Late Saturday night while driving home I came across an unusual delay. Someone had stretched a piece of duct tape across Rosemont Avenue, near . It was attached to sign posts on either side, blocking the road at eye level. Several cars in front of me stopped for a while, unsure of what it meant or how to proceed, until a male driver got out and removed the tape.
So I guess this is the new local prank. Charming. I hesitated posting this for fear of bringing any attention to the brilliant geniuses who thought this one up, but after consideration, I feel it needs to be discussed. Primarily to alert the community to be aware in case this happens again, but also I'm hoping that it might occur to the perpetrators how completely reprehensible their actions were. And just plain stupid. To the kids who did this - I'm assuming you're kids as adults generally have better judgement - it is my sincere hope that you are shamed once the gravity of this fully sinks in.
Encountering duct tape blocking your route late at night is, at the very least, an annoyance. I imagine those who did this were tucked away in the bushes, having a blast laughing at the stopped cars. As a female motorist late at night, however, this situation is a bit more than annoying, as the last thing I'm going to do is get out of my car to remove it, should something more nefarious be at work (kids, that means bad).
Now, imagine someone is speeding along and doesn't see the duct tape, driving into it. At best, extremely sticky tape all over your car which may damage your paint, and as you drive away wrapping it around your wheels, your undercarriage. (Someday when you spend your hard earned money on a car, you'll understand how much this sucks.) At not so best, an accident caused from being startled by a frightening and juvenile distraction.
The most horrifying "what if" involves a motorcyclist coming across this, unawares. Think about it for a moment, kids. What started out as a fun prank could potentially kill someone, earn you a manslaughter conviction and time in jail. Hysterical, right?
I truly hope growing up in La Crescenta isn't really so dull that the most exciting thing you can conjure up on a Saturday night is creating hazardous driving conditions for unsuspecting motorists. Which is, for the record, a crime. And yes, the was notified. Please stick to your computer games, chatting on Facebook or if you really must, TP'ing houses. Something that doesn't put my safety at risk.
