{"id":8089,"date":"2017-11-24T06:58:47","date_gmt":"2017-11-23T20:58:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.privatefleet.com.au\/blog\/?p=8089"},"modified":"2023-08-22T21:23:25","modified_gmt":"2023-08-22T11:23:25","slug":"a-wee-rant-about-road-works","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.privatefleet.com.au\/blog\/driving\/a-wee-rant-about-road-works\/","title":{"rendered":"A Wee Rant About Road Works"},"content":{"rendered":"
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I’ll slow down… if there really are road works ahead.<\/p><\/div>\n

Yes, yes, I know that roads need to be repaired regularly so they stay safe to drive on.\u00a0 I also know that we need to keep the guys and girls working on the roads safe and that we shouldn\u2019t just roar through road works at our usual speed.\u00a0 However, there are times when seeing those \u201croad works ahead\u201d signs up ahead really makes me see red.<\/p>\n

I particularly see red when I\u2019m on my pushbike and the road works people have decided the bike lane is the best place to put out their warning signs, forcing me to either nip into the main stream of the traffic or onto the footpath.\u00a0 However, there are times that even when I\u2019m behind the wheel of a car that those road works signs arouse my ire.<\/p>\n

Not that I\u2019m complaining about the road works themselves. \u00a0I don\u2019t mind slowing down when something\u2019s actually going on or there really is something I need to take care with \u2013 lots of busy people, a single lane or stacks of loose gravel.\u00a0 If there\u2019s one of those traffic controllers with a stop\/go sign on a pole, I\u2019ll give them a friendly smile and wave, or even say hello if I\u2019m close enough \u2013 after all, traffic controlling work is one of the most mind-bogglingly boring jobs out there, although it\u2019s probably better than it was 25 years ago, seeing as one could now probably listen to a podcast or audiobook on the smartphone through one ear.\u00a0 And I\u2019d much rather see a real human employed for traffic control duty than one of those temporary traffic lights that keeps going at night and will hold up a huge line of cars for no reason whatsoever thanks to its internal programming.<\/p>\n

The problem happens when the road works warning signs are the only type of road works out there.<\/p>\n

You know how this scenario goes.\u00a0 You\u2019re travelling along and you see one of those temporary warning signs on the road up ahead of you, so you slow down. However, as you get closer to where the signs are, what do you see?\u00a0 Do you see bulldozers and bitumen mixers?\u00a0 Do you see sweaty guys in high-viz with power tools jackhammering the road surface open?\u00a0 Is there a massive hole in the road or similar amusements?<\/p>\n

Nope.\u00a0 The only thing that you can see is maybe a single road cone marking where the road works have been\u2026 and beside that sits a tiny little patch of loose gravel over where they\u2019ve repaired a pothole. Alternatively, all you can see is a few spraypainted marks where they\u2019re going to repair something.\u00a0 Or possibly, there\u2019s a half-done kerb on the side of the road that they\u2019re going to finish off when it\u2019s stopped raining or when the weekend is over.\u00a0 Or the road works are taking place on a side road that intersects with the road you\u2019re driving on (but don\u2019t affect the road you\u2019re driving on, except indirectly).<\/p>\n

You have to ask yourself sometimes: are the warning signs the first things that they put up before beginning a job and the last things they take away?\u00a0 Honestly, I\u2019m convinced that the road signs go up as soon as they\u2019ve decided to fix something on the road and stay there until they\u2019ve finished the paperwork to sign the job off after it\u2019s done.<\/p>\n

And then they wonder why people don\u2019t like to slow down when they see those signs.\u00a0 Haven\u2019t they all heard the fable of the boy who cried wolf?\u00a0 You\u2019d think that they\u2019re trying to condition us to ignore the road signs. I know for one that my reaction upon seeing those road signs is \u201cWhat road works where?\u201d I\u2019m probably not the only one who gets into the very bad habit of not quite slowing down to the temporary speed limit when seeing these signs.<\/p>\n

Dear road workers, us drivers appreciate all your hard work, we really do, and we don\u2019t want to put you in danger.\u00a0 However, you guys need to do your bit.\u00a0 Let\u2019s do a deal: you put the warning signs up when you\u2019re actually working on the road, not three weeks beforehand, take them down when you\u2019re finished and maybe even lay them facedown during the weekend if the road isn\u2019t actually hazardous.\u00a0 It can\u2019t take you that long to put them up and take them down. In return, we\u2019ll pay much more attention to the signs and really will slow down to 80, 50 or 30 as the case may be, and we\u2019ll probably be nicer to you when we drive past.<\/p>\n

Particularly annoying road works signs I have seen over the years (with specific locations removed) include:<\/p>\n