07/09/2012
Beating the breathaliser
We at duck2water are not a fan of Alcopal, the new pill which “allows” drivers to drink as many as five pints of full strength beer and still remain under the drink driving limit.
“The product is for blokes like me who do go down to the pub and have more than just one pint,” said the product’s seller.
"You could lose your licence, your job and your home all for the sake of being 1% over the limit.”
It’s a real worry. This pill sends out all the wrong messages. Although it might reduce the body’s ability to absorb alcohol and therefore help drinkers “beat the breathalyser”, the fact remains that it will not improve the performance or ability of drink drivers.
Furthermore, using this pill to get behind the wheel while drunk will not be looked on kindly by anyone’s car insurance company. Also, it’s illegal.
As a spokesperson from West Midlands Police says, “If you’re driving while over the limit, we will catch you.”
I don’t think we’re alone in hoping that this pill is soon taken off the UK market.
Image © West Midlands Police via Flickr, under Creative Commons Licence
“The product is for blokes like me who do go down to the pub and have more than just one pint,” said the product’s seller."You could lose your licence, your job and your home all for the sake of being 1% over the limit.”
It’s a real worry. This pill sends out all the wrong messages. Although it might reduce the body’s ability to absorb alcohol and therefore help drinkers “beat the breathalyser”, the fact remains that it will not improve the performance or ability of drink drivers.
Furthermore, using this pill to get behind the wheel while drunk will not be looked on kindly by anyone’s car insurance company. Also, it’s illegal.
As a spokesperson from West Midlands Police says, “If you’re driving while over the limit, we will catch you.”
I don’t think we’re alone in hoping that this pill is soon taken off the UK market.
Image © West Midlands Police via Flickr, under Creative Commons Licence
Labels: alcopal, car insurance, UK
10/08/2012
A competitive outlet
The Olympics have had me shouting at the TV! I’m feeling so competitive at the moment, I find that I’m making mini competitions out of everything, because I’ve no sporting outlet for my frustrations.Yesterday I walked extra quickly up a set of steps in a shopping centre, just to beat some complete stranger who’d started climbing them at the same time as me. I know – sad, right?
Well, I won’t be doing that sort of thing anymore, because now I’ve found the perfect competition.
Mercedes-Benz is looking for the best young motorist in the UK! Perfect!
It does cost to enter, but the prize is a year’s membership as a Mercedes-Benz Driving Academy VIP – which involves brushing shoudlers with celebrities and test-driving the newest models of Mercedes vehicles.
It’s the competition I’ve been waiting for, and I’m not going to let it slip by just because I need to hand over a little currency.
Even if I don’t win anything, I know I’ll enjoy the challenges presented to me.
I’m raring to go! Anything to stop me competing against people who don’t know I’ve challenged them to a race in the first place!
Photo © MoneyBlogNewz via Flickr, under Creative Commons Licence
Labels: competitions, competitive, Driving Academy, Mercedes-Benz, Olympics, race, UK, VIP, young motorist
20/04/2012
Water, water everywhere, but none in the south of England
As the hosepipe ban slowly extends its dusty hand over more of the UK, water companies are doing their best to make people stop washing their cars too religiously.
For example, Thames water has had lots of “Proud to be Dirty” bumper stickers printed, and states that “People should wear dirty cars like a badge of honour. You should be proud to have the dirtiest paintwork in Britain.”
The company adds, “It’s green to be brown.”
However, although we should all be doing our bit to get through the hosepipe ban without making the crisis worse, it’s important to keep car windows, mirrors, lights and registration plates clean.
No matter how filthy the rest of your car gets, it shouldn’t pose a risk to your safety on the road.
To be honest though, there’s no need to drive around with a grimy car anyway. Whatever happened to the good old bucket and sponge method? Or, if you don’t even want to use a bucket of water, why not wait for an April shower and use that?
For example, Thames water has had lots of “Proud to be Dirty” bumper stickers printed, and states that “People should wear dirty cars like a badge of honour. You should be proud to have the dirtiest paintwork in Britain.”The company adds, “It’s green to be brown.”
However, although we should all be doing our bit to get through the hosepipe ban without making the crisis worse, it’s important to keep car windows, mirrors, lights and registration plates clean.
No matter how filthy the rest of your car gets, it shouldn’t pose a risk to your safety on the road.
To be honest though, there’s no need to drive around with a grimy car anyway. Whatever happened to the good old bucket and sponge method? Or, if you don’t even want to use a bucket of water, why not wait for an April shower and use that?
Photo © Amy the Nurse via Flickr, under Creative Commons Licence
Labels: bumper sticker, dirty car, dusty, hosepipe ban, Proud to be Dirty, safety, Thames Water, UK, water companies
25/11/2011
The overlord of all 30mph signs
Do you get sick and tired of people speeding past you on the road?
Then you might like to the applaud the efforts of one man who lives in the village of Bow in Devon, who has painted a huge 30mph sign on the side of his home.
It’s 4.5 metres high, cost him £100 in red, white and black paint, and took him five hours to complete!
The man’s aim is to remind motorists of the speed limit as they enter the village during Road Safety Week.
