KEY POINTS:
Alan spotted in Britain's Telegraph a letter about turning left on a red light and says... how about it New Zealand? The letter reads: "An enormous amount of time and fuel would be saved in Britain by allowing traffic to turn left at traffic lights on red if the road is clear, as is the case in most American states and Canadian provinces for right-hand turns. It is worth pointing out that the parcel company UPS has taken advantage of that rule in America by routing its delivery trucks wherever possible to avoid left turns. In 2006, UPS shaved more than 45.8 million kilometres off its delivery routes, saving 13.6 million litres of petrol."
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A reader writes: "I am a tour coach driver. Most of the time Kiwis deliver the commentary to the tourists, but some companies prefer their own guide to do this. Last week I was stunned to hear an overseas guide including the following:
* Rotorua's drinking water is tainted and undrinkable.
* "Maoris" paddle a "wacker".
* We have 70 million sheep in Godzone.
* "Maoris" live in separate villages to pursue their art and crafts.
* It costs $1 million a night to stay at Huka Lodge.
* We only have two mountains in the centre of the North Island.
* Huka Falls are named as such because they are shaped like a hook.
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While evening drink-driving convictions have decreased over the past decade, morning convictions were increasing, according to an AA survey in Britain. The AA's Edmund King told the Guardian: "We asked, have you ever thought you were over the limit after a night out and still drove? Eighty per cent considered that they could have been but still chose to drive. Government guidance says it takes at least one hour for half a pint of beer, a glass of wine or one measure of spirit to get out of your system. It then depends on how much you've eaten, how strong the wine was, what your metabolic rate is. Apparently mood can also affect your alcohol absorption. The problem is the difficulty in judging - you can't have 100 per cent certainty."
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Following the New York Times' list of buzzwords, Andy has a couple he's come across recently...
* Trustafarians - has trust fund, doesn't work, you get the idea.
* Capitalistians - at certain times of every year they make a pilgrimage to the shops to buy stuff.
