The tyranny of self-appointed guardians of everyone else
Discussion
I wrote an article on road safety. Despite having a good idea of the facts I would use I looked for any recent research and found some from a number of universities from around the world, including Canada, Australia and various European countries. I learned something new and was able to write a fairly long article which I could support with references.
I forgot one thing. One vital thing. The client realised this and had it checked by a self appointed quango on road safety. They reckoned I was wrong. Or rather, the universities were wrong, the ones who did all th evidenced research.
My client is a bit miffed - and quite rightly as I should have checked. He knows the article is spot on but if it disagrees with the beliefs of this quango then I am wrong as it could have meant that his company would have been subjected to a deal of criticism.
It was a mistake on my behalf - I've done this sort of work for long enough to know that - but what this means is that the findings of universities are now worthless.
Some of my anger is because I made a basic error and put my client (hopefully still my client) at risk. I know, of course, that having evidence is not enough.
It is playing politics with road safety.
I've got to rewrite the article, resubmit it, but not before checking through the annuls of this charity to ensure I haven't said anything right which would be wrong to include.
I forgot one thing. One vital thing. The client realised this and had it checked by a self appointed quango on road safety. They reckoned I was wrong. Or rather, the universities were wrong, the ones who did all th evidenced research.
My client is a bit miffed - and quite rightly as I should have checked. He knows the article is spot on but if it disagrees with the beliefs of this quango then I am wrong as it could have meant that his company would have been subjected to a deal of criticism.
It was a mistake on my behalf - I've done this sort of work for long enough to know that - but what this means is that the findings of universities are now worthless.
Some of my anger is because I made a basic error and put my client (hopefully still my client) at risk. I know, of course, that having evidence is not enough.
It is playing politics with road safety.
I've got to rewrite the article, resubmit it, but not before checking through the annuls of this charity to ensure I haven't said anything right which would be wrong to include.
They are not the first and will not the last body to put their interests and beliefs before quantitative research. It matters not,as in the long run,the truth will out. Don't rewrite it, keep it safe. You never know, one day you may well get to tell the truth about the truth and the truth about the agenda of the quango.
"Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victim may be the most oppressive. It may be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron’s cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated, but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience"
C S Lewis
C S Lewis
The article was on tiredness and I included all the caveats about not driving when tired, know your limits and such. I enjoyed writing it and, as I said, I learnt something new and the research was interesting. Times like that writing is a sinecure. But, it seems, the research on stimulants is 'wrong' because it suggests that stimulants work.
Well, the point is that stimulants do work. If you take caffeine in moderate doses after driving for a certain period, your driving will be identical to that of when you were fresh. There is a suggestion that it will actually be better, but whilst the data is statistically significant it might be due to other circumstances.
So if you are driving for 3 hours, then having a coffee after 2 hours, or chocolate, or coffee beans, whatever, can improve your driving.
Another point was that setting yourself tests can help. Talking to a passenger can help. Talking to yourself can help. Having an imaginary conversation with someone next to you can help (don't do this if there are passengers in the back seat, or at least without warning them). But these methods, because they don't include drugs I suppose, didn't trigger a response.
I stopped at motorway services and was approached by a young chap who asked for a lift. I said: I'll enjoy someone to talk with.
Almost by the end of the slipway he was asleep. I nudged him and told him that the reason I picked him up was for conversation. He said: I'm tired' I said: I've just driven from Chester (Lymm) and I'm tired as well. That's the point.
He said: Tough and curled up on my, MY, passenger seat and tried to sleep. I stopped at the next services and told him to get out. He refused. I told him that, as he stank of cannabis, I could search him and then the local police (I was nearish to Oxford) could have the job.
I tell you what, that woke me up. I kept thinking of different ways I could have dealt with the situation.
Well, the point is that stimulants do work. If you take caffeine in moderate doses after driving for a certain period, your driving will be identical to that of when you were fresh. There is a suggestion that it will actually be better, but whilst the data is statistically significant it might be due to other circumstances.
So if you are driving for 3 hours, then having a coffee after 2 hours, or chocolate, or coffee beans, whatever, can improve your driving.
Another point was that setting yourself tests can help. Talking to a passenger can help. Talking to yourself can help. Having an imaginary conversation with someone next to you can help (don't do this if there are passengers in the back seat, or at least without warning them). But these methods, because they don't include drugs I suppose, didn't trigger a response.
I stopped at motorway services and was approached by a young chap who asked for a lift. I said: I'll enjoy someone to talk with.
Almost by the end of the slipway he was asleep. I nudged him and told him that the reason I picked him up was for conversation. He said: I'm tired' I said: I've just driven from Chester (Lymm) and I'm tired as well. That's the point.
He said: Tough and curled up on my, MY, passenger seat and tried to sleep. I stopped at the next services and told him to get out. He refused. I told him that, as he stank of cannabis, I could search him and then the local police (I was nearish to Oxford) could have the job.
I tell you what, that woke me up. I kept thinking of different ways I could have dealt with the situation.
Derek Smith said:
I stopped at motorway services and was approached by a young chap who asked for a lift. I said: I'll enjoy someone to talk with.
