While I was reading this article I had a growing feeling of “stupidity + stupidity + stupidity+…”
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1. Ambulance driver could have known that, at the time, the barrier normally is closed, so he could have avoided that street. Anyways, by common sense, you do not pass a school street at full speed while in emergency…
2. For safety, these barriers should have a code / card system to manually open it. This should be well known by emergency teams, like ambulances, police, firefighters…
3. In any case, if you see from the distance that the barrier is down when it should be up, do not engage! Just take the detour ASAP.
4. Ok, the barrier is broken down, but If I do recall well, the barrier does not cover all the street. There is one of those orange thin posts that bends, on the sidewalk. So the ambulance could have just passed over this thin post without breaking all the barrier.
5. and this is the most stupid of all:
>*Perhaps with the next school street we should think of another way to make the street safer (Alexandra Thienpont, mayor of Kortenberg)*
Really? Barriers are the safest systems for school streets. I wish they would be in many other schools. But what are you going to do, my dear mayor, remove it??? That is just like if when there is a malfunctioning traffic light, instead of repairing it, you start thinking about taking it out and “replacing it for somewhat safer”???
PS: Jokes apart, of course, all my respect for emergency services, that often have to take quick decisions under pleasure. They are not to blame, and I am sure that if it was a matter of live or death, they would have done whatever needed.
I just hope the town hall can ensure that the mechanism of the safety barriers work well. You really do not want it to block when not needed or to fall in your head when you are passing by…
PS2: Also, ensure that the mechanism in the mayors head works well…
The individualisation of driving rules per each town is getting plein stupid in this country. How inefficient can this get? Do we, as citizens, realise that we are paying for this inefficiency? Are we going to have to face tomorrow the whims of each towns mayor?
Ik weet de technische kant van de nummerplaatherkenning niet, maar ik kan me inbeelden waarom deze mogelijks niet gewerkt heeft:
– Nieuwe ambulances zoals de Sprinter op de afbeelding hebben een sterk retroreflecterende motorkap in fluo geel.
– Vele ambulances hebben als aanvulling op de blauwe zwaailichten koplampen die wit meeflitsen.
Misschien dat de camera hierdoor van slag is geraakt, en in dat geval moet men dat wel gaan incalculeren. De chauffeur kan er namelijk moeilijk aan denken om steeds de signalisatie uit te zetten.
Ditch the automated barrier and instead have local volunteers or your local beat cop (I mean “wijkagent”) or burgerwacht (the folks in the purple jackets) oversee traffic safety around the school during that one hour of the day. With a manually operated barrier if necessary.
This traffic situation could easily be solved with a sign but you can’t expect people in Belgium to both read and obey traffic signs
5 comments
While I was reading this article I had a growing feeling of “stupidity + stupidity + stupidity+…”
​
1. Ambulance driver could have known that, at the time, the barrier normally is closed, so he could have avoided that street. Anyways, by common sense, you do not pass a school street at full speed while in emergency…
2. For safety, these barriers should have a code / card system to manually open it. This should be well known by emergency teams, like ambulances, police, firefighters…
3. In any case, if you see from the distance that the barrier is down when it should be up, do not engage! Just take the detour ASAP.
4. Ok, the barrier is broken down, but If I do recall well, the barrier does not cover all the street. There is one of those orange thin posts that bends, on the sidewalk. So the ambulance could have just passed over this thin post without breaking all the barrier.
5. and this is the most stupid of all:
>*Perhaps with the next school street we should think of another way to make the street safer (Alexandra Thienpont, mayor of Kortenberg)*
Really? Barriers are the safest systems for school streets. I wish they would be in many other schools. But what are you going to do, my dear mayor, remove it??? That is just like if when there is a malfunctioning traffic light, instead of repairing it, you start thinking about taking it out and “replacing it for somewhat safer”???
PS: Jokes apart, of course, all my respect for emergency services, that often have to take quick decisions under pleasure. They are not to blame, and I am sure that if it was a matter of live or death, they would have done whatever needed.
I just hope the town hall can ensure that the mechanism of the safety barriers work well. You really do not want it to block when not needed or to fall in your head when you are passing by…
PS2: Also, ensure that the mechanism in the mayors head works well…
The individualisation of driving rules per each town is getting plein stupid in this country. How inefficient can this get? Do we, as citizens, realise that we are paying for this inefficiency? Are we going to have to face tomorrow the whims of each towns mayor?
Ik weet de technische kant van de nummerplaatherkenning niet, maar ik kan me inbeelden waarom deze mogelijks niet gewerkt heeft:
– Nieuwe ambulances zoals de Sprinter op de afbeelding hebben een sterk retroreflecterende motorkap in fluo geel.
– Vele ambulances hebben als aanvulling op de blauwe zwaailichten koplampen die wit meeflitsen.
Misschien dat de camera hierdoor van slag is geraakt, en in dat geval moet men dat wel gaan incalculeren. De chauffeur kan er namelijk moeilijk aan denken om steeds de signalisatie uit te zetten.
Ditch the automated barrier and instead have local volunteers or your local beat cop (I mean “wijkagent”) or burgerwacht (the folks in the purple jackets) oversee traffic safety around the school during that one hour of the day. With a manually operated barrier if necessary.
This traffic situation could easily be solved with a sign but you can’t expect people in Belgium to both read and obey traffic signs