Travel lust

You've heard of "road rage"? Welcome to "travel lust," only it's not what that term has traditionally meant.

In England, motorists are driven to distraction by semi-naked models in billboard ads.

LONDON (Reuters) - Almost a quarter of British motorists admit they have been so distracted by roadside billboards of semi-naked models that they have dangerously veered out of their lane.

In research released Monday, one in five male drivers said their eyes were diverted from the road by posters of scantily clad women -- such as the saucy cleavage shots of model Eva Herzigova in her notorious adverts for Wonderbra.

This raises several important questions, the most important of which is: Can I significantly increase my site traffic with the words "lust," "semi-naked," and "cleavage" in this post? I've tried the cleavage route before, and the results have been less than wunderbar (ha, ha, bilingual wordplay).

The next most important question is: Will I show you the saucy shot of Ms. Herzigova? I regret to say that I haven't been able to find it. But if you want a different saucy photo of the lady, you can check out the Sydney Morning Herald's article on this topic at this link (registration possibly required).

This problem that men have -- looking at semi-naked women on billboards instead of the road in front of them -- reminds me that when I was working a summer job in college, I'd stand the bus stop at the corner on the edge of the corporate park and whenever an attractive woman was also at the bus stop, the men in their cars, without fail, would take their eyes off the road as they turned the corner to check out the woman. Without fail. I remember thinking I could do statistics on this, until I realized it was really 100%.

Speaking of stream of consciousness, I also came across this article, which begins: "A US student who was arrested for indecent exposure at a careers fair says it was a work of performance art." He said he was "challenging taboos."

This reminds me of my all-time favorite road sign, which was located on a four-lane road near where I grew up. Nowadays, they have roadside signs that tell you your speed as you approach in a vain attempt to make you slow down. Even back in the 70s, they had a radar-controlled sign that flashed. It read:

YOU ARE SPEEDING
WHEN FLASHING
I came up with a safe-driving campaign that had this slogan: "Don't flash and drive!" And also this: "Use a designated flasher!" I will now suggest this last one: "Don't challenge taboos!"