While common sense would say you should try and fix a wrong if you can, authorities draw the line at fixing roads out of your own initiative.
Most septuagenarians would rather spend their weekends in more comfortable circumstances, but legendary singer Sir Rod Stewart spent his most recent out in a light drizzle, shoveling gravel into massive craters on a public road. He wasn’t sentenced to community work or anything of the kind: as he explained on social media, he did it because “no one else can be bothered.”
Stewart and a bunch of friends came out last weekend to fix potholes on a side road in Harlow, Essex. The singer lives nearby too, and he was honest about his personal motivation behind the involvement: the road was so bad that he couldn’t drive his Ferrari through there. But it upset him that others had trouble, too, and at the same time, that authorities were doing nothing to remedy the situation.
“People are bashing their cars up. The other day, there was an ambulance with a burst tire,” the singer said as he shoveled gravel into the craters. “So me and the boys thought we would come and do it ourselves. We are filling the holes while millions and millions of pounds have been spent on the M11.”
The gesture was admirable, for sure, if only because of Stewart’s age and the fact that he is a very, very rich man, with a fortune estimated at $250 million. It was also in tune with what most of us have been taught from an early age, namely that we should try and fix something if we can because indifference won’t get us far.
According to authorities, the gesture was also useless, if not downright reckless. And definitely not something that should be imitated by non-celebrity folk. “Whilst we appreciate Sir Rod’s commitment to improving his community, we would discourage anyone from doing work on the roads themselves because without proper traffic management and other specific safety measures, residents are putting themselves at risk,” a spokesperson for Essex Highways tells iTV.
If you thought authorities were objecting to the quality of Stewart’s work or the fact that he is not trained in fixing potholes, you were obviously wrong. As for the safety considerations, the videos clearly show that Stewart and his team wore hi-vis vests and had road signs put up.
Stewart and a bunch of friends came out last weekend to fix potholes on a side road in Harlow, Essex. The singer lives nearby too, and he was honest about his personal motivation behind the involvement: the road was so bad that he couldn’t drive his Ferrari through there. But it upset him that others had trouble, too, and at the same time, that authorities were doing nothing to remedy the situation.
“People are bashing their cars up. The other day, there was an ambulance with a burst tire,” the singer said as he shoveled gravel into the craters. “So me and the boys thought we would come and do it ourselves. We are filling the holes while millions and millions of pounds have been spent on the M11.”
The gesture was admirable, for sure, if only because of Stewart’s age and the fact that he is a very, very rich man, with a fortune estimated at $250 million. It was also in tune with what most of us have been taught from an early age, namely that we should try and fix something if we can because indifference won’t get us far.
According to authorities, the gesture was also useless, if not downright reckless. And definitely not something that should be imitated by non-celebrity folk. “Whilst we appreciate Sir Rod’s commitment to improving his community, we would discourage anyone from doing work on the roads themselves because without proper traffic management and other specific safety measures, residents are putting themselves at risk,” a spokesperson for Essex Highways tells iTV.
If you thought authorities were objecting to the quality of Stewart’s work or the fact that he is not trained in fixing potholes, you were obviously wrong. As for the safety considerations, the videos clearly show that Stewart and his team wore hi-vis vests and had road signs put up.