In the “Before times” speed limits in school zones were 15Mph. When it went to metric, apparently 30kph was a speed boost to about 18Mph. This is from a P.A. caller to News Talk 980 Bugs Day The Hour of Rage. There were several Saskatoon and Regina speed demons bemoaning the 30 and 40 km/h limits in their respective cities. Mr. P.A. said, “They’ve got their cell phones, and their Blackberries, and their Blue Teeth [sic, LOL], and everyone’s in such a damn hurry!” That’s a darn fine rant. I bet they were chewing on their blackberries, and that’s why they have blue teeth.
Slow down if you think children are playing nearby, as they’ll dart out into the road without looking! I missed a kid on a bike that darted out right in front of me, just a couple days ago. If I’d been going 50km/h, I might be in court right now, and the kid on a slab.
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And speaking of dangerous things, check out this blog of a trainrider. Amazing stories from the other side of the law.
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Tanya | 01-Oct-06 at 11:41 am | Permalink
I believe that parents and teachers alike really need to teach kids the importance of obeying traffic rules. I have been known to roll down my window and yell at kids that are darting across the street or walking on the road. I guess the school marm will never die!
I heard about a kid getting hit after darting between two parked cars. Even with our best efforts to keep our kids safe, they are still going to make mistakes. So slow down and quit complaining. School zones are short and keeping kids from sustaining fatal injuries has to be more important than getting to your destination 2 minutes earlier. Some people just have to find something to whine about don’t they?
Adrian MacNair | 01-Oct-06 at 11:48 am | Permalink
It’s 30 in Vancouver as well. 50 unless otherwise posted. 80 on highways, which is rather low, and 90 on the TransCanada, which doesn’t stop people from doing 120.
Here’s an unusual observation of our dual-metric-imperial country:
I am 160 lbs.
I stand 5′11″ tall.
Gas costs $0.97 per litre
My computer screen is only 15″
It’s 15 km to work
I drive 10 kmph over the speed limit on average
Airplanes fly at 35,000 ‘
Now let’s convert that, shall we?
160 lbs is what…. 70 or 80 kg? No idea.
What is 5′11″ converted? 180 cm?
I don’t know how to convert to gallons
15″ is … probably 35cm?
15 km to work is something like 9-10 miles
I drive 6 miles per hour over the speed limit
Airplanes fly at 10,000 metres
Am I close?
Who knows, with our messed up metric-imperial system.
Tanya | 01-Oct-06 at 11:54 am | Permalink
http://www.onlineconversion.com/
Saskboy | 01-Oct-06 at 12:11 pm | Permalink
I wish we could convert more. There’s nothing harder about saying 65kilos, or 65 clicks [kay ems, kilometers], 180cee ems, 500mL, or 10,000 m, or 10 km for altitude. The problem is the backwards USofA that insists on polluting the language with their ancient language and measurements.
I have a blog post ranting about this somewhere…
Adrian MacNair | 01-Oct-06 at 12:11 pm | Permalink
Yeah Tanya, but can you do it in yer head?
Saskboy | 01-Oct-06 at 12:41 pm | Permalink
My previous metric rant http://www.abandonedstuff.com/2006/05/16/metric-gaining-by-inches/
Adrian MacNair | 01-Oct-06 at 12:55 pm | Permalink
Interestingly enough, however, in my job I have to use imperial on a daily basis pretty much exclusively. In construction we deal with inches and feet. When I measure a size that comes out 87 and 3/16ths, I would have no idea how or why I would convert it to metric. Everything you buy in Home Depot for supplies is in Imperial. It seems the construction industry is holding back the metric movement.
Tanya | 01-Oct-06 at 1:46 pm | Permalink
Off the top of my head:
1 mile = 1.6 kilometers or 0.6 miles = 1 kilometer
2.54 cm = 1 inch
39 inches = 1 meter
2.2 pounds = 1 kilogram
454 grams = 1 pound
28 grams = 1 ounce
4 grams = 1/8 ounce
30 cm = 1 foot
I could do this all day. I am a huge numbers geek and I can do math problems in my head quite easily. Metric conversions are all around you. Notice on your spedometer that 60 mph= 100kmph. And when you buy a pound of butter it is clearly labelled 454 grams. I am very cheap and like to calculate which brand of butter is cheapest. If you are measuring with a metric ruler, notice that the standard 30 cm ruler has 12 inches on one side, making conversions a snap.
Dude, your brain is a muscle and it just needs some exercise. LOL!!!111
PS Maybe I need to get a life or something.
Tanya | 01-Oct-06 at 1:48 pm | Permalink
Oooops 3.5 grams = 1/8 ounce. Not sure why I wrote 4 grams
Adrian MacNair | 01-Oct-06 at 8:17 pm | Permalink
That will actually help me the next time I try to work out the ganja conversion on the scale :P
Tanya | 01-Oct-06 at 10:27 pm | Permalink
Oh that’s a good one!
Zack | 02-Oct-06 at 8:37 am | Permalink
I think school zones are a great idea… around elementary schools. Why are there school zones around highschools? Even in grade 9 you are 14 and one year away from getting your learners license, maybe you should know how to cross the street by now? Maybe the reason for having shcool zones around highschools is so all the new drivers are going too slowly to crash into each other.
Soulfood | 02-Oct-06 at 11:35 am | Permalink
When I was in Vancouver, I noticed that all the school zones had speed bumps. So, you had to slow down or your car would go flying. I thought that was a great idea.
And I don’t mean little speed bumps. These were BIG speed bumps.