road hazards--or--hazardous roads

[Ronj Schryer]

Every once in a while I come across a situation that is kinda glossed over in the driving learners handbook.

I will cite a couple of examples--do you have similar things where you live?


EX*1.. Each year where I live,on the shore of a large lake, we have a sudden,overwhelming infestation of "fish flys" as they are known locally. (possibly called MAY FLIES elsewhere). They all hatch,in many millions, on the same day. They are about the size and shape of a small grasshopper and they look like a cloud of smoke hovering over the lake.
All is ok until after dark when they congregate in hundreds of millions around any light source.
Now picture the situation--as you near the lake on your journey to the cottage and come upon a street light you suddenly run into a dense wall of insects. I mean a real wall of them--immediately you are completely blind - as though a bag was placed over your head. Turning on the wipers results in a mess not unlike a banana being smeared across the windshield.
Oncoming traffic gets the same treatment so you don't know what the other guy is doing either.
makes for some interresting skid marks on the highway.



eg #2 Picture this situation----driving out of a brightly lit city into dark countryside-speed limit increases just as you reach a RR overpass so you boot it to climb the hill-off ramp curves to the right,downhill so you pick up speed even faster-beautiful constant radius curve-foot in it and go-at about the 180 degree point,just as you are facing into the bright lights again,and have the back end starting to drift- the road turns in like a pigs tail and you are left out to dry. the marks in the ditch attest to what i say.
It is fun though to lead someone unfamilliar with the road(especially if what they are driving is red) into the trap and watch his taillight disappear from your mirror he he

as ever......RON