Comments

  1. Synapse says

    I realize that there are slippery slope arguments to be made, but part of me thinks that reflective tape to substitute a big triangle is a reasonable compromise and arresting them seems a bit silly.

  2. Reera the Red says

    How do they all get their hair to do that thing where it flips out at the ends? (Except #2, who is obviously a radical.) I’m picturing curling irons, but that doesn’t seem right, somehow.

  3. John Morales says

    maureen, I did read that post when it first came up, and my sentiments echo those of Synapse.

    (Bad law)

    I may not admire the basis on which these people challenged authority, but I do admire their adherence to principle.

    Reflective tape only works when there are lights shining on it.

    Vehicle drivers should have their headlights on at night, in which case the tape would work. If it’s daylight and someone can’t see it’s a horse-buggy ahead of them, they shouldn’t be driving at all.

  4. Nerd of Redhead, Dances OM Trolls says

    The problem, of course, with reflective tape, is that it is unexpected. Slow moving vehicles, such has horse drawn carriages, should have a consistent marker, like the orange triangle, that is universal and visible. Otherwise, the car may get too close to stop before CRASH….

  5. John Morales says

    Nerd, WTF?

    Like I wrote above, if someone relies on an orange triangle marker to determine whether a vehicle is slow, they shouldn’t be driving. And it’s not like a horse buggy is easily confused with a motor-car.

  6. Nerd of Redhead, Dances OM Trolls says

    if someone relies on an orange triangle marker to determine whether a vehicle is slow, they shouldn’t be driving.

    John, some folks don’t see so well at night (I drive for my step-father and father after dark), nor do they live in areas where brights can be used (I used them in Dah YooPee, but not where I live now in the suburbs with higher traffic density). They may see the reflective tape, but they (nor I) would know what it means. They can get too close prior to being able to identify the black buggy in the low beam headlights at speed (crunch). Since the orange triangle is the official (USDOT, “convincing the states”) sign for slow moving vehicles, a driver would automatically slow down upon seeing one. It’s all about what one expects.

  7. F says

    Reera the Red

    How do they all get their hair to do that thing where it flips out at the ends?

    If you have thick hair, and/or it grows well close to the top of your ears and down the back of your neck, it’ll do that. Especially if you usually wear a hat. Also, some people’s hair just naturally does that at certain lengths, and that closed communities generally tend to share certain characteristics more uniformly.

    Most of the stuff people do to their hair because they want a certain look is usually based on natural characteristics exhibited by other people (curly, wavy, straight – whatever). Excepting, of course, the more synthetic/artistic looks which might never occur in nature…

  8. 'Tis Himself, OM says

    I promise, I’ll be sure to get a haircut more often.

    I can hear PZ now: “Hm, It’s December 1st. If I wait until January then I can spend more on Christmas presents.”

  9. McCthulhu awaits the return of the 2000 foot Frank Zappa says

    I’m not sure if you were insinuating you were getting a haircut or going to sport a new trendy and fashionable reflective sign the back of your buggy.