I have watched these same LEOs stop and "ticket" drivers right in front of my house for committing the "crime" of doing the same thing.
Tangentially, I have also watched the local cops talking on their cell phones and "texting and driving" in front of my house, right past the elementary school playground, during prime kid-time (while kids and other pedestrians are everywhere on the streets). Right past the signs forbidding such.
Now, I have rarely seen anyone, cop or not, run the stop sign in a dangerous way. Everyone pauses and checks to make sure it is safe to proceed. That is great! If the purpose of stop signs were "safety" rather than revenue, that would be perfectly acceptable.
My problem isn't that the cops run the silly stop signs. My issue is that these cops rob other drivers who do the same thing in the same safe manner that they do. That is WRONG.
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Heh, I was JUST talking to my girlfriend about this the other day! For safety's sake, we only *need* at most a yield sign at any intersection which currently has a stop sign. If it's a 4-way intersection an only 2 ways stop, the stop signs could be replaced with yield signs. If it's a 3- or 4-way stop, at least 2 stop signs could simply be removed, giving right of way to one street, and replacing the other atop signs with yield signs. Under this scheme, people would treat the intersection with the same regard as they now do (rolling through a stop sign is what we do for a yield, after all), road safety maintains its level, and the state doesn't get as much revenue from peaceful, safe driving habits! Yay!
ReplyDeleteOnce we hit that point, we can start looking at stop lights, too. ;)
The best solution is to get rid of ALL traffic control and let spontaneous order emerge. As it will, as demonstrated in these videos: Part 1 and part 2.
ReplyDeleteBut as you point out, that cuts off a flow of revenue for The State. That the safe solution is avoided shows that it is NOT about safety, but power, control, and money.
You make so much sense!
ReplyDeleteThank you, "linnette"!
ReplyDeleteHm, how about a video camera? I know filming cops risks serious consequences, but if you survive the risk then you have a body of evidence to show to the press about the cops ignoring traffic safety.
ReplyDeleteI have thought about making a video record of this. I don't have a very good camera for such things, and any video I made would be obvious it was made from my house, which I'm not anxious to do. The local cops already seem to pay more attention to me than I like; I wonder if that would make things worse. I don't like sitting in one spot just waiting for the thugs to drive by. But, truthfully, at some point I probably will record them.
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