I think it’s a great idea and should be a permanent fixture and potentially copied all over the UK, but sadly the Department for Transport has said that the sign is in fact illegal.
However, before you go and camp next to it in protest – neither the Department for Transport or Devon County Council plan to take action against the giant 30mph sign because it’s painted on a private property and the owner plans on painting over it himself on the 5th of December anyway.
It’s a shame really…maybe they could change the legislation against over-sized speed limit signs?
Then you might like to the applaud the efforts of one man who lives in the village of Bow in Devon, who has painted a huge 30mph sign on the side of his home. It’s 4.5 metres high, cost him £100 in red, white and black paint, and took him five hours to complete!
The man’s aim is to remind motorists of the speed limit as they enter the village during Road Safety Week.
I think it’s a great idea and should be a permanent fixture and potentially copied all over the UK, but sadly the Department for Transport has said that the sign is in fact illegal.
However, before you go and camp next to it in protest – neither the Department for Transport or Devon County Council plan to take action against the giant 30mph sign because it’s painted on a private property and the owner plans on painting over it himself on the 5th of December anyway.
It’s a shame really…maybe they could change the legislation against over-sized speed limit signs?
Photo © bengrey via Flickr, under Creative Commons Licence
Labels: 30mph sign, Bow, Department for Transport, Devon, Devon County Council, paint, road, speed limit, speeding, UK
04/08/2011
Driving licence and organ donation
Reportedly there are around 8,000 people waiting for an organ transplant in the UK, and around 1,000 people die each year (three every day) while waiting to receive an organ.
However, despite the desperate need for organs less than a third of us British folk are on the donation list, so the government is trying to get more people to register by starting up a new pilot scheme.
The government’s thinking it that many more people would join the list if the possibility of doing it was directly presented to them.
"There's a variety of reasons why they don't put their name on the organ donor register,” the clinical director for transplantation at the Department of Health states, “but by far the most common is they just don't get round to it."
For a while now, people applying for their driving licence have been asked if they would like to join, but they had the option of completely ignoring the request. Now their options will be to join the list, explain that they are already on the list, or answer the question at another time.
This way, the people who do not wish to answer immediately will be confronted with it again at a later date.
The hope is that this will double the number of people who join the list, and as a result save many more lives.
Have you been thinking about joining the organ donation list, but just never got round to it? Have a look at the UK transplant website.
However, despite the desperate need for organs less than a third of us British folk are on the donation list, so the government is trying to get more people to register by starting up a new pilot scheme.The government’s thinking it that many more people would join the list if the possibility of doing it was directly presented to them.
"There's a variety of reasons why they don't put their name on the organ donor register,” the clinical director for transplantation at the Department of Health states, “but by far the most common is they just don't get round to it."
For a while now, people applying for their driving licence have been asked if they would like to join, but they had the option of completely ignoring the request. Now their options will be to join the list, explain that they are already on the list, or answer the question at another time.
This way, the people who do not wish to answer immediately will be confronted with it again at a later date.
The hope is that this will double the number of people who join the list, and as a result save many more lives.
Have you been thinking about joining the organ donation list, but just never got round to it? Have a look at the UK transplant website.
Photo © dmxxx_2006 via photobucket
Labels: driving licence, list, organ transplant, register, UK
15/07/2011
Up, up and away
Have you ever wished that, when stuck in a traffic jam or waiting at the longest red light you’ve ever witnessed, you could just press a button and take off Chitty Chitty Bang Bang-style?
Well, we certainly have – and now there’s a car which may one day reach UK shores which could let us do just that.
The Terrafugia Transition has been “sky legal” for more than a year in America already, and now it’s been made “road legal” too it is set to hit USA showrooms next autumn.
It’s going to cost American motorists $200,000 to buy, that’s around £123,800, and it can only go up to 65mph on the road but it speeds over the land below at 115mph once it unfolds its wings and is in the air.
Now, you know how we said that we might be able to one day fly out of traffic jams – well we lied – sorry. The fact is that this “roadable aircraft” needs 1,700ft (around 500 meters) of road for take-off – so you’re unlikely to be able to escape with only 30cm moving space either end of the vehicle…
Ideally someone will create a flying car which can take off vertically like a Harrier Jump Jet, then we’ll really be happy!
Well, we certainly have – and now there’s a car which may one day reach UK shores which could let us do just that.The Terrafugia Transition has been “sky legal” for more than a year in America already, and now it’s been made “road legal” too it is set to hit USA showrooms next autumn.
It’s going to cost American motorists $200,000 to buy, that’s around £123,800, and it can only go up to 65mph on the road but it speeds over the land below at 115mph once it unfolds its wings and is in the air.
Now, you know how we said that we might be able to one day fly out of traffic jams – well we lied – sorry. The fact is that this “roadable aircraft” needs 1,700ft (around 500 meters) of road for take-off – so you’re unlikely to be able to escape with only 30cm moving space either end of the vehicle…
Ideally someone will create a flying car which can take off vertically like a Harrier Jump Jet, then we’ll really be happy!
Photo by bucket072 via photobucket
Labels: car, motorists, red light, road legal, Terrafugia Transition, traffic jam, UK
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