Posted on 11/03/2013 3:30:59 AM PST by LD Jackson
It's odd, the places from which I draw inspiration for my writings. I was driving with my wife yesterday, looking for a black powder rifle to buy, and happened to come across a road sign. It is a sign I have seen countless times before, but it struck me for some reason yesterday. It was a warning a few hundred yards before I crossed a bridge, making sure I understood that the bridge may ice in cold weather.
I have nothing against such signs and they do serve the purpose to make sure drivers are warned about the possible dangers of the road conditions in cold weather. My first reaction when I read the sign, however, was duh, of course the bridge may ice in cold weather. Anyone with a brain knows that. From there, my thoughts started wondering in a different direction.
I used to work in a manufacturing plant where we assembled floor cleaning equipment. Floor scrubbers, polishers, sanders, steam cleaners, etc. If it had something to do with a floor, we probably built it. The assembly line had several different stations where different sections of the equipment was assembled and shoved down the line to the next station. One of the jobs performed by the last station on the line was to place warning labels on the machine. These warning labels were to make sure that anyone operating the machine knew what could happen, should they become entangled in the single or dual brushes turning at 2400 RPMs. There were also warnings to make sure the operator knew of the dangers of an electrical short, should the power cord become torn and expose open electrical wires. The machines that operated on batteries had warnings about the dangers of battery acid and what could happen, were the machine to get loose from the operator. Serious injury could result.
I often laughed openly at this warnings, wondering aloud just how silly they were. I was told by the higher-ups in the company that they were required by their legal department, to prevent frivolous lawsuits from being brought against the company. Looking back on that, prompted by the road sign yesterday, I started thinking about the different warning labels we see today. They come in all different shapes and sizes.
Our mattresses contain warning labels, Open the hood of any new car or truck and you will see a warning label, telling someone of the dangers of a hot engine. Open the operating manual of a cell phone and you have to read several pages of warnings, in more than one language, before you get to the actual operation of your device. A knife will contain a warning that the blade may be sharp. It's beyond ridiculous.
As a society, have we descended into a place where we have to be told of every danger that may present itself in our daily lives? Surely, anyone who has used a knife before knows it may be sharp. That's the purpose of having a knife, to cut things with a sharp object. Are we to the point that we have to be warned of that? If so, how have we moved to that place. I would contend it is because the idea of personal responsibility is almost non-existent, either in our country, or in the world itself. No one wants to be responsible for the actions they take.
Remember the lawsuit that was brought against McDonald's because their coffee was too hot? They had to pay an undisclosed amount of money because Stella Liebeck wasn't careful when opening the cup of coffee she had just purchased. The jury found that the coffee was defective because it was served too hot. No personal responsibility was taken by Liebeck because of her carelessness when removing the top of the cup to add her cream and sugar.
This is just one example. It could be used for the basis of a post about lawsuits that should have never been filed, but that's another topic. My point is that no one wants to take personal responsibility for their actions. The lawyers who make up the legal departments of businesses know this. Thus, they require the warning labels to make sure consumers are aware that the product they are about to use, sleep on, etc., could possible cause harm or bodily damage in some shape, form, or fashion.
Going back to the road sign that prompted me on this path of thought, anyone who has driven any in cold weather knows that bridges will always be icy before the surface of the road. It's the laws of nature. Having the warning signs is not necessarily a bad thing. In fact, they serves the purpose of warning drivers who may be distracted or otherwise not paying attention to their surroundings. I am in no way advocating for the removal of such signs, but I do believe it is indicative of our society that we have to be warned that a bridge may ice in cold weather.
Look around you. There are warning signs and labels everywhere you look. Who knew we were all in such peril? I'm surprised our forefathers made it past the Declaration of Independence without a warning that it could cause serious bodily harm.
One warning label which I would like to see in every voting booth in the country would post a label showing Hiroshima and Detroit in 1945 and today with a warning that continuous Democrat rule would do more long term damage than a nuclear blast.
Probably cuz some one hit one and the libs in the area(local gov) thought it would help but the biggest reason is it made THEM feel good
We moved from South Florida to North Carolina. I always figured they put those signs up for Floridiots because we really didn’t know bridges iced before roads. LOL
I would second that. It’s pretty silly, when you stop and think about it.
I appreciate those bridge warnings. If you are on an unfamiliar road, you may not even realize you are on a bridge until your car is sideways at 65mph.
Imagine driving around with the Sunshield in Place!
Of course, it is a great substitute for a tin-foil hat! LOL!
We needed a national billboard in 2007 that stated:
Warning: Voting for a black liberation racist, muslim, marxist gaylord may lead to the destruction of the United States of America and engulf the world in an evil shroud”.
CC
How about the “Caution:Low-flying Aircraft” signs? What are you supposed to do, duck?
We’ve got some signs that say:
‘road conditions may change’
They need to define “cold weather”.
They should also stop putting up signs that say “Slow Children at Play”. It’s an insult to mentally handicapped children.
How about the sign “No Dogs Except Seeing Eye Dogs.” Who’s going to read that?
Truth, there was no room for a warning label on his forehead. According to him he had a birth certificate pasted there.
Eric, it’s certainly time to thin the heard.
If I had to guess I would say the majority of people have no idea about the dynamics behind the signs.
That’s why they put up the signs. There’s not enough room to explain it.
I just pulled out the owner's manual for my 1976 Colt Woodmaster. It is four pages long without a single warning printed.
-——anyone who has driven any in cold weather knows that bridges will always be icy before the surface of the road.-—
Etched in my mind is the silver corvette spinning round and round on the I 75 bridge crossing the Tennessee River just out of Knoxville. It was the Sunday after Thanksgving. We were returning from seeing the King Tut stuff in New Orleans. We were all doing 70 or so.
The corvette entered the bridge and quickly hit the brakes. He immediately started to spin. He caromed from side to side, spinning like a top as he moved forward across the bridge. Although the rest of us slowed, it was not certain that we would not catch up with his totally out of control progress across the bridge.
he was not hurt and the damage I saw as I passed him seemed to be slight. We went on. I imagine his tilt-a-whirl like ride severely disoriented him.
End result? Useless warning. It's everywhere, so nothing is distinguished as "more hazardous."
At one time every bridge here in NC had a warning sign that was hinged in the middle, only opened to warn of “Ice On Bridge” when there was ice on the bridge.
But, now we have those same inane signs, too. Labor cost got to be too much I suppose. People still crash on iced over bridges, though, they did before. You can’t make people pay attention or not be stupid. That’s up to them.
Maybe it takes a hard lesson, like ramming a concrete bridge railing or an unplanned high speed trip out through the woods to do it for some.
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