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(For the non-Brits, a 'lollipop man' is a crossing guard with the legal right to stop traffic for children.)quote:A lollipop man who blocked an on-call fire engine ‘several times’ by moving children across a road has been sacked.
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May 21, 2015 08:14
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In the US you'd probably have an angry mob of parents show up at the next city council meeting demanding the crossing guard's reinstatement and the firemen's heads on pikes. Emergency vehicle headed to an actual emergency?   MY CHILD NOT HAVING TO WAIT 20 SECONDS ON THE SIDEWALK IS MORE IMPORTANT!
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May 21, 2015 08:23
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InitialDave posted:They should have moved to one side earlier. However: That driver was oblivious/not even trying. But it's the same in Australia, you can't break the law to get out of the way of emercency vehicles. You can pull over, slow down or stop, but you can't go through red lights or cut people off to get out of your lane etc
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May 21, 2015 08:56
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"Going through a red is an absolute offence, sixty quid and three points sunshine" in response, but unless they stop that nonsense, I can't blame people for not moving.
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Here in Memphis even the city bus drivers run red lights: http://wreg.com/2015/05/20/mata-bus-drivers-busted-running-red-lights/ quote:MEMPHIS, Tenn. — When you get behind the wheel, you’re expected to follow the rules of the road.
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May 21, 2015 13:47
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Geoj posted:In the US you'd probably have an angry mob of parents show up at the next city council meeting demanding the crossing guard's reinstatement and the firemen's heads on pikes. are you kidding they'd never admit that their child had to walk across the street and wasn't dropped off up front in a new 2016 Escalade vvvv: no poo poo i have the same thing. private elementary school, long loving school zone of 20 in a 45, have literally never seen a child cross the street Proud Christian Mom fucked around with this message at 14:54 on May 21, 2015 |
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May 21, 2015 14:35
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Part of my commute for the last 15 years has been through a couple crosswalks that connect to a nearby school. Every school day a volunteer has been at this crosswalk to make sure kids stay safe. It's also a huge speed trap for police, when the yellow flashers are on there's always a patrol car nearby waiting to catch people. The problem? In all of those 15 years I have not seen one single child actually using the crosswalk. Not one.
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May 21, 2015 14:47
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Fo3 posted:That driver was oblivious/not even trying. Over here the red light camera will simply take pictures of the emergency vehicle running a red light and if it got you 20 seconds before that you generally won't even get a fine in the mail. Worst case you call the officer of justice and ask them to pull the next couple of photos from that camera and if it's you running a red and the next three photos are fire trucks running the same red light, your ticket will be annulled. Like it was never issued to begin with. You have to let the emergency vehicle through, if you have to bend the law to do so, so be it. Not to mention that running a red is just a traffic offence, obstruction of emergency services is a felony. I'd rather have to argue my way out of a.€286 fine, than get a loving criminal record and serve 3 days in prison for not letting an ambulance through.
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May 21, 2015 18:30
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Fo3 posted:That driver was oblivious/not even trying. There is the off chance- albeit remote, that the driver was deaf and unaware. Maybe the lights weren't that noticeable in the day to someone who has their mirrors aimed lovely. I guess I feel a little glass half full today.
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May 21, 2015 18:44
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Spiffness posted:There is the off chance- albeit remote, that the driver was deaf and unaware. Maybe the lights weren't that noticeable in the day to someone who has their mirrors aimed lovely. If you're deaf then you need to pay MORE attention to what's around you, not less.
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May 21, 2015 18:52
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88h88 posted:If you're deaf then you need to pay MORE attention to what's around you, not less. You'll get no argument from me. Absolutely. BUT, it at least explains being able to ignore the gently caress-off loud siren right behind you.
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May 21, 2015 19:09
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I'm just imagining how quiet my mate's old Mini would be if I were deaf... Seems there's an upside!
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May 21, 2015 19:13
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88h88 posted:I'm just imagining how quiet my mate's old Mini would be if I were deaf... Seems there's an upside! As someone who only has one working ear left, you'd miss the noise if it was gone. 
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May 21, 2015 20:06
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Spiffness posted:You'll get no argument from me. Absolutely. BUT, it at least explains being able to ignore the gently caress-off loud siren right behind you. Yeah, but I'd think that if I were deaf and driving, I'd be all over my mirrors so as not to miss any giant red trucks with gently caress-off bright lights right behind me. Plus, I'd probably actually pull up to the stop line.
