Wednesday, February 2, 2011

NIXLE Grade: D

Take a look at the following NIXLE message. It's my position that government communications should be clear and grammatically correct.

"MCSO is asking you to not (Why the split infinitive?) travel out today. (What does "travel out" mean?) Many road r (the word is "are") still not cleared ("clear" would be correct) & we are helping many stranded motorists.

"The McHenry County Sheriff's Office is still asking for the communities (possessive case requires an apostrophe; the word should be "community's") cooperation by staying off the roads. (That sentence doesn't make sense.)  Many roads are still impassable and have high drifting around them.  (Roads have high drifting "around" them??? How about "Many roads are still impassable due to drifting snow.")

Snow plows are working to clear roads but the wind is making this difficult.  The Sheriff's Office (No, the office isn't; deputies are) is working to assist all motorists that ("who" are stuck; not "that") are stuck.  Please give everyone the space they ("everyone" is singular, not plural) need to work.  We appreciate all your cooperation and patient (the word is "patience", not "patient") during this storm.

"Those needing assistance please ("should", not please) call 911 for emergency assistance or your ("their", not "your) local police or sheriff's office."

Should stranded motorists really dial 911, if it's not an emergency? Shouldn't they call the non-emergency number?

Furthermore, the job of the sheriff's department is to provide information with which a driver might make a decision whether to venture out on the roads. I object to Big Daddy's telling me whether or not I ought to drive. Tell me the condition of roads; I'll decide whether to drive.

3 comments:

Gus said...

NIXLE at 3:16PM: "Please call 911 for emergencies only. Dispatch center is receiving high volume of 911's, many non-emergency calls."

Well, duh.....

Dave Labuz said...

And so, Gus, well DUH!

Just like your little old lady who assured you she had but less than a mile to walk home in a blizzard!

The younger crowd is the first to call 911 if they can't get their barbeque sauce packets at McDonald's.

Or the not so younger crowd's anger and disappointment at plows throwing snow into their driveways!

Get an effing GRIP people!

yagottabekidding said...

Am I the only one who hopes you'll take the time to correct your own typo's thus sparing us the potential for anymore of this drivel?