The Tshwane flying squad has been grounded because of incompetence. That's the only explanation for it. To have only three vehicles to respond to emergencies is a disgrace!

And it isn't hard to find the underlying causes of this problem. Bad management on behalf of those in charge and poor attitude and care from those who abuse resources such as vehicles, which are paid for by the taxpayer.

Let me be clear. Police cars aren't paid for by the policemen and women who use them, they are paid for out of our taxes.

The vehicles should be cared for and only be used for the core needs they are acquired for.

As many motorists would attest, more often than not such vehicles are used for shopping jaunts and to play mom or dad's taxi.

The use of this resource, other than to serve and protect the public, leads to poor service delivery and placing the public in need, in unnecessary danger due to delayed response time in emergencies.

Since this is now public knowledge, and we all know that the government can't be trusted when they say there's nothing to worry about, may I suggest that those Metro and traffic vehicles that are standing in compounds at night, because of the shift schedules, be used by the flying squad until such time as the SAPS gets off its butt and becomes vehicle effective again.

John Moodey, DA, Gauteng