Learning Moments

I was running radar late one afternoon when I clocked a car moving in excess of ten miles over the posted speed limit. I stopped the vehicle and issued the young adult driver a citation for speeding. The driver was hurrying to work, because they were running late.  The driver was very annoyed with me for causing her to be later than she already was.

Around midnight that same evening an injury accident occurred just a block or two outside my assigned area. I was busy on a call when the accident was reported, but when I got back out on the street it was brought to my attention there had been an accident where there was a ticket written by me sitting on the windshield of the car.

I drove over to the scene of the one car accident. The vehicle was wrapped around a tree. It appeared the car had been moving so fast the driver couldn’t make the curve in the street.  Yes, and there was the ticket I wrote to the women hurrying to work just a few hours previous sitting on the dashboard. The driver had been taken to the hospital with serious injuries, but did recover.

It was situations similar to this one, that helped make me feel traffic enforcement was very worthwhile. If she had looked at the traffic stop and subsequent citation as a warning and a learning moment she probably would not have had that accident and experienced the inconvenience and pain that resulted.  I am certain she was very late for wherever she was going that night.

Why do so many drivers try to justify not adhering to traffic laws?  I get into regular discourses with family and friends over this issue.  I try to adhere to all traffic laws.  I am told I drive too slowly, or I stop or signal when there was no traffic within miles etc. Traffic laws are not written just for cops to write tickets.  That was probably my least favorite part of law enforcement, but it is the responsibility of law enforcement officers to enforce traffic laws in an effort to save lives, prevent injuries and property damage. 

Until Later,

Sally S