claim lottery tickets flying about in the wind after the truck carrying them caught fire.

We know that something strange is happening in the Bee world that is causing a shortage of bees. That is making it necessary to transport bees from one location to another, and in two accidents twelve, and fourteen million bees were released onto the highway. That's a lot of very pissed off bees.

In Colombia, South America a truck rolled over on its side, spilling cocaine that had been nicely wrapped and stored in its side and roof. The report said that the driver was not injured, but we can bet he was still killed.

Beer, fruit, animals, both live and dead, molasses, vodka, a Tomahawk Missile, a massive ship engine that fell off the truck onto cars, and sunk into the road; and perhaps most peculiar of all, a modular house that was being carried on a flatbed, tipped over backwards on an uphill area that had the driver staring straight up into the sky.

What a fascinating visit that was to http://www.truckspills.com/ that was for me, and a wake up call to never let my guard down. Next time when something up ahead is happening that I am unable to be absolutely certain about, I will slow down.

You never know what it might be. It could turn out to be something that just sucks the breath out of you.

Copyright (c) 2011 Eugene Carmichael

Driving Blind

Traffic! Who needs it?



Having driven for close to 55 years I finally had my worst nightmare behind the wheel. I was caught in a torrential rainstorm in the city, in a traffic jam, at night, in conditions in which I just could not see where I was in the street. My car windows continually fogged up, and I could not pull over to the side, where ever that was, to stop.


My airconditioning system would only work on hot, so I made steam in the car, and I had an idea that there was traffic behind me only because their lights blinded me. At one point, we were on a roundabout with apparently a bus, or something to my right, signified only by a tiny yellow light, and to my left some clown in a car was pushing me towards the bus/something. Choose: would I rather hit the bus/something or the car? I chose the car. In the event I struck neither, but that was a bit of luck.


The rain was driving down relentlessly, I was wipìng the front windscreen constantly, and that gave me a little bit of vision out the front, and I continued forward on instinct. Finally I got a brilliant idea. Open the bloody windows! Sure the rain came in, but the cloud in the windows lifted and I could actually see to the side and forward, and even behind. Wonderful!


I eventually got to my destination safely, but exhausted and a bit wet. I had to contemplate the return journey which was more than a terrible thought, but when the time came it had stopped raining. That I survived that experience without a scratch means that there is someone watching over me who has my very best interests at heart. Thank you Guardian Angel!


It has stopped raining for about five days and the car seats are still a little squishy, but the car will survive, and I might add it will be a little cleaner because after all, it was only water. Its a Volvo and that's one tough car. It's the nightmares that are slow to go away. I cannot understand why the situation in my dreams has to be so much worse than in reality.


On the bright side, I must be one hell of a driver to drive on instincts without even touching anything. I consider that a very good testament. I wonder if I can put that on my driving CV?


Copyright (c) 2011 Eugene Caramichael

Multiple Vehicle Pile-ups!

A Tsunami of Ignorance


Every now and then we read about road crashes involving some insane number of vehicles, some involving less than a hundred, but sometimes more than a hundred are involved. I think China holds the record for some shocking number that came to a sticky end.


I was trying to imagine what it must be like to be in the midst of all of that sort of thing. I have no doubt that there are some of you who have been a victim, so you will be the experts. I have been very lucky so far, plus I think my style of driving might have saved me from the experience.


These events seem to grow out of very dangerous driving weather situations. I have found myself in such situations, particularly in Canada. The one thing that seems to be at work that contributes to massive wrecks is sheer stupidity. If we are driving in exceptionally heavy rain or fog, or blizzard conditions, common sense demands that we slow down, and stop along the side of the road if we have to.


Well no! These conditions tends to bring out every imbecile on the planet. None of us can see the road ahead, so what the hell are the drivers doing who pass you by going at top speed as though it's a sunny day. Of course they are kamikazes looking for a place to crash. The first time I found myself in a snow blizzard I was in Canada on my way to the airport to catch a plane.Other drivers scared me so much that the first motel I could see I pulled into their parking lot and went to bed. I lived to catch the plane another day.


