Law Enforcement or Revenue Enhancement
Now, we know that speeding (or going too slow in some instances) is illegal because when one driver's speed differs substantially from every other driver it can cause a hazardous situation for the other drivers being overtaken and for the individual passing unaware drivers. Speeding might also exceed the capability of the car to interact with and maintain contact with a particular road surface. Since most drivers aren't trained or experienced enough to instinctively apply those limits to themselves, we post those for them. Still, there are times when speeding is permitted such as for ambulances, police officers responding to calls and, often, when pregnant women are being transported to hospital. In fact, going fast even faster than permitted by law is not a criminal offense because simply speeding is not an inherently dangerous act particularly on empty roadways.
"Running" red lights or stop signs are mortal sins either. If nobody is on the other intersections one can pass through without spontaneous destruction of oneself or others. But, we have laws about obeying these particular traffic rules because in normal situations puts the violator unexpectedly in the path of other traffic and is dangerous.
No longer satisfied with on-location enforcement by the happenstance of a police officer being present when a violation is committed, we've started to use technology to monitor stop-lights and stretches of roadway 24/7. But these technologies have drawbacks.
Without monitoring by a human, errors have occured. I have read that one camera was actually showing a violation and that the light was green when the car passed through. Speed radars, used by the anti-speeding setups, are notoriously subject to error. Multiple vehicles, some weather conditions, and so forth can render results unreliable or inaccurate.
Some communities are using a network or unofficial program to encourage citizens to report violations of law to police officials who, because they can't actually prosecute with this hearsay evidence, harass the supposed violator with a letter denouncing them for either committing the violation or allowing somebody to do so with their vehicle. I recently received such a letter. It proves my point in that neither my vehicle nor myself much less the two of us at the same time have been in this locality, ever, certainly not on the date or at the time in question. The reporting citizen was clearly inaccurate and wasted taxpayer money and time on this.
The abuser fees might be gone but I bet the creation of a culture of block spies a-la communist China and the Soviet Union continues.
Labels: Culture
