Advanced Driving Hub

Browsing 'advanced' stuff on another forum, there was a thread on observation links.

One of them was:

If all the handles on wheelie bins are pointing the same way, the collection crew have been.

I've been doing this stuff for 40+ years and not heard that one.

But then I wondered ...

... what benefit does noticing it provide for a driver?

I couldn't think of anything. Anyone have any ideas?

And any other near-useless observation ljnks?

Let’s think about this logically. If the bins have been emptied you should be on the lookout for a bin lorry further up the road, unless of course the bin lorry was going the other way and is now behind us. However, if the bins have not been emptied then we’re not going to encounter a bin lorry around the next corner, unless they haven’t been emptied because the bin lorry is on its way coming towards us.

The obvious conclusion to be drawn from this observation of an observation is don’t bother to waste time trying to analyse the unanalysable.

Horse wrote:Browsing 'advanced' stuff on another forum, there was a thread on observation links.

One of them was:

If all the handles on wheelie bins are pointing the same way, the collection crew have been.?

That would be almost exactly wrong round here.

All the handles are pointing the same way (or at least the bins are reasonably neat) when the residents have first put the bins out. After the collection crew have been the bins are all over the place and it is not uncommon to have to walk up the road to get your own bin back.

Strangely Brown wrote:
That would be almost exactly wrong round here.

All the handles are pointing the same way (or at least the bins are reasonably neat) when the residents have first put the bins out. After the collection crew have been the bins are all over the place and it is not uncommon to have to walk up the road to get your own bin back.

I would tend to agree with that, .................. unless, of course, the binmen had OCD

hir wrote:Let’s think about this logically. If the bins have been emptied you should be on the lookout for a bin lorry further up the road, unless of course the bin lorry was going the other way and is now behind us. However, if the bins have not been emptied then we’re not going to encounter a bin lorry around the next corner, unless they haven’t been emptied because the bin lorry is on its way coming towards us.

That, in a nutshell*, was my thought process


* probably a coconut

Maybe it's a bit like flashing headlights. The presence of a wheelie bin just means there is a wheelie bin. That how it works round our way.

Triquet wrote:Maybe it's a bit like flashing headlights. The presence of a wheelie bin just means there is a wheelie bin. That how it works round our way.

Local knowledge is an important element.

I know roughly what time the trucks will be in our road. Excellent if I spend my time only driving here. Which is a 300m straight road, so the truck would be visible anyway

Horse wrote:...
And any other near-useless observation ljnks?

1. Bus stop. People waiting - bus behind you
2. Ambulance. One hiviz in front - going to hospital; two hiviz in front - going to incident.

crr003 wrote:

Horse wrote:...
And any other near-useless observation ljnks?

1. Bus stop. People waiting - bus behind you

I can think of one place where there's no footway to get to a bus stop. So passing people waiting at a previous stop might mean pedestrians walking in the road ahead.

https://earth.app.goo.gl/nHtTdP

If the link works, ghe stop is just around the corner.

crr003 wrote:

Horse wrote:...
And any other near-useless observation ljnks?

2. Ambulance. One hiviz in front - going to hospital; two hiviz in front - going to incident.

Potentially multi-agency response, so either incident ahead, or other responders en-route?

Horse wrote:

crr003 wrote:

Horse wrote:...
And any other near-useless observation ljnks?

2. Ambulance. One hiviz in front - going to hospital; two hiviz in front - going to incident.

Potentially multi-agency response, so either incident ahead, or other responders en-route?

I mean one ambulance - double crewed. B&Ts - if both of them are sitting up front they're going to the incident; if there's only the driver upfront then the other one is in the back tending on the way to A&E (or the car park for a couple of hours......).

Horse wrote:...or other responders en-route?

But I've just made up another one "If you see one fire engine (B&Ts) on one carriageway of a motorway, expect to see at least one on the other carriageway".