Trashy
One evening last weekend, as I was driving past a small pickup truck loaded with things being moved, a small bookcase took flight from the bed of the pickup and landed on the street behind it. It broke into several pieces. The people in the pickup realized what had happened and slowed down as if to stop and pick it up. I drove on and watched them as they drove away from the trashed bookcase, leaving it for the people driving behind them to deal with. For all anyone knows, it might have caused an accident.
This incident reminded me of an article I read several years ago about roadside trash. The writer interviewed a roadside trash expert, who stated that 25% of the trash found along freeways and roads came from the back of pickup trucks. How he got that figure, I don't know, but having seen plenty of furniture and other articles on the sides of roads, I don't doubt it. The obvious question here is, haven't other drivers seen this same stuff, and if so, why don't people learn from the mistakes of others. It is almost like there is a disconnect here. Do people forget they have seen the destroyed property of others? Do they want to gamble it won't happen to them? Perhaps they can't afford a two dollar package of rope. This all seems to obvious to me.
The most fascinating trash displayed on the freeway was women's underwear. I have on two occasions seen bras and panties spread along a 100 yard stretch of freeway. The fascinating thing about it was that someone picked it up within a day or two. I wondered if the owner made a trip back from Florida just to locate her undies, or if someone else stopped to claim these prizes.
Other commonly seen items are, chairs, drawers, coolers and their tops, plastic buckets and plastic gas containers. Again, one would think the frequency in appearance of these items along our roads would be a warning to anyone who planned to haul similiar items in the back of a truck. I wonder if any thought was given at all about securing these things. I cannot imagine anyone thinking, "I'm going to be driving down the road at 80 miles per hour, guess the stuff in the back will be safe. No need to tie it down." In some cases, pickup truck disposal may be preferable to leaving it for the trash man to haul away. It is certainly a quicker and more guaranteed way of getting rid of it, cause sometimes the trash man doesn't want your trash. So put it in the back of your pickup to leave for the road crews to dispose of.
This incident reminded me of an article I read several years ago about roadside trash. The writer interviewed a roadside trash expert, who stated that 25% of the trash found along freeways and roads came from the back of pickup trucks. How he got that figure, I don't know, but having seen plenty of furniture and other articles on the sides of roads, I don't doubt it. The obvious question here is, haven't other drivers seen this same stuff, and if so, why don't people learn from the mistakes of others. It is almost like there is a disconnect here. Do people forget they have seen the destroyed property of others? Do they want to gamble it won't happen to them? Perhaps they can't afford a two dollar package of rope. This all seems to obvious to me.
The most fascinating trash displayed on the freeway was women's underwear. I have on two occasions seen bras and panties spread along a 100 yard stretch of freeway. The fascinating thing about it was that someone picked it up within a day or two. I wondered if the owner made a trip back from Florida just to locate her undies, or if someone else stopped to claim these prizes.
Other commonly seen items are, chairs, drawers, coolers and their tops, plastic buckets and plastic gas containers. Again, one would think the frequency in appearance of these items along our roads would be a warning to anyone who planned to haul similiar items in the back of a truck. I wonder if any thought was given at all about securing these things. I cannot imagine anyone thinking, "I'm going to be driving down the road at 80 miles per hour, guess the stuff in the back will be safe. No need to tie it down." In some cases, pickup truck disposal may be preferable to leaving it for the trash man to haul away. It is certainly a quicker and more guaranteed way of getting rid of it, cause sometimes the trash man doesn't want your trash. So put it in the back of your pickup to leave for the road crews to dispose of.
posted by The Joker at 2:44 AM
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