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[Vamps]

In 2010 why the heck does everything come to a stop in a winter that we always used to have?  How can trains not travel, they did for ever, except on one occasion that Lizzie can recall....

Trains, cars and planes all grounded. If this goes on for some time I have a massive problem, living in a small village, 12 miles away from work......... 

[vauxfan2k]

some of its down to the machinery, the rest is down to health and safety... 

[Kevin Wood]

some of its down to the machinery, the rest is down to health and safety... 

.. and a lot of it is down to people who can't be @rsed...

There was no real reason not to travel around here. Roads were a little iffy yesterday and today but I managed a 20 mile commute each way. Very few others bothered, looking at the level of traffic I came across.

For a train to work you need a driver, and if he commutes 30 or 40 miles, his kids' school is closed and he's expected to look after them, etc... It's a knock-on effect.

Kevin

[tunnie]

despite this being 3rd year in a row, no one is prepared for it. When in Chicago its not uncommon for them to have a foot of snow over night, but they are prepared there. Every public service truck/bus/road sweeper has a snow plough. Taxing through their airport, took 20 mins to get to the gate, passed a constant stream of ploughs. They just get on with it.

I really do hate the titles 'Frozen Britian' and 'Country grinds to a halt'

Just get on with it! 

[Lizzie_Zoom]

It is because we live in a high tech age Mike, where we do not use steam technology on the railways and our cars travel on roads crammed with other vehicles all heading for standstill at every opportunity!

RE: My earlier "Train Stuck" thread : http://www.omegaowners.com/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1291287057

I remember when there was three cars in our road, and the trains powered their huge bulk along with massive 6' drivers (main coupled driving wheels) with snow ploughs fitted to their front end.

No, we have become too advanced and far too crowded.  Let us all fear the day when mass regional power cuts take place....................that is when we will all curse modern living!!

 

[Dishevelled Den]

.. and a lot of it is down to people who can't be @rsed...


Kevin

I would certainly agree with that – especially as there seems to be a trend developing where there appears to be a decreasing number of people in possession of sufficient gumption to get to the point of being arsed in the first place.

[HolyCount]

The "knock on effect" that KW refers to ...... when I were a lad ( without wanting to be chauvantistc) most mums were at home, so closed schools ( not that I can remember many closures) didn't cause the ripple into the workplace they do today.

On the odd occassion the buses disn't run we used those flaps hanging off of our bums ... what are they called ?  Oh, yes, LEGS ... and we walked!  (TBH we walked when the buses did run. My penny ha'penny fare bought a whole bag of yesterdays buns in the cake shop we happened to pass  )

[Banjax]

despite this being 3rd year in a row, no one is prepared for it. When in Chicago its not uncommon for them to have a foot of snow over night, but they are prepared there. Every public service truck/bus/road sweeper has a snow plough. Taxing through their airport, took 20 mins to get to the gate, passed a constant stream of ploughs. They just get on with it.

I really do hate the titles 'Frozen Britian' and 'Country grinds to a halt'

Just get on with it! 

Tunnie, the reason people in parts of North America, Canada, Scandinavia, etc "just get on with it" is because they get it every year and they budget for it -  England doesn't really expect much snowfall so to have 1000's of gritters, millions of tonnes of salt and all the infrastructure in place to cope would soon attract the attention of the taxpayer as unnecessary waste, that said I think we'll be seeing more and more extreme weather in the future, so we should be expecting this kind of weather as well as floods, heatwaves, hurricanes etc 

be prepared to pay to be prepared is my motto 

[Omegatoy]

well is it just me or is one answer to roads being blocked not a simple one?
just fit the dustbin wagons with snow ploughs on the front, this is ust a mtter of mounting the supports on the front of the wagon, the plough can be sat in the yard costing nothing the rest of the year,then they clear the roads without having to have dedicated ploughing wagons its no extra work and they can get to empty the bins?

[aaronjb]

Ah but then the crews would need extra training, paying danger money, and so on.. which nobody wants to cough up for

[Andy B]

As aaron says, it's hard enough to get the binners to do what they're paid to do. It was a struggle to get them to do new houses that'd built on an existing route.

Mrs Andy B worked with them for years until last year.

[Omegatoy]

lol in the early 80,s i was foreman of south oxon bin collection crews, first private company to be used, it had to succeed for the company to survive, had the pwoer to hire and fire as i wanted, a company car, and a large bonus to ensure the crews worked properly, a compettion betwen all crews every week with a bonus for the best crews,
those that didnt want to work the same way i did  were "convinced" my way was the best way at the back of the fleet, quite a few hard boys there but they respected the way i worked with them on the wagons and sorted it thier way if they wanted to resort to that
in the end had a brilliant set of crews who would start at 6.00 am and be finished by dinnertime at the latest, and get paid 9 hours plus bonus, the council agreed it wa a reat success but after the two years were up they then took it back in house, and offered me the job of foreman on half the pay i was getting from the company, lol needless to say i didnt take it!!