Traveling in Kenya a few years ago I took a Taxi from Tiwi Beach into Mombasa. Passing down a street containing a number of large villas we bumped over several crumbling road humps.
Ah. Dead policemen. The driver said.
Pardon? I replied.
In your country, don’t you call these dead policemen? He asked.
No. We call them sleeping policemen.
We both laughed and bumped on.
In the UK car owners pay an annual road tax and obscene levels of tax on fuel, ostensibly to maintain roads for the smooth movement of vehicles. Yet our roads are not smooth. Every day, particularly in the more expensive areas of our towns and cities we are asked to cause extra wear and tear to our vehicles by bumping over sleeping policemen. I don’t object to them near schools, hospitals and homes for the elderly, but they seem to appear suddenly when a politician moves into a street – what a surprise.
Have you had enough of this? I have.
So, why don’t we Wake The Sleeping Policemen, with a blast on the horn as we approach?
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