4 ms·

In the US, there are 38,000 persons killed each year in car accidents -- and yet there are still those who think we do too much enforcement.

8ytecoder 6y ago
Traffic stops in the US are a convenient bypass to the fourth amendment. Split traffic responsibilities from regular cops and people would be willing to be more acceptable of reasonable enforcement.
- TT3351 6y ago
  Whatever employee union that would represent those workers would inevitably start demanding they be issued firearms (at least in the US) due to the legitimate fear of an armed populace, leading to more guns on the streets and more opportunities for deadly violence to break out in a second's notice.
ALittleLight 6y ago
I would support steep fines for speeders and racers, with the proceeds going to a racetrack they would be free to use.
- vkou 6y ago
  I would support permanently revoking their license to drive, impounding their car, and having them do a few hundred hours of community service. They clearly do not possess the good judgement that it takes to safely operate a multi-tonne motor vehicle.
nitrogen 6y ago
What proportion of those deaths were caused by something that could have been caught ahead of time by more enforcement?
cgriswald 6y ago
It’s reasonable to believe the death rate is too high and there is too much enforcement if that enforcement focuses too heavily on a single aspect of the problem at the expense of focusing on other problem areas. Speed enforcement seems to be the low hanging fruit. There’s (generally) no judgment call, readily accepted evidence, it’s politically palatable, and it’s like shooting fish in a barrel: there’s always someone you can tag. It’s a lot harder to tag someone for driving onto the freeway at 30 mph and failing to merge properly. There’s no “merge trap” to witness it so the cop has to basically happen upon it. There’s not always clear evidence, there’s probably some judgment required too. People don’t like the idea of tickets for going “too slow”; everyone acts like it is absurd. You can’t even blame the LEO because he probably knows the ticket won’t stick. Yet this behavior is extremely dangerous and happens all the time.
whoooooo123 6y ago
Maybe more enforcement isn't the solution? Traffic stops are far more common in the US than the UK, but the US has far higher road deaths, even when you adjust for the fact that Americans spend more time travelling by road. Maybe the cause of America's excess road deaths is something else?
- alkonaut 6y ago
  The US has terrible infrastructure (in many parts of the US you can find a 50mph multi-lane road in a plane 4-way intersection to another similar road, where a sleeping or drunk driver might just sped through a red light and T-bone someone!). Infrastructure for cyclists and pedestrians is often bad. There is also no zero acceptance for drunk driving. You see people drive to restaurants, have a glass of wine or two, then drive home. Unimaginable.

8ytecoder 6y ago

Traffic stops in the US are a convenient bypass to the fourth amendment. Split traffic responsibilities from regular cops and people would be willing to be more acceptable of reasonable enforcement.

TT3351 6y ago
Whatever employee union that would represent those workers would inevitably start demanding they be issued firearms (at least in the US) due to the legitimate fear of an armed populace, leading to more guns on the streets and more opportunities for deadly violence to break out in a second's notice.

ALittleLight 6y ago

I would support steep fines for speeders and racers, with the proceeds going to a racetrack they would be free to use.

vkou 6y ago
I would support permanently revoking their license to drive, impounding their car, and having them do a few hundred hours of community service. They clearly do not possess the good judgement that it takes to safely operate a multi-tonne motor vehicle.

nitrogen 6y ago

What proportion of those deaths were caused by something that could have been caught ahead of time by more enforcement?

cgriswald 6y ago

It’s reasonable to believe the death rate is too high and there is too much enforcement if that enforcement focuses too heavily on a single aspect of the problem at the expense of focusing on other problem areas. Speed enforcement seems to be the low hanging fruit. There’s (generally) no judgment call, readily accepted evidence, it’s politically palatable, and it’s like shooting fish in a barrel: there’s always someone you can tag. It’s a lot harder to tag someone for driving onto the freeway at 30 mph and failing to merge properly. There’s no “merge trap” to witness it so the cop has to basically happen upon it. There’s not always clear evidence, there’s probably some judgment required too. People don’t like the idea of tickets for going “too slow”; everyone acts like it is absurd. You can’t even blame the LEO because he probably knows the ticket won’t stick. Yet this behavior is extremely dangerous and happens all the time.

whoooooo123 6y ago

Maybe more enforcement isn't the solution? Traffic stops are far more common in the US than the UK, but the US has far higher road deaths, even when you adjust for the fact that Americans spend more time travelling by road. Maybe the cause of America's excess road deaths is something else?

alkonaut 6y ago
The US has terrible infrastructure (in many parts of the US you can find a 50mph multi-lane road in a plane 4-way intersection to another similar road, where a sleeping or drunk driver might just sped through a red light and T-bone someone!). Infrastructure for cyclists and pedestrians is often bad. There is also no zero acceptance for drunk driving. You see people drive to restaurants, have a glass of wine or two, then drive home. Unimaginable.