Warning For Drivers In Orlando For Xmas

[THE COLONEL]

Just been on Radio 5 News. Absolutely true.

Police in Orange County have launched a Christmas campaign to combat speeding by dressing up officers as Santas elves. Outfits of green and red and complete with pointy ears!!!!!

Seems to me this is taking "elf and safety" to ridiculous lengths

 

[wayneg]

Video of one here if anyone wants to see how ridiculous they look.
Its not an old story from April 1st is it?
http://www.local6.com/news/10485255/detail.html

 

[Queenie]

 

[Netty]

Brilliant!!
wish i was there to see it..

 

[cleo]

HEY! Are you poking fun at something us Americans love?! Our beloved police force acting like elves is PRECIOUS to us!

Ok, maybe not. But it's doing the job because people are talking about it. With gazillions of touristing swarming all over the place (and tired from the parks, the crowds, etc), driving is even more hazzardous in a place where you can witness dozens of near-misses a day on the best of days. If this sort of antic will place more attention on being aware of your driving habits, I'm all for it.

Plus, they're awfully cute with their little pointy ears, aren't they?

 

[mandymouse]

That is so funny

I hope we get to see one, though not to be caught by one

 

[Cyrano]

Excellent

 

[florida sun]

 

[KayleeUK]

Nice one

 

[susan1]

.... and people say Brits have quaint customs

 

[ford family]

HEY! Are you poking fun at something us Americans love?! Our beloved police force acting like elves is PRECIOUS to us!

Ok, maybe not. But it's doing the job because people are talking about it. With gazillions of touristing swarming all over the place (and tired from the parks, the crowds, etc), driving is even more hazzardous in a place where you can witness dozens of near-misses a day on the best of days. If this sort of antic will place more attention on being aware of your driving habits, I'm all for it.

Plus, they're awfully cute with their little pointy ears, aren't they?

Wouldn't you be more aware of your driving habits if you saw a uniformed policeman on the roadside?

ford family

 

[basas]

Wouldn't you be more aware of your driving habits if you saw a uniformed policeman on the roadside?

ford family

That is the point...

It's like surprise radar versus having a radar detector...

 

[cathydisneynut]

Video of one here if anyone wants to see how ridiculous they look.
Its not an old story from April 1st is it?
http://www.local6.com/news/10485255/detail.html

Brilliantly funny pic!

 

[Lindy Loo]

wow you couldnt dream this up, could you !!!!!

 

[cleo]

We see uniformed police all the time. It still gets our attention, but it's much more fun to see them acting in a way that is outside their normal boundries. It makes them more 'human' somehow, and makes us more aware of wanting to 'please' them because they did something to make us smile. Sounds weird, I know, but there you have it.

When I was a kid in the mid-60's (YIKES!) I was living in a college town during a time when the police were definitely not seen as friends of the 18-25 year olds. Since my hometown was East Lansing Michigan, much of the community revolved around Michigan State University and their football team. Some brilliant person got the idea of having the police play a yearly football game againts the 'hippies' and they called it the Pigs and Freaks Game. I cannot tell you how good this was for everyone involved and how the Pigs (police) gained respect for the Freaks (hippies) and vise versa.

Police dressing up as Elves at Christmas serves the same purpose. Americans tend to want to love everyone (or at least find common ground) and we're pretty soft-hearted for cops who are willing to put on pointy ears and remind us to slow down.