I Blame Roger Moore

Personally, I blame Roger Moore.  No, really.  Back in 1973, in Live and Let Die, he drove that double decker bus under a low bridge, slicing the roof off.  It's quite obvious to me that the bus driver who sheared off the roof of his vehicle beneath a railway bridge in Portchester today was trying to emulate him.  What other explanation can there be for someone attempting to drive a high sided vehicle under a low bridge clearly displaying its height?  Surely you aren't going to tell me that the kind of people they put in charge of buses are too stupid to notice that sort of thing?  I mean, come on, we aren't talking about an episode of On The Buses here - this is real life!  No real bus company would employ the likes of Reg Varney to drive bus loads of passengers around!  Don't be ridiculous!  Mind you, there must be quite a few Roger Moore fans down Portchester way, as the same thing happened a few months ago, but with a different driver behind the wheel.  Maybe they've got a fan club, or something, down there.

Still, in my opinion Roger Moore and that film have a lot to answer for, not just encouraging dangerous bus driving and the perpetuation of various black stereotypes.  That bit where he turns his hairspray into a flamethrower by igniting the nozzle with his cigar and torches a snake has also encouraged many people to try something similar.  I know I have.  Not that I was trying to defend myself from a poisonous snake planted in my bathroom by murderous voodoo priests in the pay of an international drug kingpin.  No, I was just trying to fry a bloody big spider.  And I didn't use a cigar, just a lighter.  And it was a deodorant spray, not hairspray.  Anyway, I can guarantee that many a set of curtains have been set on fire by people trying to imitate Roger Moore's flamethrowing antics.  Not to mention eyebrows burned off and carpets scorched.  (No, I didn't do any of those things, although I did melt the edge of some venetian blinds when the spider made a run for it).  So, there you go: they should definitely ban Live and Let Die, for the safety of bus passengers, if nothing else.