Sideswipe: When you gotta go, you gotta go

Barbra spotted this door at a motorway rest area, near Bristol. "I saw it, smiled, and immediately thought of you. I was busting, so I had to take the risk!"

Inconsiderate honker shown up

There was a dear old lady in her wee white car with a disability card on the dash trying to turn right into the Mobil service station across two lanes of traffic on Wairau Rd, North Shore, on Wednesday afternoon, says a reader. "She didn't realise you weren't able to do this because of the angle of the entrance driveway. The traffic came to a rapid stop. No thanks to the driver behind who sat on his horn while the rest of us waited patiently. Then, a young man got out of his car and firmly told the honking/beeping driver to stop and wait for granny to get out of her predicament. He then quietly turned around and softly waved the elderly woman into the service station. A lovely sight."

Thirty-five going on 80

I have just read a story on BBC.co.uk about the modern midlife crisis being signified by a souped-up road bike instead of a sports car. It reads: "Given the number of men aged 35-44 who are buying fancy-pants road-racing machines, is this a 21st century mid-life crisis?" Hang on! Thirty-five isn't middle aged. Is it? You could consider age groups in 30-year lots (0-30 = young; 30-60 = middle aged; 60-90 = old) but I reckon discounting childhood makes things seem a little easier to stomach (0-16 = child; 16-36 young; 36-66 = middle aged; 66-96 = old). Any thoughts?

Use your noggin, or a map

Alasdair wonders why all the fuss about closing a motorway on Father's Day? "Auckland is full of alternative routes. Are Aucklanders so reliant on a stretch of road that is usually clogged to capacity anyway that they can't get from A to B without it?"

The benefits of driving safely

Suzanne Wolton from AA Insurance says defensive driving courses are a good idea but what matters to the company is putting it into practice. "AA Insurance offers significant discounts for safe driving demonstrated over time, rather than training received ... If you have not been at fault in an accident for five years - whether you were insured or not - you'll receive our guaranteed no claims bonus for life."