And be warned, things will get worse as Christmas draws nearer.

We must be home for Australia’s worst and most aggressive drivers who either tear around like total maniacs, tailgating and changing lanes, indicating late or not at all, or going so slow they become mobile speed bumps.

The forest of traffic lights, give-way and stop signs posted haphazardly all over the place without any regard to proper traffic management doesn’t help.

Neither do drivers who refuse to indicate on roundabouts, especially when exiting.

And what about those who double park, blocking one lane while a passenger ducks into a store to do some shopping and they think it’s okay because they’ve put on their left blinker which to them means ‘free parking’. It's like having diplomatic immunity.

Pedestrians cop it too. The only reason some drivers slow down is they’re afraid they’ll damage their cars if they knock someone over.

So there doesn’t seem to be a solution to our traffic nightmare other than calling in a helicopter gunship and taking a few drivers out of circulation.

Or the council could have a management plan done.

RMS figures show Orange has had 186 crashes in 12 months.

It’s a miracle there’s not more.

Dangerous site 

Those of us who enjoy a small tipple now and then will welcome Dan Murphy’s to Orange when it opens next month.

But hey. Will we be able to hop in for a six-pack without wearing a hard hat?

Isn’t the proposed new Summer Centre a construction site and while Woolworths is getting Dan Murphy’s finished so it can open for Christmas, workers will still be building the rest of the place.

Can you go on to a construction site without complying with WorkCover  health and safety requirements?

Will Dan Murphy’s customers along with hard hats have to wear safety glasses and hi vis tops just to get in there?

Safety boots?

Ear Plugs?

Just thought I’d mention it.

 Speed up Post Office

More on the Post Office.

Queues are still out the front door in busy times and people face long waits, although it’s not the fault of the staff members who do a good job under trying conditions.

But there’s a few simple ways to speed up things.

The parcel delivery window in Post Office Lane could stay open through the day rather than close at 9am and take all those people just collecting parcels out of the queue inside.

And a postal express lane like the supermarkets have would enable you to get a stamp, post a letter or parcel without having to wait for people paying bills, getting passports, birth, death or marriage certificates and identity checks.

The Post Office’s core business should come first.

 Time for ear plugs

 It looks like we’re in for a noisy summer with cicadas already filling the air with their deafening shrill as the males sound their mating call.

Cicadas are the only insects that can produce such a unique and high-pitched sound with some of the larger species like the green grocer and the double drummer belting out more than 120 decibels at close range, the same intensity as a jet engine or Jimmy Barnes screaming his head off which is approaching the ear’s pain threshold.

The smaller cicadas sing in such a high pitch that we can’t hear them but dogs and other animals can and this causes them discomfort.

No doubt the kids will be out catching black princes and yellow Mondays and sticking them in shoe boxes before the birds get at them.

The poor old cicadas who have spent around seven years underground don’t survive that long after they dig their way out although their loud singing deters birds, their main enemy, which is a benefit of being the noisiest insects on earth.

So, time to get the ear plugs out in the evenings.

Clairvoyant confusion

Dozens of clairvoyants attended a convention in Surfers Paradise recently where readers of palms, teacups and gazers into crystal balls turned up in numbers to foretell the future.

A journalist asked if there would be another conference next year and one of the clairvoyants replied: “We don’t know...”

 Test cricket on the nose

Test cricket as a spectator sport leaves a lot to be desired at the best of times, especially with the dull and unimaginative TV comment we mostly get.

Talk of bowling a maiden over, dot balls, ducks, swingers, lines and lengths, block holes and yorkers and shots through silly point, slips, gully and fine leg leaves you cool.

And how many games can go on for five days and still end in a draw?

At least the players get to hug and kiss each other every time one of them gets a wicket.