After extensive research, I have come to the conclusion that once behind the steering wheel of a car, every person loses some of their ability to reason and make decisions when it comes to their environment. Now some of us have more reasoning/brains than others, hence we can still drive somewhat decently on most days. Here is a summary of my experiment: The setup: An intersection improvement project on a fairly busy travelled road. Observation technique: While overseeing the crews, would occasionally (about every 15 minutes) hear horns blaring and look to see what the fuss was about. Today however was THE WORST day so far, because we switched the traffic pattern so that a different section of the road could be worked on. (As you read this, please keep in mind that all of the businesses mentioned had functioning entrances.) Conclusion: 1. In the mornings, people REALLY NEED their McDonald’s breakfast. And will drive over barricades to get to McDonald’s. 2. Always have eyes in the back of your head, because no matter how well an area is blocked off, someone will invariably find their way into the work area and speed through it. 3. Once 1 idiot finds their way into the work zone, 20 others will follow as well. 4. At about 10am, people REALLY NEED their McD’s late morning snack and will drive over fresh concrete to get to it. Fortunately it was only temp concrete… 5. Once the light turns red, that means that you can get at least 3 more cars through, usually 5. 6. If some little old Asian lady driving her Toyota Corolla REALLY NEEDS gas, she will drive off the road, on to gravel, drive through string lines set up, and into one of the stakes that holds the string line up, and then attempt to get into the gas station, which since there is no road, is about 60cm higher than the area she is now currently driving on. 7. At lunch time, people REALLY NEED their McD’s and will enter in to the exit area at the same time when other cars are trying to exit. 8. At some point you will find a car driving on the wrong side of the road, without any clue as to how that person could have ever possibly gotten there without causing a huge cluster f&%$ from the direction which they came. 9. Periodically check the area where workers park on the blocked off new roadway to check for little old men in their cars, who are stopped behind the parked cars waiting for the left turn signal. The poor guy was sitting there for at least 15 minutes. 10. And last but not least, when someone is driving along and suddenly freaks out because they aren’t paying attention to where they are going, they will invariably decide to stop IN THE MIDDLE of the intersection and STAY there.
