Question: I just came back from a trip I thought I would see what you have to say about an issue that bothers me about how the police do their job. One can not drive very far without encountering one of what I call the crazies. The driver who drives like a fool, way too fast for either weather or road conditions, passing when its not safe and generally putting everyone in his or her path at risk.
These are the people who scare me a lot more than someone who inadvertently goes over the speed limit but is driving carefully and skilfully.
The highways would be a lot safer if the police would spend their time at apprehending these people and doing what they can to keep them off the road. If they would target this group instead of spending an inordinate amount of time in setting up elaborate schemes to catch some poor old lady who is late for church going 10 km/h over the limit we would all be better off and the highways would be much safer.
It’s not improbable, but I would be quite surprised to learn that your little old lady neighbour was issued a speeding ticket for doing 60 in a 50 zone on her way to church. A warning for speeding, absolutely. A ticket in a playground zone for 40 in a 30, maybe. I’ve often heard that 10 over turn into 10 over the 10 over that people think police allow, meaning 20 over in total. However, without direct knowledge of the circumstances, I am only guessing.
At least, I’m sure you will agree with me that the “crazies” as you describe them can be found everywhere. They don’t limit their bad behaviours to just the major highways but drive in the same unsafe manners wherever they happen to be. So, if the police in their targeted enforcement, or any other enforcement for that matter, encounter a “non-crazy” that is not following the rules, what should they do? In my view, they should take that behaviour into account and deal with it in a manner appropriate to the circumstances.
Don’t ticket a little old lady on the way to church? If the driving merits the ticket and the police don’t, how is RoadSafetyBC going to know that this driver may be in need of intervention? The violation may be due to factors other than inadvertence. This little old lady could be the next driver to mistake the accelerator for the brake and plough through the people in the parking lot at the grocery store. RoadSafetyBC doesn’t hear about written warnings issued to a driver like this.
Yes, the “crazies” deserve what they get and I know that the police watch for them. If the “crazies” are not around and another violator is present during a patrol, should the police ignore them so that they are not busy with a “non-crazy” if a “crazy” should happen by? No, they should not.
Traffic enforcement in my view should be firm but fair, target the behaviours that cause collisions in the areas where they happen the most, and if something is encountered outside of those parameters it should be dealt with on it’s merits.
Story URL: https://www.drivesmartbc.ca/police/police-should-target-crazies
-- Tim Schewe Road Safety Advocate DriveSmartBC.ca Any advice contained in this message is given in good faith to the best of my ability. I am not a lawyer and if you require legal advice which you intend to rely on it would be wise to consult one.
