From: John Tserkezis 
Reply-To: Fidonet AVtech Echo 

Bob Lawrence wrote:

>  You actually complained? What an optimist.

  Not any more.  I remember there being an issue on the aus.motorcycles 
newsgroup on the net, they wanted the RTA to ensure the road workers use a 
non-slip coating on the steel slabs over holes in the road.  Good fun while 
riding a bike over those things in the wet.

  After much lobbing, there was a new reccomondation passed early in the year 
to do just that.

  Last week while riding over Paramatta Road, guess what I saw, a virgin metal 
cover (three in close proximity actually) with no such coating.
  How suprised am I?  Not at all.


> so I said, "Okay, then you go fuck yourself, you offensive lesbian
> cunt!" and hung up.
>  This was the 70's when it was okay to say "lesbian."  
>  I think I may have offended her.

  ROFL!  I suppose it's the only way to get the message across!

>  That's ageist... inplying we have no teeth. I see that the High
> Court has ruled last week, that age discrimination is illegal. Us
> wrinklies can go to HROC, now, so just watch yourself. This isn't the
> 70's when it was okay to call a silly old bastard a silly old fart.
> Now you'll have to call me an intelligence-challenged age-challenged
> flatulent-challenger (ICAC FC for short) Sorry, for height-challenged.

  You can take your political-correctness, stick it in a dolphin burger, served 
in a styrofoam box and eat it.

>  I'm sure the bloody thing jumped up our of theground, but Westfields
> were so cunning I couldn't find the hydraulics. But I know they're
> there. The nice man at the smash repairs told me they paint them
> yellow because no one can see them if they're yellow.

  Take it from a motorcyclist.  It's all about "perception of
threat".  What's 
visible and what's not all depends on how much of a threat it is to you.

  People claim all the time that "I didn't see them", when they
probably didn't 
look.  What's actually happening, is they didn't notice because one guy on two 
wheels poses no threat to another guy strapped within a ton and half of metal.

  If I were to ride a white BMW with blue strips, I would GUARANTEE they would 
notice me coming from three suburbs back.

  You didn't notice the yellow pole for that very reason.  If it were painted 
dark blue, wore a hat and had a batton leaning against it, you'd notice.  I 
guarantee it.

> JT> The more you drive, the better you get at it.

>  I'm not sure that's true. This is the first time I've hit a fucking
> bollard, and I haven't been practising for 40 years, or anything like
> that. Some people are born hopeless drivers (not me, though, I'm in
> the top 1% like everyone else).

  You DO realise that "everyone else" comprises of only 1% of the
total driving 
population?

>  Weekend drivers are real, they're hopeless, but I think it's because
> they have no idea fo cooperation with other drivers. I used to drive
> the length of Parramatta Road twice a day in peak hours, and it was
> almsot relaxing. You knew *exactly* what the drivers around you were
> going to do. On Sunday, you never know what they'll do next.

  Agreed.  Predictability is important, everyone around you knows what your 
next move is, and can work around it.
  Unfortnately, not everyone can "see" this predictability. (and
it's the 1%ers 
on the other end of the scale that are oblivious).

>  I can't bear to see so many potential accidents waiting to happen.
> It would upset me to see a few kids crushed, and I'd only get angry if
> a truck ran into me... so I drive the long way around to avoid it.

  I've been speaking to an L plater recently, the RTA has changes the laws 
regarding L platers.
  You need to keep a log book of the date and time you go out, duration, 
distance, description of trip, name and licence details of the person who's 
supervising you.
  After your L's, it's a year of the standard red P plate, and after that a 
Green P plate along with different alcohol and points restrictions on each.

  A far cry from the old "drive around the block, if you come back in one 
piece, you've passed" testing methods.

  Time will tell if it works.
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