Sideswipe: Going soft on drink-selling rules

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Marty Vink has frequented his fair share of dairies this summer and has often bought a can of drink labelled Not for Individual Sale. "Clearly these cans are being sold individually, so what laws are being broken here? I am glad they are being sold because often you can't get a $1.60 300ml can of drink, instead only the $3.70 600ml are available ... Is there an agenda in the soft drink industry to phase out the 300ml and force us to buy 600ml?"

$300 fine for fitting a stereotype

Deborah's son was fined $300 for driving late one night. "He had been into the city for a night out and dropped a friend in Otahuhu and then returned to our home in Pakuranga via Harris Rd. We preferred him to drive on that road as the speed limit is 60km/h rather than the 80km/h on Te Irirangi Drive.He is a careful driver who does not drink and of my three sons he is the one who I always felt happy lending my car to. The car, which was an automatic family sedan, would not have smelt of alcohol and he had not exceeded the speed limit, the fine was merely for driving on that road and for being young ... After many phone calls and letters the fine was rescinded and he did not have to pay it. However, we feel that applying those sort of controls to a public road and then fining young adults who have no choice but to return to their homes via that road is really unfair."

Driving with your eyes closed

Rob Simpson has been an inner-city resident for some time and can attest to the fact there are many signs ... "Most lit up in LEDS saying explicitly when Grafton Bridge is for buses only. If you have got to the point you can turn on to it without seeing any of them, you have an attention problem."

Go on, make me blush

Have you sent in your Valentine's Day message yet? Sideswipe will publish the best lovey-dovey, witty or imaginative messages on Monday and the best entry will win some gender stereotypical treats - a pair of Boh Runga for New Zealand Mint "Weapons of Mass Devotion" arrow earrings and pink champagne fragrance Ecoya's Love Candle. And for him, a Colonial Meat Pack with a 10kg ham and some Colonial dry-cured streaky bacon ... plus, for the smoothest shave in the land, a selection of King of Shaves gear. Entries close at midday on Friday. Please include your phone number.