Police escorts better used patrolling roads

DO cricketers need blue light escorts?

Driving to the St George’s Park ground on the second day of the test against Zimbabwe, I was crossing Govan Mbeki Avenue going up Russell Road when a police vehicle flashing its blue lights almost pushed me off the road.

As there was a car ahead of me that was smoking badly, I thought that the police were actually trying to pull him over, so I ignored the blue-lighted vehicle and drove slowly up Russell Road.

The next thing I was overtaken by a convoy of five police vehicles, all with blue lights flashing madly, accompanying a luxury bus in which one of the teams was travelling.

I need to understand why there is this need to overdo this kind of thing.

If Isis had put out a threat to one of the teams or Grace Mugabe was going to launch an attack of extension cord-wielding followers, then perhaps protection is necessary, but six vehicles, if you count the one that pushed me off the road?

If the team was late, then that’s their problem.

If the driver did not know the way to the ground, then the GPS on the luxury bus would have given him the route.

But with all the talk of zero tolerance to bad road users over the Christmas season, surely at least five of the six vehicles should have been on our roads preventing road deaths.

I am sure that given the choice, the players would have been happy if this was the case.

I am sorry, but it seems that whenever they get a chance our blue light brigade takes every opportunity to inveigle themselves into puffing themselves up in an attempt at self-importance. This has to stop. A waste of taxpayer’s money is the same as corruption.

Deal with it !