Agreed and it all comes back to training and regulation of licensing.Originally posted by DeleriousZ
I remember when I was in Germany, the billet I was with would regularly do 150kph on the highways. This was a middle aged woman with a few kids in the car in an older volvo, and she was matching traffic. If people knew how to drive, and the roadways were built to support it, those speeds would be no issue, road conditions permitting.
Catching speeders for safety? What they need to do is pull over people going above the speed limit when the conditions are poor and it's actually a safety concern because they are likely an outlier. But like hell an officer is going to be out there to pull someone like that over when the weather really sucks.
I mean honestly, when there is a blizzard, or the roads haven't been cleared, or the roads are flooded, or some idiot tries to sneak around an obviously wide loads on the highway...where are the traffic police? Sitting at their favorite spot at a particular time of the month when the weather is bearable. I have never seen a traffic officer out there in a speed trap at a place or time when they genuinely needed to be - construction zones I will admit I endorse them being there. But construction zone speed is a whole other issue. Like why decreased speeds continue to be posted when workers are not present. Or up before the project gets going. Or still up when the project is done. This is only a source for bottlenecking traffic and nothing more, but guess who is still around making sure you're driving the reduced limit? The guys enforcing the safety of the construction workers, who are no longer there.
I guess because I do a lot of driving I see this and I'm jaded. I'm jaded because the issues of real safety concerns are not being enforced but rather those that are revenue based. It truly makes me question the validity of the traffic division.
If someone wants to drive 140km/h+ on hwy 1 to Banff, I could care less. Why? Because I'm in the right lane and they can pass me as fast as they like. The safety issue comes into play when people don't know to do this, or how to properly be checking when passing others. So many times I'll notice people's intentions of passing because they'll very slightly start moving over. It is then they throw on their signal. This is a safety hazard. A basic skill everyone should know not to do and yet I see it daily. People who can't merge properly are a safety issue because some idiot reaches the end of the merge lane, panics and just decides to nearly side swipe you. This is a safety issue. Have you ever seen a traffic officer at the end of a merge lane?! More concerns: Weaving of traffic, following too close, distracted drivers, idiots at uncontrolled intersections, idiots at 4-way stops, improper identifications of lane reversals, can't parallel park, school bus safety, excessive speeding in highly concentrated pedestrian areas, poorly lit pedestrian crossings, pedestrian crossings with continued injury or death cases, poor enforcement where higher concentrations of children are present, and so on.
If revenue is a concern, I will 100% endorse a regular licensing test that I have to pay for to continue driving. Time and time again I've made mention that our licensing system needs a fine-tooth comb ran thoroughly threw it, from initial to continued license possession. But in the end I genuinely feel that this is of little concern to traffic division. While it may not presently be in their scope of work to assess the testing procedures of licensing facilities, it certainly should be. And if it is, they should be ashamed at the lack of integrity they've allowed to continue.
Have speed cameras, radar, or speed traps increased safety and decreased accidents, injury or death on the roads? Or would enforcing stricter training and improved regulation of licenses, evaluation of vehicle integrity or increasing enforcement to decrease DUI incidents improve safety and well-being?
I am the last person to bash a cop. And I'm not. Because I understand that traffic officers are just following orders. But I have highlight that the system at present is not working to increase safety on the roads. I have to question traffic officers if they feel that the general public is adequately tested and trained to safely operate a vehicle. I have to question whether traffic officers feel they are saving lives with speed/radar traps.
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