The Danger of Daily Life

The fallen Claro sign on the sidewalk.

I was pedaling into the Las Nieves neighborhood this afternoon when I heard a loud noise and people yelling. The sign above the Claro customer services office had broken loose and fallen onto the sidewalk. At least one man was injured and lay on the sidewalk awaiting an ambulance.

A junior policeman attends to a victim.

Sure, today was a bit windy. But bolting or screwing a metal sign securely to a building's side doesn't seem too difficult. Is this the fault of a lazy, corrupt or incompetent contractor, perhaps combined with a lazy, corrupt or incompetent building inspector? Or both?

Whatever the case, I hope that Claro - which belongs to Carlos Slim, one of the world's richest men - has to open its wallet to the poor guy the sign fell on.

The building before the fall.

By Mike Ceaser, of Bogotá Bike Tours