Almost by the end of the slipway he was asleep. I nudged him and told him that the reason I picked him up was for conversation. He said: I'm tired' I said: I've just driven from Chester (Lymm) and I'm tired as well. That's the point.
He said: Tough and curled up on my, MY, passenger seat and tried to sleep. I stopped at the next services and told him to get out. He refused. I told him that, as he stank of cannabis, I could search him and then the local police (I was nearish to Oxford) could have the job.
I tell you what, that woke me up. I kept thinking of different ways I could have dealt with the situation.
Picking him up actually did what you intended then, in a roundabout way!Almost by the end of the slipway he was asleep. I nudged him and told him that the reason I picked him up was for conversation. He said: I'm tired' I said: I've just driven from Chester (Lymm) and I'm tired as well. That's the point.
He said: Tough and curled up on my, MY, passenger seat and tried to sleep. I stopped at the next services and told him to get out. He refused. I told him that, as he stank of cannabis, I could search him and then the local police (I was nearish to Oxford) could have the job.
I tell you what, that woke me up. I kept thinking of different ways I could have dealt with the situation.
toohuge said:
Catweazle said:
Publish and be damned.
I agree. Surely complying with these with an agenda is only making them stronger....The post was a rant, but I don't see that my client should risk his company.
Derek,
Serious point. When I write "company car driver's handbook" for customers, I included a "no hitch hikers" rule. For 2 reasons.
1. I have known 2 cases of hitch hikers just going mental after being picked up, maybe on drugs or just with mental health issues. One of them grabbed the wheel and cause a major accident.
2. Even if the hitch hiker is perfectly decent, if you have an accident, you have an unnecessary passenger and someone else to make an injury claim against the driver (employer's fleet insurance).
There's research out there to show that hitch hikers have about average levels of issues with drink / drugs/ mental heath issues and also research to show hitch hikers are more likely to make an injury claim if involved in an accident.
And before any hitch hikers come on here and go crazy, I know this isn't always the case, and I know many in the motor trade hitch hike on a regular basis after delivering vehicles etc. But you ain't being picked up by any of my clients I'm afraid.
Serious point. When I write "company car driver's handbook" for customers, I included a "no hitch hikers" rule. For 2 reasons.
1. I have known 2 cases of hitch hikers just going mental after being picked up, maybe on drugs or just with mental health issues. One of them grabbed the wheel and cause a major accident.
2. Even if the hitch hiker is perfectly decent, if you have an accident, you have an unnecessary passenger and someone else to make an injury claim against the driver (employer's fleet insurance).
There's research out there to show that hitch hikers have about average levels of issues with drink / drugs/ mental heath issues and also research to show hitch hikers are more likely to make an injury claim if involved in an accident.
And before any hitch hikers come on here and go crazy, I know this isn't always the case, and I know many in the motor trade hitch hike on a regular basis after delivering vehicles etc. But you ain't being picked up by any of my clients I'm afraid.
toohuge said:
Catweazle said:
Publish and be damned.
I agree. Surely complying with these with an agenda is only making them stronger....If want to whinge, do something about it and either go public or refuse to re-write it. Imagine now a lobby group with an opposing agenda gets hold of your document and makes public that you are unethical, untrustworthy and are part of the same system you're complaining about? And they will have university research to back them up.
I'd rather side with the facts and keep my integrity. Its a more commercially sound policy for the long term also, IMO.
TwigtheWonderkid said:
Derek,
Serious point. When I write "company car driver's handbook" for customers, I included a "no hitch hikers" rule. For 2 reasons.
1. I have known 2 cases of hitch hikers just going mental after being picked up, maybe on drugs or just with mental health issues. One of them grabbed the wheel and cause a major accident.
2. Even if the hitch hiker is perfectly decent, if you have an accident, you have an unnecessary passenger and someone else to make an injury claim against the driver (employer's fleet insurance).
There's research out there to show that hitch hikers have about average levels of issues with drink / drugs/ mental heath issues and also research to show hitch hikers are more likely to make an injury claim if involved in an accident.
And before any hitch hikers come on here and go crazy, I know this isn't always the case, and I know many in the motor trade hitch hike on a regular basis after delivering vehicles etc. But you ain't being picked up by any of my clients I'm afraid.
Point taken. It was on impulse. I was driving a 998cc car without a radio and I was worried that my concentration might slip.Serious point. When I write "company car driver's handbook" for customers, I included a "no hitch hikers" rule. For 2 reasons.
1. I have known 2 cases of hitch hikers just going mental after being picked up, maybe on drugs or just with mental health issues. One of them grabbed the wheel and cause a major accident.
2. Even if the hitch hiker is perfectly decent, if you have an accident, you have an unnecessary passenger and someone else to make an injury claim against the driver (employer's fleet insurance).
There's research out there to show that hitch hikers have about average levels of issues with drink / drugs/ mental heath issues and also research to show hitch hikers are more likely to make an injury claim if involved in an accident.
And before any hitch hikers come on here and go crazy, I know this isn't always the case, and I know many in the motor trade hitch hike on a regular basis after delivering vehicles etc. But you ain't being picked up by any of my clients I'm afraid.
