KEY POINTS:
It has always amazed me how accurately the wheelie bin trucks can move precisely the right distance down the road before the arm comes out to grab the bin. If it was me controlling that arm I imagine I'd knock a few bins over. How do they do it? Are there robotics involved or is it manual? If it is robotic, and I stood on the kerb as the truck went past, could I be mistaken for a wheelie bin if I wore a red hat and black earplugs? Tony Cooper, Auckland.
Clever chaps, those drivers. It's all done manually, with a driver-operated side loader. Mind you, they do pick up as many as 1500 bins a day, so they have plenty of practice. And, reportedly, some trucks allow the driver to stand in his cab on the left-hand side so he can monitor the operation more closely. He would thus be able to tell the difference between you and a real bin. Unless you're one of the people who puts your bin so close to others that the driver has to get out of the truck to move them apart, then he might want to put you in the truck with the rubbish.
I wonder why there isn't a signalled crossing at Fort St for pedestrians walking on the eastern side of Queen St. Pedestrians and motorists seem confused over who has the right of way. I cannot think of any good reason for the lack of a crossing here. Philip Rama, Auckland Central.
The construction of the building at 80 Queen St is holding up the improvements planned for this section of Auckland's Golden Mile. When it is done, the plan is to install a 'raised speed table' across the intersection, similar to those at Darby and Durham Sts. The speed table at Fort St will be narrower than these, because of the one-way only exit from Fort to Queen Sts. Because of this, the council sees no need to put traffic lights here. And to be fair, the speed tables do seem to have helped at Durham and Darby.
Of growing concern is the number of motorists who evidently believe they have right of way over the footpath. My wife and I were almost flattened three times in Mission Bay by drivers leaving driveways under the impression they did not have to watch for pedestrians on the footpath. I've also noticed drivers leaving carparks in the city, even those with warning buzzers, without checking to see if anyone is on the footpath. Who has the right of way on the pavement, pedestrians or drivers? Even when there is an audible alarm to indicate to pedestrians that a car is about to come out of a building? Brett Hewson, Remuera.
The road rules state unequivocally that when drivers are entering or leaving a driveway that crosses a footpath, they must give way to people using the footpath, alarm or no alarm.
The road code also says, in the section for pedestrians, that they should be careful when crossing driveways. It's called duty of care and it applies to everyone.
