Silly cone moving is putting lives at risk

POLICE are warning residents any serious accident caused by moving traffic cones could possibly lead to a prison sentence

ILLEGAL: Police are warning residents not to move the road safety cones on Drayton St. Picture: Nicole McDougall

MOVING around the traffic cones at roadworks in town has been labelled by police as not only annoying but dangerous.

In recent weeks, police have had multiple reports of 'witches hats' being moved, which was causing traffic issues along Drayton St, with police stating a serious crash was not far away.

Sergeant Dave Tierney said a traffic accident caused by someone moving the cones on the road would have severe consequences.

"Something serious will happen and people will be committing offences,” he said.

"Offences can include endangering life and you would be looking at time in prison for that, depending on the seriousness of the crash.

"If you are caught, the least you can expect is being locked up in the watch-house until the sun comes up, and then facing court on a public nuisance charge.”

The cones are most commonly moved on Friday and Saturday nights, and while it may seem harmless, SgtTierney said it could cause serious issues, especially at night when there was low visibility on the roads.

"By people moving them around, people just assume that has been done for the roadworks and you are having vehicles which are basically coming together,” Sgt Tierney said.

"Witches hats are there for the effective flow of traffic, because the roadworks are changing every day.”

Sgt Tierney said his officers often noticed the cones had moved, and many reports had been made.

He said road workers had fortunately been able to correct the safety cones to the intended position before any crashes occurred.

Originally published as Silly cone moving is putting lives at risk