Saturday, March 14, 2009

To Do a Very Hard Thing

With a few recent accidents at open level crossings between trains and various road vehicles there's been quite a bit of stuff on the news about how one should not ignore or try to race the lights on a railway crossing. There's also been a pretty busy schedule of community service announcements based along the same theme.

It's probably those things that made it so hard this week when I came up to the flashing lights on the crossing and a man in a fluoro jacket waved me across.

I didn't want to do it.

Didn't he know that crossing against the flashing red lights is bad?

Couldn't he understand that I am programmed to comprehend and obey all traffic control devices?

But how much did I want to stay waiting for the lights to change with a growing line of traffic behind me?

... Approximately None

And yes, this piece of inane rubbish is about the only thing that was remotely bloggable during the last week. My life is very, very sad.

11 comments:

Long dark hair, blue eyes said...

yes that is kind of ingrained isn't it. I would have trouble with that too.

Swift Jan said...

I once went through a rail crossing whilst the light was flashing... I had absolutely not realised it was indeed flashing!!! Thankfully it was not a train going past, just one of those little rail car things. He honked me good though..... I had a mild heart attack & am now very wary at that particular [hardly ever used] rail crossing!!

Anonymous said...

So - how do you judge if the man is a fluro wearing impostering maniac wanting to see a train wreck - or not?

Anonymous said...

So - how do you judge if the man is a fluro wearing impostering maniac wanting to see a train wreck - or not?

Anonymous said...

So - how do you judge if the man is a fluro wearing impostering maniac wanting to see a train wreck - or not?

Anonymous said...

So - how do you judge if the man is a fluro wearing impostering maniac wanting to see a train wreck - or not?

Anonymous said...

So - how do you judge if the man is a fluro wearing impostering maniac wanting to see a train wreck - or not?

Anonymous said...

So - how do you judge if the man is a fluro wearing impostering maniac wanting to see a train wreck - or not?

Femina said...

I HATE it when people change the road rules on me, like when people give way to you when they're the ones with right of way. I fear they're going to let me go then change their minds and plough into me. The police would never believe my story!

Hippomanic Jen said...

I had not considered that the man in the fluoro jacket might have been trying to create a train wreck. Thanks, Rhubarb, for that comforting thought.

Kitty and Glen said...

That would be quite scary to come across, because you don't want to fight your natural instinct in cases like this! My driving instructor told me to always check both ways on the railway line when going through a level crossing, just in case the lights/barrier are broken, and I still do, even after 12 years of driving. It's a good habit to get into!