To run into vehicles ahead that have crashed into one another, then to have other vehicles crash into my car, and to hear the bedlam go on and on, locking me into a big scrap heap of metal and injured bodies for hours and hours is my idea of a living hell. There will be as many stories as there are people who survive to tell them, but the fact is that these events are traceable to sheer human stupidity. If I had the power, when I see people being so irresponsible I would incapacitate them so they could no longer pose a threat to other humans.


Sometimes, my fellow human beings tax my patience to the limit!


Copyright (c) 2011 Eugene Carmichael

Careful on the Roundabout

IT'S A DANGEROUS WORLD OUT THERE!



The Roundabout would be one of the truly great inventions if only us people who use them had the slightest idea of what we were doing. It has always been my practise to use my indicators to signal my intention. Lately I have become lazy and over confident, and sure enough a person on my left decided he wanted to go right, and tried to do so. That brought him and I within a very close distance apart, as I was going left.


The problem with Spanish roads is that lane discipline is lacking. Drivers here have never heard of the term in any language, so it is not uncommon for some airhead in the extreme left lane to decide that he wants to go right, and he actually thinks there will be nothing wrong with cutting across several lanes to do so.


When we, as drivers decide to do something stupid we pull out all the stops. Our actions will turn out to be jaw droppingly stupid, in the same manner as standing in front of a raging bull.


Welcome to Spain!


When next using a Roundabout, remember lane discipline, and indicate where you intend to go; and keep a keen eye for all those idiots who are out to get you.


Copyright (c) 2011 Eugene Carmichael

Moto GP Madness

Bikers on the Move

If its the first weekend in November it must be Moto GP time in Valencia. People converge from, quite literally, all over the world for this event. Naturally the racing track of Ricardo Torno de Cheste features front and centre, and what takes place there is religious worship. The very small town of Cheste goes from being a little village to more than 200,000 people.


I live next door in the pueblo of Pedralba. I have owned motorcycles all of my life, so naturally people think I'm a petrolhead. The gathering of so many bikes and people is electric, but the fact is that I do not attend the races. Any activity where people are almost certain to become seriously injured because the danger level is ultra-high, I do not consider entertainment.


I have watched the bikes going round the track at speeds that are breathtaking, and the riders have to lay the bike down so low I can't understand why the bike just doesn't simply fall to the ground. From time to time riders and bikes do part company, and in most cases the guys get up and walk away. However, we know that the sport is incredibly dangerous because a few unlucky guys make the point through very serious injury, and even death.


The weather is beastly for this year's event, which in a way demonstrates the mood. At the forefront of everyone's thinking will be No. 58, Marco Simoncelli, who as we all know lost his life in a recent race. The Cheste event will be a homage to him, but life, and the races will go on, as it does. We can only hope that there will be fewer casualities in the future.


For me. the loss of this young man's life is my worst expectation and the reason I stay away from such races. But, that's just me. I don't expect to change anything.


Copyright (c) 2011 Eugene Carmichael

Raising the Speed Limit.

The Demon of Speed

Britain's Transport Secretary is proposing raising the speed limit of the motorways of England and Wales. His argument is that to do so will speed up productivity and bring the U.K. into line with other countries in Europe. The motorway limit is currently 70 mph. He wants to take it up to 80. He admits that he is aware that most people ignore the 70 limit to drive faster, so if that's the case leave things as they are, because you can be certain that if the limit is moved higher drivers will ignore that and drive even faster.

He cites the fact that car manufacturers are making ever more safer cars that can better handle the higher speeds, but what about the drivers. The U.K. death rate has steadily fallen by 75% as things currently are. These are not just statistics, these are more people surviving the driving experience. That translates into more families intact and fewer cases of human misery. That is a very good thing. Why then would anyone propose measures that might interfere with such good news?

