SIM Cards Stolen from Traffic Lights

CommanderFrank

CommanderFrank

Cat Can't Scratch It
Joined
May 9, 2000
Messages
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Times are tough all over, but it looks like the residents of Johannesburg, South Africa are especially hard hit. Someone scoured the city and removed about 2/3rds of the city’s traffic light controller cards.

It's not the first time the city's traffic lights have been targeted; late last year many disappeared altogether as thieves stole the metal poles for scrap
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Wow, I don't know what else to say if they are even stealing the whole pole.
 
I've heard of taking anything that wasn't nailed down, but it seems these people are taking things that are nailed (or bolted) down. Crazy!
 
This sort of crap isn't restricted to African countries, my in laws from Tracy, CA (some call it Northern Mexico), had a ton of phone wire ripped down and wasn't replaced for a month, as well as having someone knock a power pole down so the lines ripped out so they could steal that copper too.
 
ya, cost of copper is insane, easy method to get money for the next high. some people have gotten electrocuted, but not enough.... :/
also hot are the digital cable converters that live outside boxes in many neighborhoods. those bring a few bills.
 
Where I work someone yanked the copper AC lines out of the building doing a shit ton of damage.
I thought they were loons for stealing that, until I saw what copper was going for.

SA has not been doing so well since............
 
pxc said:
Other areas are plagued by Butte pirates! :eek:

http://articles.latimes.com/1988-08-17/news/mn-447_1_plunder-road
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Did you just quote me an article from 22 years ago?? :D


so common that Caltrans is asking scrap dealers
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This is the problem right here, the scrap dealers. If there wasn't someone to buy it, then there wouldn't be a market for the theft of said materials. My FIL who's a farmer had a ton of irrigation pipes stolen, thousands upon thousands of dollars worth, brand new, never used, the eventually did track down the scrap yard that had them and chewed out the owner asking WTF was he thinking no one "trades in" $12k worth of brand new pipes they bought for a few hundred bucks, of course he gave the owner the benefit of the doubt where as any wise person would know that he full well knew he was buying stolen materials because he makes out even more so than any thieves.

IMO, that's what needs to be addressed much more so than any thieves, its just like immigration, all the border guards you want isn't going to stop it, but you go after all the people who hire them then you'll see some slowing down.
 
How does someone steal a light pole and not have anyone notice it. Bolts at the base of the pole are huge.
 
Earlier this year copper was going for over $3/lb, aluminum was over $2/lb, and unprepared scrap steel was going for $0.30/lb. It's not surprising that people were grabbing this stuff from anywhere they could find it. People were even shooting down powerlines and stealing the copper.
 
Conker said:
How does someone steal a light pole and not have anyone notice it. Bolts at the base of the pole are huge.
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And the size of the thing too !! You need a really large SUV to fit a light pole ! And you have to make sure you don't pass a cop with a light pole sticking 20 feet out of the passenger window on the way to the scrap metal place...
They should make them out of plastic anyways !
 
Speaking of metals. This is probably a warning sign of things to come.

Up here in Canada, we have moved our two dollar coin in 2011 (the Toonie) to plated steel. Meaning that it has about 0.58 cents worth of metal inside of it. A 1996 penny in Canada is worth about 2.4 cents worth of copper.

8 dollars worth of freshly minted coins in 2011 will have less metal value than a 1996 penny. The last time we substituted steel in nickels was during WWII.

I'm not liking what I'm seeing here at all. At least in the US your nickels are still 75% copper and 25% nickel, which is still worth something.
 
GORANKAR said:
Where I work someone yanked the copper AC lines out of the building doing a shit ton of damage.
I thought they were loons for stealing that, until I saw what copper was going for.

SA has not been doing so well since............
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I dont know where you live but around here a lot of big contractors and communities with a lot of development have taken to hiring security to drive around development sites and new housing. If they dont every night everything copper will be ripped out. Anything that looks to have any value at all is stolen but above all copper is like gold.
 
Conker said:
How does someone steal a light pole and not have anyone notice it. Bolts at the base of the pole are huge.
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Look like you belong and know one is the wiser. Put on an orange/green vest. Put up orange cones and do whatever you want without anyone calling the police.
 
That first link tried to load a WORM to my computer. MS Essentials caught it.
 
Hum i was gonna suggest "Traffic CAM" but the hell, they'll still those as well and cost more damage. oh well, i guess i'll go to another thread.
 
Nothing. Speak to South Africans that were experienced the effects of before and after apartheid and they'll tell you the same thing.
 
Driving Vertigo said:
Nothing. Speak to South Africans that were experienced the effects of before and after apartheid and they'll tell you the same thing.
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While we are at it lets go back in time and ask the south how they feel about the immancipation proclamation. :rolleyes:
 
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