I drove past the officers slightly below the 30mph limit, but still received unfriendly glances from some of them - presumably because I committed the crime of being a motorist. A few hundred yards along the road I parked up, and then strolled back to politely enquire why there was such a heavy police presence in such an insignificant place. I told the officer in charge that as a payer of road user taxes, income taxes, council taxes and heaven only knows how many other taxes, I thought he and his boys should lay off car drivers, get their priorities right and do some proper policing.
"Like what?" he asked. Like catching the burglars, car vandals and other criminals who operate in the very same area. The officer pointed out that speeding motorists cause many deaths and injuries, especially to children. But he obviously wasn't aware (as I discovered when I challenged him on his apparently thin road safety knowledge) that speeders account for only a comparatively small percentage of serious accidents. Furthermore, I reminded him that the virtually pedestrian-free location and time of day for his speed trap antics were hardly any help to kids, since they were at school.
I then found myself giving the officer and his clueless colleagues a good rollicking. And to add insult to injury, I reached for the camera I always carry and photographed the almost comical, overmanned scene of retreating cops and parked-up cars! Then the fear kicked in. Although I hadn't sworn or even raised my voice, I was worried that I'd gone a bit OTT. But what were the boys in blue going to do? Charge me for taking a picture in a public place? Impose a fine for being a fed-up motorist? Arrest me for wearing an offensive anorak? Thankfully not. They merely went back to their cars and sheepishly left the area, mumbling something about only trying to do their job.
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