Silly Picture Thread.

[facthunter]

I think that "Tool" was a bit of tape. . There's no room for anything extra inside a jet engine. Nev

[onetrack]

It was a turbine turning tool manufactured from nylon, especially designed to not cause engine component damage. The maintenance failure was simply one of slack accountability for tools. The advice to leave the tool in the engine intake for the incoming shift was totally wrong, and interfered with tool accountability, which should be paramount at all times.

The tool was entrusted to one LAME, and it should've been returned to the tool-issuing dept at the end of the LAME's shift, even if it was immediately required again by the incoming shift.

 

https://www.theregister.com/2024/11/15/tool_found_in_a380_engine/

 

Edited December 18 by onetrack

[ClintonB]

[Marty_d]

Took me a while to get that, but then I thought of Victorian drivers and it fell into place 

[Jerry_Atrick]

Haven't watched this yet: 

 

[pmccarthy]

[nomadpete]

3 hours ago, Jerry_Atrick said:

Haven't watched this yet: 

 

Mostly along winded whinge being used to promote a dashcam.

 

He has a point about driver education and preventative policing.

 

One thing that surprised me - the annual road death tolls for India & China are 250,000.

[facthunter]

Without it being per 1000 etc those figures mean little. . The NUT holding the steering wheel is the Main Problem. Driving can require ALL of your attention at times..   Nev

[old man emu]

I strongly support the introduction of Driver Education into our High School curriculum, with initial lessons, mainly theory relating to vehicle operation, beginning in Year 7. It's too late to begin this education when the kids are 16 years old.

[facthunter]

Too big a gap between theory and putting it into practice doesn't work, Either.. . We saddle the Teachers with more and More responsibilities.  Where does it stop? Some people these days don't wish to drive.. It's NOT fun anymore.  Nev.

[ClintonB]

Driving home from Tamworth today with double demerits in force, i pass a slow toyota carry (80 on highway that is 100 and good), then stuck behind rav 4 that sped up at end of overtaking lanes. Next lanes went round them. Get to 80kmh road works, not happening but signs still up. He catches me, speeds past. Then when back in hundred zone caught him, he is back to 80 to 85. We got to town, 50kmh, zooms off, caught him on other side again. I was pleased to round him up again at next lanes.

Just don't get it. That bit in the 80 and 50 could be the difference in having your ticket or losing it.

Looking forward to a good last run home tomorrow. Hopefully  no filth campers ( the dirty vans with no washing facilities and plent of BO) or Caravans.

 

[facthunter]

Try driving a VAN fast. People HATE being passed by VANS. Hogging the right lane annoys me. Some just sit there forever.. Coming in from a road on your left is often done badly. I join at  (or near) the speed limit watching the spacing carefully.  Nev

[nomadpete]

48 minutes ago, facthunter said:

I join at  (or near) the speed limit watching the spacing carefully.  Nev

Few seem capable of thinking that far ahead.

[old man emu]

I sin by driving in the right hand land of a stretch of overtaking lane - as long as there are no other vehicles about.

 

Simple reason: the semis, B-Doubles and road trains make ruts in the left hand lane. They don't use the right hand lane, so the road surface is "smoother". I had sort of "sports' suspension, so avoiding rough surfaces gives me a smoother ride.

[Marty_d]

If I'm driving at night and there's no traffic and clear sight lines, on the straight stretches I drive in the middle of the road.

Simple reason being it's the furthest point away from wallabies on both sides so more of a chance to avoid them if they decide to get suicidal.

[Jerry_Atrick]

I am going to go out on a limb, but as n ex-highway patrolman, OME is one of the more formally trained drivers on here. So I will defer to his better judgement on matters..

 

A long time ago - maybe 20 years, there was an editorial in The Age, where the author advocated, to save lives, the speed limit should be dropped to 50kph, everywhere. This was before there were 50kph limits and lower, I think. Her sole argument was that speed kills. This wasn't too much after I moved here, where, at the time, speed limits were really guides - at least on more open roads. I found this out on a drive from London to Swansea (to fly a De Havilland Vampire). Along the M4, which is the main 3 lane each way motorway to Wales, I steadfastly stuck to the 70mph limit. I was the slowest on the road, and when a little old lady overtook me, I decided it was time to enjoy the ride. On the way back, I got that little Pugeot 106 on a downhill bit up to 100mph and someone still overtook me. The average speed was about 80 - 85mph. 

 

And yes, I did drive at those speeds on the mototways, when traffic and weather conditions permitted, and leaned that the British drivers were far more situationally aware than their antipodean cousins when it came to driving. Also, they were incredibly considerate compared to those same antipodean cousins. They would move over to let you in (or, in urban/suburban roads, stop to let you out of a driveway or side street). 

 

When I did my motorcycle licence here, yes, if you spend even 1mph over the limit when you were tested, you would fail. But the training and the test was also about situational awareness, consideration, and getting on with it.. Don't dawdle, the road is full of others who want to get from a to b. This was a stark contrast to the learning I did in Melbourne, which was, apart from the not speeding, you can and should dawdle, and don't worry about other road users, that's their problem. 

 

Anyway, in response to this article, I did a bit of research and interesting, where the Europeans are far more speed demons, the only country that fared worse on any measure other than absolute road deaths and life changing injuries, Australia fared worse than all but France. Yes, even Italy was better than Aus. Whether these were per capita, per licensed/learner drivers/riders/etc, per registered vehicles, per miles driven,, Australia was miles behind most European countries (where, for many seat belts seem optional),  except Italy was a close third last, and France pipped us.  So, it is a lot more than just keep your bloody speed down. I recall the frustration I had with Melbourne drivers when I moved back there.  Mo dog, they were incredibly selfish, and largely unaware of their surroundings.. 

