Lost you with that title maybe, its from the Police Academy film and the character “Tackleberry” who’s basically just wants the job so he can fire bullets at things. I find it funny when people get obsessed with things or go over the top trying to be great and I came across a bog standard security guard over ten years back who had a belt stuffed with gizmo’s that would make Batman look underprepared. He’d made a little sign saying “dog unit” and stuck it on the door of his Ford Escort. An absolute fuckwit!
Some of our local Councillors have got the same overenthusiatic approach to life and have been buying hand held speed detectors and hiding behind bus stops wearing yellow coats.
They have been buying these things with their “councillors ward allowance” which cutting to the chase is public money. They can’t really do much with them apart from scaring people but it seems the new craze with the latest Cllr to jump on ther bandwaggon being Carol Ellis who is my councilor and usually trundles round Great Barford on a motorised scooter and try as I might I can;t find out who gave her permission to spend our money on the thing. Carol is upset because her speed gun thing has got lost at Police headquarters and as a result there has been carnage and mayhem on the roads hasn’t there?.
I’m not making light of speeding here, I see all sorts of stunning driving and those behind the wheel either have a death wish or like driving with their ringpiece so far inside them that it must be near their mouth, night time on the very dark and long main roads seems to be a favourite. I was once saw a car of four teenager dick heads avoiding becoming the main story on the news by seconds and only becuase the driver of the car I was in reacted to a life or death situation preventing a head on collison between their car and a lorry. Putting an expensive bit of kit in the hands of wannabe cops isn’t the way of going about things. The Police have confirmed that they are the only resource that can prosecute speeding drivers and they seem to concentrate on those areas where they are guaranteed to catch people doing 35 in 30 zone whilst ignoring the ones who will do 90 in a 40 cos it’s dark. Colleen Atkins is another voluntary enforcer though she has a band of followers to help her patrol the unsafe streets!
I’m not supporting regulation and there’s always been a strange relationship between traffic cops and the beat boys, one gives your the Jensen Button comment then adds you to the tally and the other might make you feel like a knob and lets you go unless you are a knob and I’ve always felt you learn more by the second approach.
Back to the volunteers hiding in the bushes, I imagine they will be wanting tazers at some point!
Go watch Tackleberry and you’ll see what I mean!
