Driving back towards the station after yet another routine call, a set of traffic lights on red sees me pull up alongside another car, a brand new convertible. Warm sunny days are a rarity in this part of the world, and those with convertible cars make the most of them. As soon as the sun is out, the lids come off the car, be it thirty degrees above, or be it ten below.
The car has two occupants, the driver and his passenger, both young, both wearing the uniform of a local bank, and both with no seat belt. I can't help but wonder, somewhat cruelly and not for the first time, whether an unrestrained driver in a convertible flies over or through the windscreen when the car crashes.
Being stopped at the lights gives me the opportunity to have a quick word with the guys in the car. "Seat belts might be a good idea gentlemen!" I was all ready for a comment to the effect of "mind your own business" or just to be completely ignored. Instead, the driver looked over to his passenger, back at me and they both put on their seat belts.
"Thanks".
"Well, we couldn't really say no to you could we? If you'd've been a copper, I'd ignore 'em. But you're not looking to give me a a hard time and a fine. You're only asking 'cos you actually just want us to put the belts on."
"True enough", I said, "I'm just trying not to find the answer to a question I've had for ages."
"You don't want the answer?" Confusion covered his face like a rash.
"No thanks. Not today."
With that, the lights turned green, and we drove our separate ways, confused and pleased in equal measures.
And still, thankfully, with no answer.
6 comments:
kinda like saying to a smoker "hey, you know you should put that cigarette out 'cos they'll kill you". all smokers know that yet they still do it...
weird!
I remember the first RTC (Road Traffic Collision) that I attended.
A stationary car hit from behind by a vehicle doing 40ish. The female passenger was not wearing a seat belt.
She had no visible injuries, I remember thinking that she was pretty. She was also very dead.
Now every time i see a convertible i will be reminded of this question.
So, they have the brains to get a good job. A good enough job to afford a "poser mobile". Yet they don't have the brains to (1) obey a very sensible law or (2) realise they're risking life and limb for no good reason. No wonder the banking industry is in crisis!
Wow, if you had been a cop, he wouldn't have done it? because cops don't have their best interests at heart? Wow, I wonder why my husband even bother going to work every morning.
Crazy Shaw Family - I totally agree with you. As much as I was pleased they put their belts on, I couldn't believe their initial stupidity which clearly clouded their judgement of why a police officer would ask them to do the same!
Wombats...
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