On Wed, 4 Jul 2001, Roman Black wrote:

> Douglas Butler wrote:
> >
> > In Tokyo I saw the ultimate speed trap.  On a city street (aprox 25 MPH
> > limit) at the side of the curb was a camera tripod with a combo speed
> > gun/video camera.  There was a shopping bag set in front of the camera
> > so it could not be seen by oncoming traffic.  A small cable lead around
> > the corner of the building where there was a folding desk, two seated
> > cops with a video monitor and recording equipment.  There was a third
> > cop in an orange suit with a huge orange flag, and TWO motorcycle cops.
> > It was invisible to the oncoming traffic, with a total of five cops and
> > nary a donut in sight!
> >
> > If only we took speed limits as seriously in the USA...
>
>
> Now just imagine the benefits to society if all
> those cops and dollars were utilised to prevent
> crime! Such a shame dollar raising comes first and
> crime fighting comes a very poor second. :o(
> -Roman

Actually, I was just thinking about that this morning as we drove through
town.  Since I was a passenger I got to do more close observation of those
around me.  Drivers with headphones on (quite illegal, for obvious
reasons), unsafe vehicles, vehicles missing lights, you name it.  I think
my state dropping its vehicle inspection requirements was a mistake.

But I also started thinking about the number of cops busy with traffic
enforcement.  I think there may be a benefit to increasing it if you take
a long-term view.  I think we've raised a generation or two of people who
don't take police seriously because, from the time they were little tiny
miscreants, they saw their Mom & Dad & sitsers/brothers/neighbors getting
away with routinely, casually breaking the law.  Red light?  No cop, no
stop.  Yellow light?  Speed up.  Speed limit?  Ignore it.  It's only the
law, after all, and laws can obviously be ignored if they're inconvenient
or we don't like them for some other reason.

I think perhaps the reduction in and trivialization of traffic enforcement
has been the camel's nose under the tent, and now we're being pushed out
of the tent because so many people were exposed to this casual disregard
for the law.  After all, if traffic laws mean nothing, why would drug laws
be taken any more seriously?  Pretty soon you can rationalize disregarding
any law that's not convenient to you personally.

Anyway, just a random thought on this fine second official day of my
vacation.

Dale
--
A train stops at a train station.  A bus stops at a bus station.
On my desk I have a workstation...

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