Reflections on a citation . . .

. . . a speeding citation that is. On Holy Thursday, as I was driving to work, I got pulled over on University Avenue for doing 40mph in a 30mph zone.

I was going too fast and I got caught . . . the fault lies with me completely and totally. Nevertheless, as I was getting written up, a series of thoughts passed through my mind:

--I'm a bit frustrated with our speeding laws and their enforcement. First off, the phrase "speed limit" seems to indicate that that speed is the absolute highest you can go without being punished. And yet, I've never been pulled over for going 31 in in a 30 zone. Or even 35 . . . they should rename them "speed guidelines" or "speed suggestions."

And so from a officer's perspective, they must have an arbitrary number in their head at which they'll pull you over. For example, in a 30mph zone, maybe an officer won't pull you over unless you're going at least 38. But another officer may let you go 41 before he pulls you over. The trouble with this is that drivers aren't really sure how fast they can go before being punished.

--Another problem is the enormous waste of time the whole process necessitates. It seems that the average speeding stop lasts at least 20 minutes. It takes so durn long to write the actual citation . . . man, think of the loss to the economy of all the countless hours wasted while waiting to be "rung up."

--The inconsistency on the part of our law enforcement can be a problem as well. For instance, there must be a ton of factors an officer takes into account when he is discerning whether or not to pull someone over. "Is this person going over my arbitrary speed "limit"?" "Do I really feel like hassling with this person and writing up another stinkin' citation today?" "I'm off in ten minutes . . . do I want to work an extra 15 minutes to ticket this guy?" "If I do pull him over, will I write him a ticket or just a warning?" "Have I met my quota for the month?" (NB I had always heard that you're more likely to get a ticket at the end of the month when an officer needs to make his "quota" . . . does anyone know if there is any validity to this? I really don't know . . . )

In other words, officers are making some disciplinary mistakes that I could never endorse if this was a parent/child situation (officers as parents/disciplinarians, drivers as children/disciplinees(?)): 1) Not making the boundaries clear (arbitrary speed limits) and 2) Not giving consistent discipline when that boundary has been crossed. It makes for a very frustrating situation for all parties.


Solutions . . . hmm. In the ideal world (one in which I am the supreme head of all things), the following would happen:

--Make actual speed limits and enforce them. Bump all of them up a bit and then make it clear that this is a real limit . . . if you go even one mile over the limit, you will be cited (no warnings either: you break the law, you pay).

--Shorten the amount of time for a traffic stop. A few things could be changed: 1) Speeding laws are enforced with technology (radars, cameras, tickets automatically mailed to your home) or, if the human element is necessary, 2) Have something in place that can transmit electronically most of the information needed on the ticket (e.g. a button could be pushed that would use a GPS system to register the time, the location, date, etc. so the officer wouldn't have to write it). A stop shouldn't take more than five minutes, in my book.

Also, could we just pay the ticket right then and there with a credit card? : )


A final anecdote: As I was preparing to pay this last ticket, I made a phone call to the city to see if I could take one of those Driver Safety classes and get the ticket expunged from my record. I had done this back when we lived in Chicago, and though I had to pay a bit extra and spend a Saturday morning sitting through the excruciating class, the ticket was left off my record and didn't affect my insurance premium. Anyway, the person informed me that as long as it had been at least four years since I had taken the class, I could take it again.

I dug up my old workbook that still had my certificate in it . . . and it turns out that I had finished the class in May 2005.

I got this last ticket in April 2009. 3 years and 11 months later.

Crap.

(Update: I would hate for the above to be construed as I'm unjustly criticizing our law enforcement. I'm actually very appreciative for the feeling of safety my family and I have due to the presence of the police in our city/state/country. This post was only to point out an area that a fresh perspective could provide some food for thought. And I'm quick to add that I've never actually talked about any of the above with an actual officer of the law, who is sure to have more insight into the matter than myself.)