An excess of speed is almost always present in tragedies. Consider the fact that a child, when struck by a car travelling at 40mph almost always dies. A child struck by a car at 20 mph almost always lives.

There is also the psycological aspect against raising the limit. At present when entering the motorway you don't have the sense that I have to get way up to speed really fast because the traffic is coming at blinding speed. But, here in Spain, where the limit is 75 mph (120 kph) you know that everybody is bearing down on you at incredibly fast speeds of 90 to 100 mph, and you have to put the foot down. Even drivers here are realising that is much too fast and the trend is for drivers to slow down to less than the limit.

Limits in the U.K. are presently 30 mph in built-up areas; 60 on single lane roads; 70 on dual carriage and motorways.

Mr. Transport Secretary, for God's sake, leave well enough alone!

Copyright (c) 2011 Eugene Carmichael

W-T-F!!!

The white van approaches and can clearly see the child in the middle of the street


On Monday, October 17th, 2011, CNN introduced a video that was shot in China. The station were appalled by what had happened. Maybe you will be too:


A two-year old girl, a child, was walking in an alleyway on her own when a white van came along and knocked her down. She had wandered away from her parents who were both working. The driver was aware what had happened and stopped immediately. He apparently looked and saw that the girl was laying between his right front wheel and the back wheel on the ground. She was bleeding and in a lot of pain. He realised that he had run over her with the front wheel. Without doing anything else he promptly drove over her with the rear wheel and drove off.


What kind of callous bastard was this despicable person?


The story does not end there.


The child lay on the ground for ten minutes while EIGHTEEN people walked over her, around her, cycled past and not a soul did anything to help her. Another larger truck came along and drove over her leg, as though she was an animal that was road kill. Finally a middle aged person came along and organised help. (I saw the entire tape on Spanish TV.)


CNN could not understand the thinking of any of the people who passed this child by, so they interviewed a psycologist to try and understand what we had seen. He was worse than no help to us at all because, although he agreed that people did not respond as we would have expected them, he was quick to urge us not to be judgemental because "we could not know what was going through their minds at the time."


I don't have to know, although we can be certain it was not one humanity-like thought of kindness or responsibility toward their fellow humans. World-wide, throughout human society there is what is right, and what is wrong. In this case there were no gray areas. This was a child who was gravely hurt and for far too long, not one person stopped to assist.


Now, before we rush to a conclusion that indictes Chinese culture, and before we go on about how low in esteem little girls are there, let's take a moment to note that in London and in New York people have been robbed, knifed, shot, and they have lay on the sidewalk with people also stepping over them. In fact, so many people live on the sidewalk that it is such a common sight that they are seen and not seen.


Would I have responded as a proper human being had I been there, either as the driver or as a person on the street? I can't see any other answer than that of course I would have acted to get the child to hospital as quickly as possible, together with her parents.


To do nothing, especially as we are talking about a child in distress, is so out of the question for me that I can't even begin to understand how another person could be so stone cold.



Later in the week the child succumbed to her overwhelming injuries and died.


I have a wish for each and every one of the eighteen persons who passed her by without helping: May your turn come soon to feel what the little girl felt. And may you die a thousand deaths before the world is finally rid of you!


Bastards!

Copyright (c) 2011 Eugene Carmichael

Some thoughts on Travelling

Laughter. Better than medicine

I was reading some Quotes by people on travelling that you may find amusing:

Phyllis Diller, Comedian, said that she can't imagine why anyone would give her a driving licence. She got two tickets for offences on her written test.

A man walks into a bar in Ireland and asks the barman what's the quickest way to get to Dublin.

The barman says, "Are you walking or driving?" I´m driving, says the man. Well, replied the barman, that's the quickest way.

Bumper sticker seen on a car: "Mother-in-Law in boot."