Oddly enough, I have a little story on giving lifts:
I'd nicked two little scroats one evening, around 6pm, in another force area. At first the local police weren't interested but it started to escalate, with lots of expensive property, and CID took it over.
After a busy night I was driving home, towards Blackwall Tunnel, when I saw the pair of them walking along East India Dock Road thumbing. I thought; Why not? and picked them up. I asked them about their own evening and they told me what had happened to them. I got some honest feedback. But the odd thing was, they didn't recognise me. Fair enough, I'd changed out of uniform.
mattley said:
"Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victim may be the most oppressive. It may be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron’s cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated, but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience"
C S Lewis
Which is somewhat ironic given old C S was a Christian apologist. C S Lewis
Derek Smith said:
The article was on tiredness and I included all the caveats about not driving when tired, know your limits and such. I enjoyed writing it and, as I said, I learnt something new and the research was interesting. Times like that writing is a sinecure. But, it seems, the research on stimulants is 'wrong' because it suggests that stimulants work.
Well, the point is that stimulants do work. If you take caffeine in moderate doses after driving for a certain period, your driving will be identical to that of when you were fresh. There is a suggestion that it will actually be better, but whilst the data is statistically significant it might be due to other circumstances.
So if you are driving for 3 hours, then having a coffee after 2 hours, or chocolate, or coffee beans, whatever, can improve your driving.
Another point was that setting yourself tests can help. Talking to a passenger can help. Talking to yourself can help. Having an imaginary conversation with someone next to you can help (don't do this if there are passengers in the back seat, or at least without warning them). But these methods, because they don't include drugs I suppose, didn't trigger a response.
I stopped at motorway services and was approached by a young chap who asked for a lift. I said: I'll enjoy someone to talk with.
Almost by the end of the slipway he was asleep. I nudged him and told him that the reason I picked him up was for conversation. He said: I'm tired' I said: I've just driven from Chester (Lymm) and I'm tired as well. That's the point.
He said: Tough and curled up on my, MY, passenger seat and tried to sleep. I stopped at the next services and told him to get out. He refused. I told him that, as he stank of cannabis, I could search him and then the local police (I was nearish to Oxford) could have the job.
I tell you what, that woke me up. I kept thinking of different ways I could have dealt with the situation.
IIRC either Top Gear / 5th Gear pulled an article on drink driving when they found that levels in excess of the legal threshold actually made racing drivers faster round a test circuit - up to a point.Well, the point is that stimulants do work. If you take caffeine in moderate doses after driving for a certain period, your driving will be identical to that of when you were fresh. There is a suggestion that it will actually be better, but whilst the data is statistically significant it might be due to other circumstances.
So if you are driving for 3 hours, then having a coffee after 2 hours, or chocolate, or coffee beans, whatever, can improve your driving.
Another point was that setting yourself tests can help. Talking to a passenger can help. Talking to yourself can help. Having an imaginary conversation with someone next to you can help (don't do this if there are passengers in the back seat, or at least without warning them). But these methods, because they don't include drugs I suppose, didn't trigger a response.
I stopped at motorway services and was approached by a young chap who asked for a lift. I said: I'll enjoy someone to talk with.
Almost by the end of the slipway he was asleep. I nudged him and told him that the reason I picked him up was for conversation. He said: I'm tired' I said: I've just driven from Chester (Lymm) and I'm tired as well. That's the point.
He said: Tough and curled up on my, MY, passenger seat and tried to sleep. I stopped at the next services and told him to get out. He refused. I told him that, as he stank of cannabis, I could search him and then the local police (I was nearish to Oxford) could have the job.
I tell you what, that woke me up. I kept thinking of different ways I could have dealt with the situation.
Derek Smith said:
Point taken. It was on impulse. I was driving a 998cc car without a radio and I was worried that my concentration might slip.
Oddly enough, I have a little story on giving lifts:
I'd nicked two little scroats one evening, around 6pm, in another force area. At first the local police weren't interested but it started to escalate, with lots of expensive property, and CID took it over.
After a busy night I was driving home, towards Blackwall Tunnel, when I saw the pair of them walking along East India Dock Road thumbing. I thought; Why not? and picked them up. I asked them about their own evening and they told me what had happened to them. I got some honest feedback. But the odd thing was, they didn't recognise me. Fair enough, I'd changed out of uniform.
I like that. Out of interest, was the feedback informative? Did it tell you anything you didn't know about how you worked, or how you came across doing the job? (If that sounds loaded, that's not the intention)Oddly enough, I have a little story on giving lifts:
I'd nicked two little scroats one evening, around 6pm, in another force area. At first the local police weren't interested but it started to escalate, with lots of expensive property, and CID took it over.
After a busy night I was driving home, towards Blackwall Tunnel, when I saw the pair of them walking along East India Dock Road thumbing. I thought; Why not? and picked them up. I asked them about their own evening and they told me what had happened to them. I got some honest feedback. But the odd thing was, they didn't recognise me. Fair enough, I'd changed out of uniform.
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