CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Debate!

Two Odd Driving-Related Notices/Signs

(15 posts)
  • Started 13 years ago by Wilmington's Cow
  • Latest reply from splitshift

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  1. Wilmington's Cow
    Member

    Two things I've seen recently that I keep meaning to get a photo of but failing.

    1. Tom Tom Billboard Advert

    "You are not in traffic. You are traffic" Great message, especially when allied to the 'Break Free' tagline. Except the 'Break Free' doesn't mean getting out of your car (this is an ad for an in-car satnav of course) but rather get a Tom Tom so you can find the routes without traffic so you can take that instead, thereby, presumably, creating traffic.

    2. Sticker on Royal Mail vans

    "This vehicle is limited to 70mph for environmental reasons" What about legal reasons what with being the fastest any vehicle is techically allowed to go on the roads in the UK? Even more meaningless on those citylimited vans...

    Posted 13 years ago #

  2. kaputnik
    Moderator

    You are not in traffic. You are traffic

    I saw this today on a billboard at Roseburn! You're toughts were exactly the same as mine and it really annoyed me. I thought "I've definitely got to get back here with the camera".

    Posted 13 years ago #

  3. Wilmington's Cow
    Member

    I'm glad I'm not the only one. I was on the vertge of writing a sarcastic letter to the Tom Tom people and their advertising agency...

    Posted 13 years ago #

  4. spitfire
    Member

    "you can take that instead, thereby, presumably, creating traffic."

    No, how can you cerate traffic when you already are traffic? clone yourself and car

    Traffic would be eased if someone people took alternative routes

    Noun

    traffic (uncountable)

    1. Pedestrians or vehicles on roads, or the flux or passage thereof.

    Posted 13 years ago #

  5. Min
    Member

    "You are not in traffic. You are traffic"

    Well it compliments all other car advertising where 
    smiley happy people drive very fast around completely deserted 
    streets or country roads whilst gazing out of the side window 
    and not looking where they are going. Your new car cannot 
    deliver this ideal but Tom Tom can. Apart from all the other 
    people who have one which is where it falls down.

    Posted 13 years ago #

  6. Wilmington's Cow
    Member

    I was thinking about it from the perspective of the average driver. Despite Tom Tom telling them they are traffic the 'Break Free' message is the one that will sink in, i.e. break from from the traffic.

    By taking themselves to a different route then presumably they are creating more traffic in that different route where there was less traffic before. Then the route they have vacated (which, yes, will have seen the traffic ease) will show up on Tom Tom as a clear route and more traffic, equipped with Tom Tom, will fill up the gap left by those who went to create traffic elsewhere...

    It's sort of like a time travel paradox. If it was paradoxical. And involved time travel.

    Posted 13 years ago #

  7. chdot
    Admin

    "This vehicle is limited to 70mph for environmental reasons"

    I saw one yesterday (not RM) with 50.

    Posted 13 years ago #

  8. Wilmington's Cow
    Member

    I can imagine subversive climate change denying drivers sitting at 50 in 2nd gear...

    Posted 13 years ago #

  9. chdot
    Admin

    "message is the one that will sink in, i.e. break from from the traffic."

    Perhaps, though the idea that TT will - in 'real' time - know where all the traffic free roads are (and they are telling everyone else with a TT), won't fool anyone.

    "Well it compliments all other car advertising where smiley happy people drive very fast around completely deserted streets or country roads"

    Ah yes, perhaps advertising works...

    Posted 13 years ago #

  10. wingpig
    Member

    Ideally, TomTom et al would feed information back up from the vehicles in which their units are installed(along with accumulated driving style-and-capability statistics) so that some sort of fancy centralised multi-navigational-tool-supplier datacentre could intelligently route individual drivers along different paths depending where they wanted to go, how many other people were simultaneously trying to do the same and how likely each particular driver would be to drive sensibly on a minor-road alternative route. It's all very well being able to determine an alternative route based purely on static mapping data but doing so dynamically in response to real-time demand and conditions would be much more effective in spreading things around sufficiently to ensure things kept moving.

    Posted 13 years ago #

  11. spitfire
    Member

    @wingpig - why stop there? go one step further and have the TT Device do the steering and accelerator Minority Report style, then the people that like to do their make up or talk on the phone or read books and news papers could do so happily...

    Posted 13 years ago #

  12. LaidBack
    Member

    min Your new car cannot deliver this ideal but Tom Tom can. Apart from all the other people who have one which is where it falls down.

    Yes... all part of 'one-upmanship' to give people the illusion that they're in control. Wonder if Tom Tom helped anyone avoid the M8 event last week?
    The weather question will now justify all sorts of extras and changes to how people travel. Friends I know have got rid of one of their two cars and now have a small 4x4. They found it very useful in the streets of Currie.

    So society is trying to downsize with small cars but... climate problems make people think they require more 'power' (well better grip maybe?).

    On a side note I wonder how much C02 has been generated trying to defrost Heathrow?? FOI should provide answer

    Posted 13 years ago #

  13. spitfire
    Member

    @Laidback - send an FOI to BAA to calculate it!

    (eat me Spam Fritter, I hope you get heartburn)

    Posted 13 years ago #

  14. LaidBack
    Member

    Well worth asking. BAA are proud of their efficient use of energy so they have nothing to hide!

    In fact by keeping planes on the ground they may well have been greener than normal!

    Posted 13 years ago #

  15. splitshift
    Member

    saw a sticker on the back of a 747, this vehicle is limited to 600mph...........ok i didnt, most vehicles are limited, via the computers, not the drivers to increase fuell efficiency,hence save money, not the planet !.....still cynical. !Allows you to spot most of the cowboy truckers that flash past at 62,63 mph. Supposed to be legally set at max 60, but tricks with low profile tyres can overcome that. Extra 2 miles per hour, extra 20miles in a 10 hour day,extra 45 miles a week,extra 180 miles per month,extra 1900miles a year. If you get paid by the mile then it starts to seem worth it !......still cynical !

    Posted 13 years ago #

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