More Serious Parking

A local authority car park.

"Terms and Conditions: Customers Must: Display a valid ticket in windscreen or side window of vehicle.  Mark within marked bays.

If you vehicle is found to be in contravention, you are liable to receive a penalty notice.  If contravention is More Serious, then the penalty charge will be higher than if the contravention is less serious."

Some fascinating hints at bureaucracy here.

Firstly, for parking contravention....the whole idea of more serious and less serious parking contraventions is fascinating especially as there are no clues to that, other than the instructions to display a ticket, in windscreen or side window, and to park within marked bays.  A parking contravention is really just that.  In the grand scene of things the idea of a "serious" parking convention is curious, at worst probably parking across multiple bays, maybe parking a helicopter and taking up multiple bays.

Secondly, even when there's no parking charge, there's still a need for a ticket, and with some extra instructions too.   That applies evenings and the whole of the weekend.  So no revenue during those periods, but still incurring the cost of using a machine and producing tickets.....

Low Bridge or Bridges

Some new road signage to warn of a low bridge.  Actually it's quite a big bridge, but has needed so much new support underneath that it's become low.

But what's really fascinating here is that two signs here relate to the same heigh limits for the same bridge, but one used metric as the primary measure and imperial as the secondary.  The other sign does it the other way around - imperial first and metric second.  Why add this unnecessary inconsistency.  Seem very odd to add this potential confusion for drivers into what is already a lot of info...."Do these relate to the same bridges...."

Might just be a regulatory or legal standard but that does not make it right.

In 2012, 1754 people died on UK roads, 23,039 were seriously injured, and 193,784 slightly injured, totalling 195,723 injuries.   With these sorts of high stakes, there can be no real excuse for creating this unnecessary confusion for drivers..... 

Source: Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents.

Yes Parking No Parking

Some super road markings here...It's parking and no parking at the same time.  A disabled parking bay and a drop off parking bay by the looks of things, while also being no parking.  There's newer yellow lines to the left and hatched to the right which do rather strongly suggest no parking there, but within the bays they are ether old or have been partially removed.  So many mixed messages here. Glorious.

Automatic Door - but push pad first

A not so automatic, automatic door.  Not such an unusual sight in fact.  It's because that word automatic has a double meaning "working by itself with little or no direct human control" (Oxford Dictionary).  Which means two things really - either without control or with some control.  It's almost as if we need new word when it's not fully automatic...maybe "automanual" so automatic with come manual intervention.  In this case it might just be semi-automatic.

Probably Parking

Some signage at a local authority car park.

This is fabulous.  Basically there's a second blue sign required to explain the first blue sign.  Surely part of the criteria for an effective parking is for it to be able to be effectively communicated in practice....Why use 20 words when five will do....

Also it's a super example of how positive and simple language wins hands down compared to complex and negative language.  The top negative sign uses works like "Limited", "Prohibited", "No", "Limits", and successfully manages to avoid using the word "Parking".  The lower positive sign is the positive invitation to park.  Sure there are technicalities here around duration and return for pre 8:30 parking, but a relatively small proportion of the parking day.

The local hospital has changed it's car parking arrangements to reduce the "anxiety" associated with time charge parking.  Given thee signs were is a car park used by visiting tourists, that out to be a factor here too.

Gentlemen's Dress

A charming heritage sign...

From heritage steam railway in Hampshire, from their Gents loo, and from an era when gentlemen wore dresses....

Clear an simple.  Who's it from, who's it to, and what's the message.

Even has the sign's reference number as per many contemporary signs.  The "By Order" seems a bit strong though.