Know Your Enemy 3: The Pinball Wizard
"Ever since I was a young boy
I’ve played the silver ball
From Soho down to Brighton
I must have played them all
But I ain’t seen nothing like him
In any amusement hall
That deaf, dumb and blind kid
Sure plays a mean pinball"
I’ve nothing against the deaf, dumb, and blind (Some of my best friends etc…). But I do question the wisdom of letting them drive solo:
Here’s another one - scroll forward to 3:55 for the over-the-bonnet action:
And another one:
Yep - all these drivers must be deaf, dumb & blind. What other possible excuse could there be for the phrase, "Sorry Mate, I Didn’t See You" (SMIDSY) ?
Given that people will drive like this, what can YOU do about it though? It’s not as if the UK has anything like a traffic-free bicycle infrastructure, so sooner or later you’re going to take to the road, where you have to do the driving for every other vehicle out there:
- Be aware of every other vehicle on the road. Ride as if you have your own personal bodyguard around you - anyone crossing the perimeter is a threat. That perimeter gets wider the faster you / the traffic is moving.
- Make eye contact.
- Assume that every other driver (and pedestrian and person riding a bike!) is a total moron, likely to do something unpredictable at any moment.
- Do everything you can to keep out of blind / partial blind spots. That means keeping well out from the kerb - somewhere around just under a metre from the road’s edge under normal conditions.