Rodney Dangerfield said that his wife had her driving test recently. She got 8 out of ten. The other two guys jumped clear.

Henny Youngman said that his wife called to say the car wouldn't start because it had water in the carburettor. How do you know that?

She said, "The car's in the lake."

Denis Norden was given a parking ticket. He asked the policeman what do I do with this? The policeman said, "Keep it. If you manage to collect three of them you get a bicycle."

Mark Twain said that you should get a bicycle. You will not regret it, if you survive.

I was asked if I wanted to be upgraded to Business Class on the airplane. I asked, "Will I have to play golf?"

Talk about bad luck. Roger Miller had an uncle who was afraid to fly, so he took the train. A plane fell on it.

Life's funny. Don't forget to notice and laugh.

Copyright (c) 2011 Eugene Carmichael

Drunk, or on Drugs, or Stupid

Drunk, or on Drugs, or Plain stupid, but probably all of the above.

While driving along a two-lane country road, a grey Opal, number 4585 plus three letters came up behind me as we were travelling through a slow zone. but the minute the driver could do so he overtook me, tooting his horn in a manner that seemed to me that he was berating me.

I then noticed that he was driving in an erratic manner while doing about 80 kph. Next he caught up with a cyclist in a no-overtaking zone. He slowed right down behind the cyclist and engaged his hazard lights, and generally acted like a responsible driver. By this time I had caught up with him, and as soon as it was safe to overtake he did so, and I followed suit.

We were again doing 80 kph when I noticed he started to do very strange things behind the wheel. He was flailing his arms about, causing the car to swerve back and forwards across the road because he was not controlling the steering wheel. He was alone in the car, but I don't know if he was talking on a hands-free telephone. I decided to drop well back as not to be too close in the event he was about to crash.

He then seemed to notice that I had dropped back, at which time he applied his hazard lights again and slowed down to walking speed. As I came closer he sped up then dropped his speed, and I took those actions to be a provocation to me. I'm sure had I tried to overtake him he would have made that impossible.

I therefore pulled off the road and watched him go ahead at a snail's pace. I waited until other traffic came along. Fortunately it was a long line of cars and they started honking their horns which resulted in him speeding up and then he was gone.

This was at noonday, so what could have been his excuse for being on the road at that time in a condition that was inappropriate, other than he was drunk, on drugs or stupid? In my opinion he most likely was all three of those things combined.

One of the reasons for such an unacceptable high death rate on Spanish roads are drivers just like the one highlighted here.

Copyright (c) 2011 Eugene Carmichael

Summer's Over 2011

Summer Driving

We have had a lovely Summer this year, here in Spain, in so far as the weather is concerned, but as we come to the end of the period we are left asking how did we do on the road?

The short answer is that we did better than last year. Road traffic deaths in Spain have declined from a high of about 7,500 many years ago, to the present annual level that we can only hope will be well under 2000 by the end of this year.

A person could be excused for thinking that we are talking about a war report. we are only talking about what happened when people went to the supermarket or on holiday. Spain is a far cry from Afganistan or Iraq. When we apply for our driving licenses we are not entering into a contract to commit suicide, but that is what happens so often. Granted that the mix of testosterone and gasoline is volatile, but add a pinch of common sense and it can be controlled.

It has been reported that 321 fewer people lost their lives overall on the roads during Summer driving, and that is very welcome news. Why people choose to kill themselves and others during holiday times is quite beyond me. It doesn't have to be that way. However, as a group drivers on Spanish roads are becoming more responsible because as the death toll shrinks the number of drivers has massively increased from about 1.5 million to the present 30 million.

We have become a lot more responsible, particularly in the area of not driving when intoxicated and this is being reflected in decreases year after year. Simple things like an agreement between my wife and myself before attending a party as to who will drive home make all the difference. That person is the designated driver, and the other is the designated drinker.

We will live to enjoy another day, so that seems very fair to me.

Copyright (c) 2011 Eugene Carmichael,