Instant meltdown

16 October 2008 at 22:38 (Meltdowns / Shut-downs, OMG)

It took me three times as long as the average person to learn to drive.  I took driver’s education twice. I had to drive automatic transmission for a year before I mastered stick-shift.  Despite all this, I did learn, and in later years have successfully driven in both the US and the UK.

But I am SO glad I never saw this while behind the wheel — I would have been so overwhelmed as to want to curl up into a fœtal ball:

A "tree" sculpture featuring over a dozen traffic lights facing all directions
A

The “Traffic Light Tree” is a sculpture by Pierre Vivant, in London’s Docklands.  It’s interesting enough as a visual pun on urban fixtures and London Plane trees, but what insane person decided to forgo the usual park and install such an art piece in the middle of a roundabout?!

8 Comments

  1. The Gonzo Girl said,

    26 November 2008 at 15:03

    I love it, when there’s humour in art, and if this were in a park, instead of a roundabout, I’m afraid, it just wouldn’t be funny anymore.

  2. Fledchen said,

    22 October 2008 at 22:42

    This is where being a legally blind pedestrian has its advantages. I can just close my eyes and figure out what the traffic is doing with my ears instead of worrying about what the signal light says! :)

  3. lastcrazyhorn said,

    17 October 2008 at 23:14

    I had to take the driving test 3 times. And that was after having my permit for 23 months.

  4. renaeden said,

    17 October 2008 at 5:50

    I still drive an automatic car – too scared to drive a manual. I like the lights and am thankful that they are not used for real traffic!

  5. athenivandx said,

    17 October 2008 at 4:45

    gah…….

    I bet we took longer to get a license than you did……..

    almost 8 years here.

    And that traffic tree thing is……..clearly in the wrong place. A roundabout? Well as you said whoever put it there clearly went roundabend! (potty)

  6. Maddy said,

    17 October 2008 at 0:57

    Do you know…….I really, really like that.
    Cheers

  7. The Perky Skeptic said,

    17 October 2008 at 0:45

    Woah. That belongs far, far… FAR… away from any streets. It would be a great sculpture for the middle of a park.

  8. Fielding J. Hurst said,

    16 October 2008 at 23:50

    Oh, my. That thing gives me a headache just looking at it. :-)


%d bloggers like this: