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        riddles >> what happened >> The Slick Road
        
(Message started by: denis on Jan 27^th, 2007, 9:53am)

Title: The Slick Road
Post by denis on Jan 27^th, 2007, 9:53am

In California, on a beautiful sunny day, a car full of teens lost control and crashed into a tree causing the death of one and injuring many others. The driver, trying to beat the charge of dangerous driving, argued in court that the road was dangerously slick and unsafe due to a lawn sprinkler that was in operation nearby.

The landscaper operator responsible for the sprinkler system testified that the sprinklers were set to turn on about twenty minutes after the fatal accident occured. A technician for the sprinkler manufacturer testified that the computerised sprinkler system was in proper working order and was correctly set to start only after the fatal accident occured.

The lawer for the teen driver upon cross examination asked one question to the technician. The teen driver was subsequently discharged.

What did the lawer ask the sprinker technician?

Title: Re: The Slick Road
Post by Icarus on Jan 27^th, 2007, 10:05am

"[hide]When was the sprinkler set to turn off from the day before?[/hide]"

Title: Re: The Slick Road
Post by denis on Jan 27^th, 2007, 10:07am

no, the sprinkler was set to turn off automatically after a couple of hours of watering.

Title: Re: The Slick Road
Post by denis on Jan 27^th, 2007, 10:25am

Note: Moved the venue from New York to California to make the riddle more plausible.... (this will either provide a hint or confuse people even more!)

Title: Re: The Slick Road
Post by hiyathere on Jan 27^th, 2007, 11:50am

I know. He asked[hide]"was the road wet?" If the technician said yes, then it could be proven that the sprinklers were on because it was a sunny day.[/hide]

Title: Re: The Slick Road
Post by denis on Jan 27^th, 2007, 11:57am

No, note that the sprinkler technician is not present on location at the time of the acident so he cannot answer that question. He checked the sprinkler system after the fact to ensure that the system worked as it was designed to.

Title: Re: The Slick Road
Post by cchris on Jan 27^th, 2007, 12:55pm

Was his [hide]watch fast[/hide], or was it a [hide]different time zone[/hide]?

-edit- If it was the first, then did he ask him [hide]what time his watch said it was[/hide], and then [hide]compare it to the time on his own[/hide]?

Title: Re: The Slick Road
Post by denis on Jan 27^th, 2007, 1:01pm

You can assume the sprinkler was set for Pacific time and that the clock was set correctly when the system was installed. It also does not deviate more than one second per 10 years.

Also both watches (the lawer and the technician) showed the same time.

Title: Re: The Slick Road
Post by raven on Jan 27^th, 2007, 1:33pm

Well, the technician could be in perjury of the court to protect the reputation of the sprinkler manufacturer that he works for...but I'll assume not (he doesn't get paid that much). Or he could have a communication barrier, thus the timezone, or possibly a location mix up...once again, that is too simple. Or, the lawyer could try and make a case of incompetence against the technician, illustrating his lack experience with this system, or the like...but I believe the manufacturer would send a competent technician to represent them in court. This last point does bring up an interesting item of note...the lawyer is asking this of the technician and not the landscaper...possibly the landscaper changed the sprinkler settings after the accident, but why would he do such a thing, what motive would he have to misguide the court about this accident? Unless he had a history with the driver of the car, or some such thing.

Okay, here's my guess:
[hide] The technician was the parent of the child that died in the accident, so the lawyer asked him: "What is your last name?" [/hide].

Title: Re: The Slick Road
Post by denis on Jan 27^th, 2007, 1:42pm

An interesting guess Raven. This is a plausible explanation but not the intended answer I was looking for.

I will point out that all testimony given was to the best of the knowledge of both technician and landscaper and there was no intent at any point on their part to mislead the court or to perjur themselves to change the outcome of the case.

Title: Re: The Slick Road
Post by cchris on Jan 27^th, 2007, 2:24pm

Maybe this technician worked at more than one house. He set the sprinklers for 30 minutes before the house they crashed in front of. The water draining down a hill (in California, remember) caused there to be a wet spot where the car crashed.

Title: Re: The Slick Road
Post by denis on Jan 27^th, 2007, 2:31pm

No. Note that the technician usually only comes for installation and maintenance of the sprinkler. He does not usually comme on a regular basis like the landscaper does. In this case, the tech was brought in to make sure the sprinkler was working to specs as part of the investigation into what happened.

Also, your answer is incorrect if you substitute "technician" for "landscaper".

Title: Re: The Slick Road
Post by Whiskey Tango Foxtrot on Jan 27^th, 2007, 2:31pm

[hide]Does the sprinkler system adjust for daylight savings?[/hide]

Title: Re: The Slick Road
Post by denis on Jan 27^th, 2007, 2:37pm

Congrats WTF!

[hide]the accident occured on the first saturday of April. The next day, time switched from standard to DST (so the sprinkler starts an hour later). The system was installed in the summer using DST and does not adjust for DST to standard time switch and vice versa. So when the tech and landscaper checked the system the week after the accident everything checked out.

(I had to change the venue to California because no one in New York has a lawn at the begining of April).

[/hide]

Title: Re: The Slick Road
Post by CowsRUs on Feb 12^th, 2007, 8:26am

Oh... believe me everyone has a lawn in New York... it's just that Towr's velociraptor(s) eat up all the grass(even though they're carnivores)...