Weekly Ramblings

Bump In The Road
Folks, if you live in a residential subdivision, I expect you do not like cars speeding down your street. The reaction time to avoid people and pets is greatly reduced by someone trying to get somewhere 10 seconds faster. I honestly cannot remember the last time I drove above the posted speed limit. I’ve never received a speeding ticket and would have a long line of witnesses to attest to my slow rate of vehicular motion. In fact, none of my family or friends will be a passenger in my truck if they wish to arrive at a location prior to leaving an extra hour beforehand.
I mention the above because it ties into something that I have believed for some time. How many streets have speed bumps? How many more residents have requested these traffic-calming installations in their neighborhoods? There is an inherent tradeoff that I suspect people do not realize. In short, Fire truck and ambulance drivers do not appreciate these bumps in the road.
Being an inquisitive sort, I stopped by a local fire station and asked what the staff thought about the raised strips. Not one person liked them. Fire trucks are heavy monsters and have to travel more slowly over the speed restricted streets. One fire truck driver even told me they sometimes take a longer route to a call to avoid the rough bounces. In a similar vein, would you want to be laying prone in an EMS van having some procedure done while hitting speed bumps? Always be careful what you wish for.
Gas Pump Mix-Up
Unless you walk or hitchhike to work, I know you’re aware of the three grades of gasoline available at your local fuel station: regular, midgrade, and supreme. With few exceptions, the tanker trucks delivering the gas only contain regular and high test. The medium grade is mixed at the pump. Once upon a time, the mix was 50/50 and the price was right in the middle. Sometimes you can still find this.
I recently saw a government contracted fuel tester at a local station and asked him about the various grades.
To my surprise, he told me that the standards have been downgraded. Midgrade now can be a 70/30 split between regular and supreme. I do not know about you, but I have not noticed the price adjusted to this watering down. Perhaps it’s all in the octane. I’m neither a fuel or a rocket scientist. I always keep a bag of coins in my truck to afford enough petrol to limp back home and hop back out on my skateboard. Then I really note those darn speed bumps.
James David Altman lives in West Ashley and has been a contributing columnist for several publications. He’s the son of the late former S.C. Republican House of Representative of John Graham Altman III. You can reach him at rabidreb@gmail.com