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May 21, 2015 21:04
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xzzy posted:Part of my commute for the last 15 years has been through a couple crosswalks that connect to a nearby school. Every school day a volunteer has been at this crosswalk to make sure kids stay safe. It's also a huge speed trap for police, when the yellow flashers are on there's always a patrol car nearby waiting to catch people. Back when I drove buses in college there was a protected crosswalk next to a school on our route. During peak hours there was someone out with a sign but I really think they were there more for the drivers than the kids. This intersection had a button to switch the intersection to red and during off-hours I've had kids push it and then go dance in the street 
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May 21, 2015 23:38
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ijustam posted:Back when I drove buses in college there was a protected crosswalk next to a school on our route. During peak hours there was someone out with a sign but I really think they were there more for the drivers than the kids. This intersection had a button to switch the intersection to red and during off-hours I've had kids push it and then go dance in the street I used to drive through a dense pedestrian zone as part of my commute to work many years ago, and it had a light like this. Normally the lights just instantly activate flashing pedestrian lights but this one is the only one in the city that immediately activates a red light. In the winter, I saw a pedestrian hit the button, red light, and then they ran across. The light went green, as it does. A pedestrian right behind him also hit the button and then immediately started crossing only to find himself in the middle of three lanes of traffic that still had a green light. I guess the red light wasn't really instant if the green light wasn't on for long enough prior to a button hit.
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May 22, 2015 01:01
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Should've just rammed the person.
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May 22, 2015 01:14
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Spiffness posted:There is the off chance- albeit remote, that the driver was deaf and unaware. Maybe the lights weren't that noticeable in the day to someone who has their mirrors aimed lovely. Probably earphones or something stupid like that in that case. At least they can impress in Germany as well: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UG6jtga3oGI
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May 22, 2015 07:15
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The Firetrucks and meatwagons need these guys hanging on their rear decks. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FBAKcn_smnA
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May 22, 2015 08:29
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On a drive south on the Seward highway, watched two different trucks speed and pass like dickheads on double yellows and curves. Caught up with them a little while down the road when they were pulled over at the same time by one state trooper. We all applauded as we drove by  Also saw some loving tourist TURN AROUND in a one lane construction zone to take pictures of an agitated mother moose with newborn calfs. I hope she smashed their loving rental car.
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May 22, 2015 10:11
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Deedle posted:You have to let the emergency vehicle through, if you have to bend the law to do so, so be it. No, the point is the emergency vehicles can flat out break the laws, like mount kerbs, drive on the wrong side of the road to get where they're going. Having an emergency vehicle on the roads doesn't mean other drivers can start loving around and cause confusion and accidents. (That car could have moved over and forward to make a gap though) We don't have this felony/misdemeanor difference in laws here, so that doesn't apply. All I know is a red light fine is $300 and the government likes money, you'd have to go to court to get out of it as it would not be up to the discretion of an civilian* looking at the photos or film, you'd need a judge. This is if the whole car crossed the line and moved into the intersection to let an emergency vehicle through. Part way and off to the side or whatever they driver in the video needed to do wouldn't have problems. E: by civilian I mean the civilians that work in the traffic fines department, as police often aren't the ones doing that job and mailing out fines. Late edit: http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/outrage-over-pensioners-fine/story-e6freol3-1111118399530 Adelaide Now: Adelaide pensioner Ken MacDonald cops fine over ambulance Ken McGregor, December 23, 2008 quote:... "Motorists have an obligation to give way to emergency vehicles but they also have an obligation to drive with due care and abide by the traffic laws," Mr Fairney said. "The driver in these circumstances would have a series of different options they could have considered. People that are in charge have no common sense or are just money hungry unfortunately, so that's the way it has to be. Fo3 fucked around with this message at 11:42 on May 22, 2015 |
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May 22, 2015 10:44
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Reasonable exceptions get in the way of the criminalization of driving.
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May 22, 2015 13:04
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Every intersection I've seen in the last 20 years has been rigged so emergency vehicles can set their direction of travel to green anyways, which makes it easy for cars to get the gently caress out the way. All you have to do is hammer it through the intersection and pull to the shoulder.
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May 22, 2015 14:02
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bing_commander posted:Reasonable exceptions get in the way of the criminalization of driving.
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May 22, 2015 14:48
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Local story: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B0jAfj4-EkI The crane driver was distracted by someone talking to him when he was loading the crane etc. Fair enough. The guy filming is a real moron. Sees the imminent crash, decides to take up his phone and film. He then also decides to get even closer. Well done.
