Council savages 'dangerous dimwit' for illegal prank on road
Council have called out a resident who 'tampered with' two speed limit signs, causing havoc.
Speed limit changes can be confusing at the best of times, but one council has had no choice but to call out a "dangerous dimwit" for tampering with road signs after a large-scale review of speed limits.
Tasman District Council in New Zealand said an “illegal and potentially dangerous” roadside act has motorists completely baffled after two parallel street signs were ‘tampered with’ to show different speed limits.
On the left, the speed limit was 60km/h whereas on the right, the speed limit was 80km/h. Council clarified the actual speed limit is 50km/h in front of the sign, and 80 on the other side of the sign. There is no 60km/h speed limit in force in the area.
Council calls out 'very disappointing' act
Council officials have called out what they say is a "very disappointing" move in a post to social media, labelling those who carried out the move “dimwits” who were “playing havoc” with council road signs.
“This is illegal and potentially dangerous, as it is members of our community who are being put at risk by this reckless behaviour,” a council spokesperson said. “It may seem like just a little bit of harmless fun, but it's not, and it costs us, and therefore ratepayers, every time we need to fix something like this. It also takes our contractor away from more important roading work.
Council called on the local community to report tampered with road signs to the police or council “straight away” — and told Yahoo that a contractor fixed the issue within an hour of it being reported to them.
The prank comes following a consultation period with the public about reducing speed limits in the area, which was implemented last month.
“This is an opportunity to influence safety with input into the appropriate speeds on the whole transport system across Nelson and Tasman,” they said at the time. More than 2,200 people participated in the consultation.
Residents divided over council prank
While some residents thought the prank was funny, others were left shocked.
“I'm a ratepayer and I think it's hilarious,” said one Kiwi.
Another saw the more serious side. “Amazing the number of people here defending and supporting irresponsible behaviour like this,” they said. “Any excuse to have a go at the council.”
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