New ROTR online

Membrane

The final revised Rules Of The Road are now available for download:

http://www.rsa.ie/PUBLICATIONS/upload/File/ROTR_2007.pdf

Much improved IMO, images in the online version are alas rather crappy. Alledgedly a copy will be sent to each household which is a start. Now if only people could be forced to read it front to back, or better yet if the powers that be could make refresher courses for current license holders mandatory, let's say every 8 years or so. Ah well, we can dream can't we?

daymobrew

I've emailed the RSA again to ask for the document to be made available in HTML format too.
HTML format is very useful for quoting, like is done here with the Irish Statute Book. I've offered to help.

Membrane

daymobrew wrote:

I've emailed the RSA again to ask for the document to be made available in HTML format too. HTML format is very useful for quoting

Agreed.

daymobrew wrote:

I've offered to help.

I don't think that they'll allow outside help on such. If done properly the document should probably be authored and maintained in XML, then exported to PDF, HTML etc. But whoever produced the PDF doesn't even seem to know how to handle images, so the chances of the former are probably nill.

robfitz

Membrane wrote:

But whoever produced the PDF doesn't even seem to know how to handle images, so the chances of the former are probably nill.

As far as I'm aware the company was Carr Communications. I'm assuming they were successful with the following tender.

Membrane

robfitz wrote:

As far as I'm aware the company was Carr Communications. I'm assuming they were successful with the following tender.

IMO to be successful in the tender process a company needs to tick the right boxes that are required by the EU. Competency, hard to define and measure as it is, doesn't really feature in the process.

daymobrew

Membrane wrote:

I don't think that they'll allow outside help on such.

I gave them a two-page example of what it might look like in HTML (most links don't work and it was thrown together quickly).

Hell, I wonder could I do it and publish it myself as a public service? Copyright issues?

Membrane

daymobrew wrote:

I gave them a two-page example of what it might look like in HTML (most links don't work and it was thrown together quickly).

Hell, I wonder could I do it and publish it myself as a public service?

I had the same thought, I imported the PDF in Acrobat (6) and exported it as HTML 4.01 + CSS1, as expected the result is an awful mess. I haven't looked at the PDF itself but my impression is that the mess is in no small part due to incompetent authoring of the PDF itself.

I'm currently cleaning it up and structuring it for use on the web.

daymobrew wrote:

Copyright issues?

Although not declared explicitly, anything published is automatically copyrighted. The previous booklet did explicitly declare copyright and forbid re-use. I've no idea if the powers that be would try to shut web publication down, but once converted to a web resource there are plenty of places to put it up, it seems unlikely that they'd be able to shut all of them down.

daymobrew

Membrane wrote:

I had the same thought, I imported the PDF in Acrobat (6) and exported it as HTML 4.01 + CSS1, as expected the result is an awful mess. I haven't looked at the PDF itself but my impression is that the mess is in no small part due to incompetent authoring of the PDF itself.

I'm currently cleaning it up and structuring it for use on the web.

I did Select All/Copy/Paste from Acrobat Reader. Your route is infinitely easier.

My email to Carr Communications was forwarded to RSA who are looking into it. My original mail included an offer to help (I'm might sub-volunteer you )

RainyDay

daymobrew wrote:

I've emailed the RSA again to ask for the document to be made available in HTML format too.

You could remind them of their obligation under S28(2) of the Disability Act 2005 to ensure that;

Where a public body communicates with the public through electronic format it must ensure that, as far as practicable, the contents of its communications are made accessible to a person with a visual impairment availing of adaptive technology.

PDFs are generally not accessible to such adaptive technologies.

Membrane wrote:

IMO to be successful in the tender process a company needs to tick the right boxes that are required by the EU. Competency, hard to define and measure as it is, doesn't really feature in the process.

No offence, but this is rubbish. Ask anyone in the public sector who participates in procurement.

Membrane

RainyDay wrote:

PDFs are generally not accessible to such adaptive technologies.

PDF's are often created without availing of the structural abilities that the format offers, but they are available. Assistive technology software such as Window Eyes, Jaws etc. all render Adobe Acrobat content.

RainyDay wrote:

No offence, but this is rubbish. Ask anyone in the public sector who participates in procurement.

Apart from judging the issue by the undeniable result, I speak from experience in the field of IT and web design. As I noted the issue is a lack of ability on the part of the civil service to recognize and quantify quality in the fields I mentioned. There is also the issue that in an attempt to prevent contracts being awarded to "friendly" entities the EU rules that govern procurement favour companies who meet certain criteria that have little or nothing to do with quality of work.

RainyDay

Membrane wrote:

PDF's are often created without availing of the structural abilities that the format offers, but they are available. Assistive technology software such as Window Eyes, Jaws etc. all render Adobe Acrobat content.

Yep, like I said, PDF's are generally not accessible to such adaptive technologies.

Membrane wrote:

Apart from judging the issue by the undeniable result, I speak from experience in the field of IT and web design. As I noted the issue is a lack of ability on the part of the civil service to recognize and quantify quality in the fields I mentioned. There is also the issue that in an attempt to prevent contracts being awarded to "friendly" entities the EU rules that govern procurement favour companies who meet certain criteria that have little or nothing to do with quality of work.

This sounds like sour grapes. You may see the end result, but unless you saw all the tender responses, you can't make any sensible comment on the process. Please identify specifically what EU rules you are referring to?

