News and views with James Tute - every Friday in the EchoDanger, men at work
First published February 8, 2008
A FEW weeks ago, I wrote about the A12 heroes - the courageous road workers who toil away inches from traffic whizzing past at 70mph or more.
I genuinely admire their ability to keep calm and do their job in such noisy and potentially deadly circumstances.
With that in mind, the scene of a recent partial road closure I drove through seemed particularly farcical.
The road, already covered by a 30mph limit, was shut on one side for resurfacing work.
At each end was a stop-go lollipop, which apparently needed two workers to operate it - one standing around waiting for the right moment to let traffic through, the other to give him moral support from the cab of a lorry with his feet on the dashboard.
The best bit, though, was when us drivers were deemed worthy to go along the open side of the road.
Rather than take the chance one of us would tear down there at, ooh, 25 or even 30mph, we were held back by a third grinning idiot on a quad bike who drove ahead like an F1 control car, keeping us to 10mph.
That was until he got bored and put HIS foot down, to the delight his many co-workers - all standing around watching the driver-baiting spectacle from the far pavement.
I'm not sure what the crews working the A12 would make of this pantomime but I know what I think of it - but it's unprintable in a family newspaper.
The news that Tony Blair has apparently been lent a new Jaguar saloon to test begs the question, how much driving experience does the ex-Prime Minister actually have?
After all, for more than a decade he must have spent most of his time on the road in the back seat of a chauffeur-driven car.
12:27pm Friday 8th February 2008
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