But officer, it said to turn around immediately. . .
At the risk of stating the bleeding obvious, things are a little dicey at the moment. The country is deeply embroiled in a wider European financial morass, the architects of which we still don’t have the courage to tell to sod off. There have been riots on the streets that had no focus other than to loot and destroy as the social engineering project of the last 25 years has spectacularly blown up. In the Middle East our troops continue to be killed in countries where we have imposed ‘democracy’ as the populations in other states rise up and take it back whether we like it or not, even if the people who were heading those countries up are like, our mates, and the sabres are being rattled with great gusto over the movement of oil through the Straits of Hormuz.
However, all of this pales into insignificance in the face of. . .
. . . wait for it. . .
. . . people who don’t update the maps on their sat-nav systems!
Yes, so comprehensive a handle and solution does the government have to all our many and varied problems that they’ve found time to hold a summit on a navigation system:
Good God, in their tiny little minds they really think there’s nothing they can’t sort out. Never mind the fact the track record of any area of life that any government has gotten involved in is one of total and abject failure. This is important dammit.
In October, Bruton high street in Somerset was shut for 24 hours after a lorry became wedged in a narrow street.
And yes, dear reader, only the government can help. Heaven forbid that the lorry driver should look out of his windscreen and see the sign warning about how narrow the street is. Oh no, it’s not his fault, it’s the fault of the satnav. Here comes SuperGov!
“It is vital highway authorities, mapping companies and sat-nav manufacturers work more closely together to provide drivers with accurate, up-to-date information on traffic restrictions such as narrow roads or low bridges.
It’s good business practice to do this, nobody wants an out of date TomTom, but if you don’t connect it to your pooter once in a while. . .
“This will help prevent huge lorries from being sent down inappropriate roads and ensure motorists are given the best possible directions.”
A cheaper way is for the driver, and if he’s driving an HGV the chances are he’s a professional driver, to look at the signs on the road. How to ensure they do this? Well, you could, you know, charge them with driving without due care and attention if they go down a narrow road when signs suggest that they won’t fit. I’ve been led astray by my sat-nav before now, and I’ve always avoided disaster by thinking to myself ‘hmmmm, this doesn’t look right’, retracing my route back to a main road and allowing the system to plot a new course, on occasion I’ve even consulted a map or, more shockingly, asked for directions. An HGV driver en route to an industrial estate would perhaps not expect to be driving down a 5′ wide street, would they? Take enough licences away and the message will get out quick enough.
But no, we have to have a ‘summit’ with ministers and civil servants, probably demanding that the sat-nav companies shell out some fairly hefty chunk of cash.
Aren’t politicians wonderful?