The T2 Driving Schmucks Club

Each morning I access the motorway at Karaka to join many others for a while on the way to my office.

The  on ramp is divided into three lanes, all clearly signed for purpose. Two of them are for folk like me, one person per vehicle. We have to queue up and our access to the motorway is controlled by a set of traffic lights which moderate the traffic to hopefully improve traffic flow. A third lane on the left is reserved for heavy or commercial vehicles (over 3.5 tonne) and vehicles with 2 or more passengers. Their flow onto the motorway is not hindered by traffic lights.

I have noticed that apparently there are some exceptions to the T2 rules. Some vehicles which have only one driver, or are a ute under 3.5 tonnes, have the right to use this lane they would not otherwise qualify for. Using this lane puts them up to 20-30 vehicles ahead in the queue. Use doesn’t seem to be universal though, for example, not all utes with one person on board get to use the lane.

This would be a club worth belonging to.

It is frustrating when you have observed all the rules, worked your way to the head of the queue, to have a vehicle like AKA6**, with one person, come swooping up on your inside to nudge their way ahead of you into the next queue.

So how do I get to belong to this club? Initially I assumed they were some kind of emergency worker required immediately somewhere to save a life or prevent a domestic flight hi-jacking, but apparently not.

In a community like ours, if you don’t know something you do not have to ask too many people to get the right connection. And I know a person or two who know stuff. But to my complete surprise I could find not a single person who knew how to get membership to this special and privileged club.

I had contemplated hopping out of my car and asking the driver of AKA6**., after all he had a sign on the tailgate window of his station wagon which read ‘Intelligent Protection System’, but no he was off on his next busy move.

I had given up ever finding out how I could become a member of this club and gain such a traffic advantage. That was until I ended up sitting next to an older chap having a coffee at Mangere Bridge Village. We were chatting away and I raised this subject then asked him if, by chance, he knew anything about this club.

I was quite unprepared for his very enthusiastic revelation in response. Thank goodness I wasn’t sitting across from him otherwise I would have been showered by a mouthful of Chai Latte (without sugar)!

That was followed by a burst of words, many of which I wouldn’t normally use and from what others tell me, are not printable. But I did pick up what I thought was a key word in my search for the club – ‘Schmucks!’

Success!  Finally, a vital word clue in my search for membership of this special and exclusive club. So I am off to chat with another friend, Mr Google, to find out more about this ‘T2 Driving Schmucks Club’. I’ll let you know how I get on.

 

First published in the Franklin County News on 27th September 2018