Wednesday 14 March 2012

Sutton blind traps

A new blind trap has become operative in the London Borough of Sutton. I call them "blind traps" but they are nearly as effective against the old and infirm.

Of course, the worthy administrators  (slogan: Strength through blagging) cannot admit to a eugenics programme; so they disguise their trap as a bollard or other street furniture. And then, in what is almost now a natural process, some inept driver mounts the pavement and collides with that furniture.

It is made of such flimsy material that it snaps off readily, leaving, in this case, a hole in the ground, with a raised lip around it, just right for tripping the unwary and frail, especially if it can last into autumn leaves or winter snow.

Other strategies are used -- collapsing benches, pretending to grit ice and so on -- but this is the most complex.

That is only part of it.

The next stage is to ignore reports of the error. I think I am right in saying that it once took them 15 months to repair. Well, it needs that time to get maximum return on their investment. Even when they repair them, of course, the driving fraternity activates them again. Clever.

Well, I wrote on Tuesday (13th) when I noticed the activation, so I am on the trouble-maker list again; and record it here. Hopefully, there'll be a few less drains on society in the borough shortly.

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