 

In the UK, they do enforce road laws, but it seems more about practical safety than what I consider ideological speed limits, probably designed as revenue raisers, which was even admitted as such by a Victorian minister of something or other.  Over here, you can still speed and not be pursued, as long as you are safe. But, even if you are under the limit, but dangerously driving, you will have the book chucked at you. Of course, we have speed cameras, but the fixed ones are very obvious. And yes, they are a bit more binary in their application. 

 

However, things have changed here. Even though, over the years, I  have mellowed,, and only do 75 - 80 max on the Motorways, but the driving here has got much worse. I am going to go right wing nut job, but particularly around London, where there is a high ratio of immigrants, as in "new" Brits, the driving is appalling compared to what it was. 

 

Anyway, @old man emu, what is your take on speeding.. Is a relentless pursuit of the speed limit that much safer, or what would you consider the higher priority road safety measures to take?

 

BTW, I did respond to the article in The Age with the facts and sources; I never got a response. 

[old man emu]

54 minutes ago, Jerry_Atrick said:

what is your take on speeding.

A seemingly simple question, but one whose answer is incredibly complex.

 

I think that Jerry has hit the nail on the head when he mentions "situational awareness", and consideration for others, which one could label as "courtesy".

 

A practical definition of "speeding" has to include a reference to the environment in which a vehicle is moving. The speed limit in a carpark, or service station forecourt is the same as that applying to the adjacent road. However, 10 - 15 kph in a carpark can be taken to be a dangerous speed (toddlers running away; vehicles reversing out of parking spots). A speed of 118 on a freeway with a speed limit of 110 is much less dangerous to others.

 

I believe that 100 kph is the correct limit for the open road, simply because it allows for good fuel consumption in most vehicles, as well as allowing for estimating arrival times at the next town. 

 

In urban areas, the frequent changes in speed limits is very distracting, especially if those changes are only of 10 kph. I'll accept 40 kph around schools and 50 kph in residential areas, then 60 and 80 on feeder and arterials. However I abhor 70 and 90 kph zones. 

 

As for a relentless policing of absolute adherence to speed limits, my opinion is that more acceptance of "herd mentality" should be made. What I mean by "herd mentality" is that when a platoon of vehicles is travelling along a road, the majority of drivers will travel at a speed which the consensus decides is "safe". That speed may be five to ten kph above the posted speed limit. It is the driver who tries to pass through the platoon and get further ahead who should be dealt with.

 

The greatest danger to others on our roads currently is intoxication as a result of substance abuse. Drugs, both legal and illegal are present in more people now than in the past. One result of RBT has been reducing the number of persons driving with blood alcohol concentrations above 0.180 grams of alcohol per 100 ml of blood (High Range PCA). There are still people driving drunk, but not as drunk as people were before RBT.

 

I repeat what I said in an earlier post - we need to recognise that operating a motor vehicle on a public road is as much a life skill to be introduced into the high school curriculum as being safe online, or dealing with interpersonal violence. Therefore, I say that driver education should be included as a part of the Physical, Health Education curriculum, even if that education only deals with the theory of motor vehicle operation.

[nomadpete]

The only thing I would add, OME, is that we really need to raise public awareness of the fact that driving a vehicle is NOT a universal right.

 

If our legislators REALLY want to reduce the road toll, introduce compulsory crushing of the vehicle for serious or repeated motoring offences.

 

No matter who owns the vehicle. Let the chips fall where they may.

Edited December 20 by nomadpete

[facthunter]

Don't PUNISH a good vehicle. Punish the driver.   Nev

[Jerry_Atrick]

A vehicle, even no longer in production can be reproduced

[facthunter]

Not really, Jerry MAY be able to  in theory but at great cost and much less value than the original, inevitably..   Nev

[nomadpete]

2 hours ago, facthunter said:

Not really, Jerry MAY be able to  in theory but at great cost and much less value than the original, inevitably..   Nev

Is the value of a couple of cars greater than the value of lives lost to careless drivers? Further, most owners of rare & collectabe cars don't lend them to careles hoons.

[spacesailor]

our highway   speed laws are only .IMHO. 

revenue raising

Just look at the $millions , both State and Federal  are racking in ! .

spacesailor

[old man emu]

4 hours ago, facthunter said:

Don't PUNISH a good vehicle. Punish the driver.   Nev

Neither the car nor the road caused the car to travel at an unacceptable speed. It was the driver. Punishment does have an effect on reasonable people, but there will always be a few unreasonable ones amongst us. I suggest that the punishment must include re-education, or in fact, education as well as penalties.

 

I also feel strongly that there should be a greater effort made to change the "book him, Danno" approach to law enforcement which is the culture of traffic law enforcement. Perhaps if Australian police adopted the British approach and only prosecuted the outrageous, but were prepared to do more waving of the angry finger at minor infractions, then perhaps overall compliance might be improved.

 

I have to agree with Spacey in that governments rely very heavily on income from traffic fines to meet other Budget requirements. Declining to issue On-the-Spot infringement notices is one of the best tactics police can use as a bargaining chip when trying to negotiate employment awards. A week's worth of income from fines would often meet the extra expenditure of pay rises.

[nomadpete]

I totally agree with changing the policing from fund raising, to cautions and friendly educating.

 

A long time ago I was so gratefilto a copper who stopped me, then said something like 'We both know that was a silly thing to do. I'm letting you off... this time"

 

I remember the lesson but I hardly recall anything that later coppers said when they booked me for similar stuff. I rarely get an infringement these days - but haven't had a caution since 1970.