Speaking of getting distracted... some teenage girl who had just gotten her driver's license, got distracted while driving down my street on Friday afternoon and drove her car into the telephone pole in front of my house.
We were not at home for the incident but she must have been driving at some speed as the telephone pole ( the new one that replaced the one destroyed in April 2006 when the teenager boy got dirtracted and drove into it) was split from about a foot above the ground and up about 8 feet, and the back end was "exploded out". The whole thing is leaning over at at angle from about 2 feet up, over a busy street... the guy wire was snapped by the blow as well
(the speed limit here is 30 MPH - why do I fail to believe the driver was obeying that limit?)
There was no note left for us as to what had happened so Vixdad went out with his trusty flashlight and found the name of the pole owner (phone co) and called up to see if the incident had been reported
No report on file.So Vixdad explained the inhernt danger of the situation in great detail and was given a "job #" and told someone would be by in the morning to look
Come morning no one came, and he called again.. no report on file ... "But I personally made the report and here is the "job #" I was given...
not a valid number.... so he explained the whole thing again and was given another job number
He also called the police to see if an accident report had indeed been filed, which it had, (which is how we learned about the teenage girl who we were assured is 'OK' ) The police had been at the scene and had called in the need for a repalcement pole... but they had called the electric co, not the telephone co who actually owns the pole
Well today finally the phone co came and replaced the pole... they put it next the the damaged pole, damaging our cyclone fence in the process (they dropped the pole on the top rail of the fence which badly bent it)....
I opened the front door and stood looking at the crew who stood looking at the bent fence... and then they gradually noticed me...
The crew foreman came up and promised they would repair the rail. Now the phone co had been cutting branches last fall and dropped a big one on another part of the the top rail, but no one was home to stare at then at the time so they drove off into the night.
I said (well I coughed and wheezed at him I must admit) I was quite pleased to hear they would be repairing the rail, as we were still waiting for them to repair the previous damage done and wondered what the expected time frame for the repair might be
oh today, definitely today I was assured, and true to his word they did come and fix the whole top rail , the old and the new damage.
They installed the new telephone pole but did not attach any guy wires, nor did they transfer any of the cables from the old pole to the new pole.... so the old damged pole is still leaning precariously over a very busy street, 3 feet from the school bus stop for three different schools ( primary, elemantary and middle)
Maybe tomorrow it will be taken out.... if someone else doesn't get distracted and drive into it first, or if a big wind doesn't come along and blow it down