Photo: autojunk.nl
Ever since we were little, our parents told us that in case anything bad happened and they weren't around, we should go to the police. But what if the one doing the bad thing to us IS the police? What do I do then, mommy?
Fortunately, since we don't live in Belgium, that's a situation we're not very likely to come across. Over there, though, things aren't as rosy: apparently, police cars (marked or unmarked) were responsible for 808 traffic incidents during the course of last year. That's 2.2 per day, which may not sound like much for a country the size of the United States of America, but is a lot more significant when the total population only numbers 11 million inhabitants. That's almost half the people living in the Greater Los Angeles Area.
So, clearly, something's adrift there. But what exactly? Are police cars targeted by the rest of the population? Are the police officers, by some huge coincidence, the worst drivers in the country? Do they switch on their sirens and floor it expecting everyone to move out of their way, being the civilized people we all know Belgians to be? What exactly is going on there?
Well, nobody really knows, but whatever it is, autoblog (the neighbors from the North, always ready to have a laugh at their expense) reports it costs the Belgian state 1.1 million euros ($1.25 million) in repairs and damages. Again, that might not sound like a lot, but it's still money that could be put to better use.
And that's exactly what might finally happen. Somebody decided that instead of pumping all that cash in the repair shops, they'd be better off training the police officers to become better drivers. A defensive driving course might just solve the problem, because removing all the outdoor stairs in the country (as suggested by the image here) isn't really an option.
So, with just a bit of training, the police could once again become a force of good, and not the reason you had to spend your day with your insurance broker, getting the money to have your car repaired. Or, you know, the reason you broke your knee trying to dodge the police car while climbing a flight of stairs.
So, clearly, something's adrift there. But what exactly? Are police cars targeted by the rest of the population? Are the police officers, by some huge coincidence, the worst drivers in the country? Do they switch on their sirens and floor it expecting everyone to move out of their way, being the civilized people we all know Belgians to be? What exactly is going on there?
Well, nobody really knows, but whatever it is, autoblog (the neighbors from the North, always ready to have a laugh at their expense) reports it costs the Belgian state 1.1 million euros ($1.25 million) in repairs and damages. Again, that might not sound like a lot, but it's still money that could be put to better use.
And that's exactly what might finally happen. Somebody decided that instead of pumping all that cash in the repair shops, they'd be better off training the police officers to become better drivers. A defensive driving course might just solve the problem, because removing all the outdoor stairs in the country (as suggested by the image here) isn't really an option.
So, with just a bit of training, the police could once again become a force of good, and not the reason you had to spend your day with your insurance broker, getting the money to have your car repaired. Or, you know, the reason you broke your knee trying to dodge the police car while climbing a flight of stairs.
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