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May 22, 2015 16:40
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xzzy posted:Every intersection I've seen in the last 20 years has been rigged so emergency vehicles can set their direction of travel to green anyways, which makes it easy for cars to get the gently caress out the way. All you have to do is hammer it through the intersection and pull to the shoulder. I mean, of course it's possible some areas haven't upgraded or whatever, but I haven't seen the green trigger setup in years.
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May 22, 2015 18:09
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They fixed the headlight thing a ways back, I'm not sure what emergency vehicles use currently but it's probably something cheap like infared.
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May 22, 2015 18:22
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xzzy posted:Every intersection I've seen in the last 20 years has been rigged so emergency vehicles can set their direction of travel to green anyways, which makes it easy for cars to get the gently caress out the way. All you have to do is hammer it through the intersection and pull to the shoulder. This works - until you run into idiots who automatically slam on the brakes and won't move until the emergency vehicle is past them, not understanding that the whole point of the law is to get out of the way of the emergency vehicle. I'm sure 99% of first responders would rather have traffic hammer until they clear the intersection and then get out of the way vs. bottlenecking an intersection. Krakkles posted:They used to do that. When people started to realize they were triggered by the strobing lights and that flicking their high beams in that pattern would often accomplish the same, they switched to setting them all red, since an emergency vehicle can run reds. The device (MIRT) that accomplishes this uses a very specific spectrum of IR light with a specific strobe pattern - not something that you could accomplish with your highbeams. Not to say that you can't buy one or rig your own with the correct wavelength IR LEDs and a controller board but if you get caught it's generally a felony-level offense.
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May 22, 2015 18:23
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xzzy posted:They fixed the headlight thing a ways back, I'm not sure what emergency vehicles use currently but it's probably something cheap like infared. optimcom IR strobe. A whole bunch of the old firetrucks that go through auctions here still have it installed on the roof, and while it is tempting to never have to deal with a red light again, it's a felony and jail time in some places.
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May 22, 2015 18:33
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Powershift posted:and while it is tempting to never have to deal with a red light again, it's a felony and jail time in some places. Tell that to the po-po in Aurora, IL. They're notorious for just magically hitting greens every time they approach an intersection. 
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May 22, 2015 18:39
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xzzy posted:Tell that to the po-po in Aurora, IL. They're notorious for just magically hitting greens every time they approach an intersection. They're the ones authorized to use it
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May 22, 2015 18:42
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I found an old Wired article detailing how a hardware hacker essentially made his own version of the strobe. Has a few neat details on how the system actually works.
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May 22, 2015 18:45
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xzzy posted:Tell that to the po-po in Aurora, IL. They're notorious for just magically hitting greens every time they approach an intersection. I guess we should also tell them to stop stealing money and shooting black people while we're at it.
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May 22, 2015 18:48
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Powershift posted:I guess we should also tell them to stop stealing money and shooting black people while we're at it. They mostly just shoot criminals
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May 22, 2015 18:50
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How do you know they're criminals? If they weren't criminals, they wouldn't have been shot.
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May 22, 2015 18:51
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Naw, can't fix everything. It's Illinois, if there isn't a little bit of corruption you can't trust them.
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May 22, 2015 18:51
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PCOS Bill posted:They mostly just shoot criminals
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May 22, 2015 19:16
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Jesus christ those are depressing stories. Like this one http://www.innocentdown.org/2013/07/26/john-wrana/ 95 year old that needs a walker? Better respond with tasers, riot shields and bean bags.
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May 22, 2015 20:24
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May 22, 2015 23:53
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Geoj posted:
That still doesn't stop morons from flashing their high beams at red lights. God drat people are gullible, and confirmation bias is a hell of a drug.
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May 24, 2015 17:20
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ohgodwhat posted:That still doesn't stop morons from flashing their high beams at red lights. God drat people are gullible, and confirmation bias is a hell of a drug. Over here we actually have light sensors on a lot of junctions. (usually cross roads.) The reason for this is that the light phasing is different at night, and the road with the most traffic will stay green (constantly) until the sensors detect a vehicle approaching from the other road. There's a road right near me that's like this, if i drive up it at night it will almost always be red in the direction i go, but if i flash my main beams at it from ~100' before i reach the junction, if there's no cross traffic, it will change to green. If there is cross traffic, it will give them an amber light and i will quite quickly get a green light, but it's only green for a short time, much shorter than it is with daytime light phasing. That little camera-looking box on top of the lights is a light sensor: 
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May 24, 2015 17:58
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