Thanks to Duncan Young, a childhood friend from back in South Florida, for this pic of a dangerous pedestrian/jogger/pet/bike rider/car-absorbing death-trap on a Ft. Lauderdale street where the grate is missing.
As a good citizen (and police chief of a neighboring community), he reported it. The next time he drove by a new grate had been installed.
No way to know whether the quick corrective action occurred because: (1) Duncan is a police chief of a neighboring community; (2) the city has genuine concern for its citizens; or (3) the city has genuine concerns about being sued.
My cousin, let’s call him P-Funk, actually broke both of his legs because he fell off his bicycle due to running into something exactly like what is in this picture. The city had not bothered to put up a warning notice or sign anywhere cautioning pedestrians and bikers of the enormous and potentially injurious gaping void in the pavement, and on his way to the gym, P-Funk ran right over it (or into it) causing him to flip completely over the handlebars and sustain two broken legs, a back injury, and head trauma. Thankfully he was okay after extensive medical care, but needless to say this was a tort in waiting, and sue he did! Oh, did I mention this happened in Lauderdale? Coincidence? P-Funk’s little mishap occurred in 2007 or 2008; sounds to me like Ft. Lauderdale didn’t learn its lesson the first time around since it had to be warned to improve this condition years after the accident.