IMS_Blog

There are reports floating around that a new, LED, cats eye nearly caused an epileptic fit in a driver. Were it not for the fact that The Highways Agency seems to be taking it seriously then it would sound like an urban legend. That’s not the main point though. The question must be asked why they were messing with cat’s eyes in the first place. If Saint Christopher is the patent saint of travellers in general then there may be an argument Percy Shaw should be that of the motorist. His invention has saved countless lives and done so through its sheer, brilliant simplicity. Cat’s eyes require no power source, clean themselves, guide in the dark—even their familiar feeling and sound when driven over instinctively tells the driver they’ve changed lanes whether they meant to or not (and at times they are almost a comfort on the long, dark road). Why fuck with them, for the sake of “ohhh, isn’t it modern”??

Hmm, perhaps it’s just symptomatic of the Highways Agency. While looking for any report of this on their site (which I didn’t find) I did stumble across this story describing a trial in which electronic signs are being used to convey journey time information. While that may be useful one can’t help but wonder how long it takes drivers to start ignoring the important messages they display on the assumption it’s giving info about a journey to somewhere they’re not going. Just use them for important things, then you know it’s important…