(no subject)
Things that will never makes sense to me. Ever…The Transportation Version
Traffic Circles in the US:
I really can never tell which exit I need to get off of. The signs are entirely too close to the exit road, leaving everyone with very little time to change lanes and hurl their car onto the next road, creating a certain amount of panic among the people travelling around the circle.
Traffic Circles in the UK:
Also called Roundabouts, these confuse me infinitely more than the ones we have in the States. First off, instead of going all normally to the right (clockwise), you travel around roundabouts in a counter-clockwise fashion, meaning you’re turning your wheel to the right, which is just weird. And then there is the whole not understanding the road labelling system on top of the signs still being right on top of the road you need. And instead of having a traffic circle once in a while like it is around here, they are everywhere.
Traffic Circles in New England:
Also called Rotaries by residents of New England, these make even less sense than the ones in real England. Unlike actual traffic circles, rotaries can take any shape and quite often lack signs at all. Basically, each car that enters the circle is at the mercy of having A. a set-in-stone idea of where you want to go, B. a really good sense of direction, or C. a heavy foot for both the brake and the accelerator. Or all three.
4-way stop signs:
At one point, I knew who would have the right of way in no less than 6 hypothetical traffic situations. I studied hard to pass my written road test, let me tell you. However, something about living past the age of sixteen seems to cause everyone to forget who has the right of way at four-way stop signs. A few stop-and go encounters, a blaring horn, a middle finger, a clearly exasperated someone just going, and an apologetic wave later, and we all part ways
Huge Lines at airports:
Flying internationally requires that each passenger goes through customs when they arrive at their destination. Each airport has a room roughly the size of Russia with miles of fabric dividers to herd people towards the desks. There is always a huge line, no matter what time of day it is. There is not a single reason for this since the only thing that happens at the customs desk is two quick questions and a fast stamping of the passport. And yet. The lines extend to the moon and back and seem not to move at all.
Train Platforms at Edinburgh Waverly station:
Platform ten is not next to platform nine. In fact, you can not see platform ten while standing on platform nine. Platform ten is across a busy road and down a lot. There are two signs that tell you this. And they are small. And dull in colour.
Airport Seating:
In these troubled times of air travel, where it is almost a given that your flight will be delayed in taking off, wouldn’t it be wise to have somewhat comfortable seating in airport terminals? “Sorry for the inconvenience. Your flight is delayed for 17 weeks. Fortunately, we have these pungent smelling, oddly shaped individual plastic seats for you to relax in.” I am sure that luxury seating would create happy passengers resulting in happy flight attendants, which means more free peanuts for everyone.
Construction lane-closings:
When you’re driving up to a construction area on the highway, it’s no surprise that you’re arriving at one. There are signs approximately every three feet to let every driver know exactly how close they are to when the lane they are driving in will be closed. And yet, almost everyone waits until the absolute last minute to insert their car in front of a disgruntled traveller who has read the signs and is pissed off at having to sit through a huge traffic jam for absolutely no reason at all.
Turn signals:
I don’t understand why so many people refuse outright to use their turn signals. It would seem that moving that little lever takes so much effort, that someone would rather risk the integrity of their car’s togetherness and in some cases, the life of themselves and their passengers than to just use the damn signals to warn people of where they intend to go.
The PVTA bus system:
I am in college and have a very high reading level. Of all the things I can read, a bus schedule is definitely one of them. And yet every time I attempt to take the Red Line bus 10 from Westfield’s campus to Wal-Mart and back again, I end up waiting an hour or two for the bus to show up. On more than one occasion, I will have been waiting in Wal-Mart’s parking lot at the bus stop only to see the bus go by the entrance at an alarmingly high speed. Sometimes the driver tips his hat while flipping me off with his foot surely on the accelerator.