Victor

I'm doing an errata of the web version if anyone wants to send me anything.

Membrane wrote:

There is also the issue that in an attempt to prevent contracts being awarded to "friendly" entities the EU rules that govern procurement favour companies who meet certain criteria that have little or nothing to do with quality of work.

Do you mean like the close relationship between Carr Communications and the former head of the National Safety Council?

Such relationships can be useful as the contractor know what the client is on about.

Membrane

Membrane wrote:

I'm currently cleaning it up and structuring it for use on the web.

I've published an HTML version @ http://rotr.110mb.com/

I didn't look properly at the images that were exported from the PDF, as it turned out, to do a proper conversion many images need to be separated with a graphics editor, making it far more work than I had initially estimated.

I got fed up with this tedious work and skipped the sections that list all the captioned signs.

There are also some cosmetic browser issues that I couldn't be bothered to fix, mainly with IE6 and Mozilla browsers, both the result of insufficient CSS support in these browsers. Safari, Konqueror, Opera and IE7 should be OK.

daymobrew

Membrane wrote:

I've published an HTML version @ http://rotr.110mb.com/

Excellent stuff. Fair play to you. Infinitely better than what I'd have done.

FYI: Section 16 gives 404.

cyclopath2001

Victor wrote:

I'm doing an errata of the web version if anyone wants to send me anything.Do you mean like the close relationship between Carr Communicati

While the dropping of reference to the unlawful cycle-path signs used my many councils is welcome, the RSA have omitted sign RUS009A: Black bike, in a red circle with white background.

Victor

Most excellent Membrane!

Membrane wrote:

I got fed up with this tedious work and skipped the sections that list all the captioned signs.

From what I was able to work out, most of the captions are all over the place, with part of each caption overlapping the next one.

And a next / previous option to the top can be useful when you aren't quite sure what section something is in, although some lazy people will abuse it.

Membrane

Victor wrote:

From what I was able to work out, most of the captions are all over the place, with part of each caption overlapping the next one.

I couldn't replicate any overlap with any of the browsers I tested with. As noted on the home page due to ommisions in their CSS support there are some cosmetic issues with IE6 and the Mozilla family of browsers (Seamonkey, Firefox etc.).

One of these issues was no spacing between horizontally adjacent image/caption pairs in the Mozilla family of browsers, I've made some changes, it should now display better in those browsers.

Victor wrote:

And a next / previous option to the top can be useful when you aren't quite sure what section something is in

You wouldn't be able to tell if a page contains what you are looking for unless you scroll down to the end.

Victor

Membrane, on your "Useful websites" page some of the text isn't associated correctly.

Membrane

Victor wrote:

Membrane, on your "Useful websites" page some of the text isn't associated correctly.

Good catch, thanks.

Membrane

Membrane wrote:

I've published an HTML version @ http://rotr.110mb.com/

This resource has been shut down at the insistence of the RSA.

Pity that they don't understand that road safety is benefitted by publishing its content as widely as possible including a format that is important in todays world.

Capt'n Midnight

http://www.martincullen.ie/press1.asp?idarticle=692

For that reason, a copy of this
publication will be sent to the 1.7 million households in the State. I
wish to thank the Irish Insurance Federation for their funding which will
enable the Road Safety Authority to arrange this nationwide distribution”.

So it's the IFI who are funding this, not the Minister responsible ?

cyclopath2001

Membrane wrote:

This resource has been shut down at the insistence of the RSA.

Perhaps this is linked to the selling of the distribution rights to the IFI?

Victor

www.ifi.ie
www.iif.ie

Mucco

Much cheaper to get Membrane to post it online than send 1.7m copies of it to households, a fair proportion of which will end up in the bin. Our nearest neighbours have no problems publishing theirs:
http://www.highwaycode.gov.uk/

Membrane

Membrane wrote:

This resource has been shut down at the insistence of the RSA.

Pity that they don't understand that road safety is benefitted by publishing its content as widely as possible including a format that is important in todays world.

Got a follow up email from the RSA today that said that they agreed with the point of wide spread availability and that they intend to publish an HTML version themselves.

Shame that the state will be charged by some company to do what had already be done at no cost to the tax payer.

Btw, note that the RSA are likely following this thread.

daymobrew

Membrane wrote:

Got a follow up email from the RSA today that said that they agreed with the point of wide spread availability and that they intend to publish an HTML version themselves.

Shame that the state will be charged by some company to do what had already be done at no cost to the tax payer.

Good to hear that they finally listened. Government bodies rarely do things in the most cost effective way. It appears to be all about out-sourcing and not using (or producing) internal expertise. Unfortunately, it is just they way things are done, often in an attempt to be open about processes.

Membrane wrote:

Btw, note that the RSA are likely following this thread.

Platform11 forums have the same 'issue'. When they report service delays, the Irish Rail website often gets updated shortly afterwards, not the other way around! They can also see when someone on the Irish Rail network views a thread. And they can block them from certain threads. Makes for amusing reading of the threads.

cyclopath2001

Membrane wrote:

Got a follow up email from the RSA today that said that they agreed with the point of wide spread availability and that they intend to publish an HTML version themselves.

Knowing the industry, it'll probably cost them about €40,000, more if they agree to snazzy flash animations of the correct way to drive around roundabouts.