If you are an Alabamian reading this post, you likely share my same frustration with the current promotion by the state to "take our streets back". For those of you who are not aware, this week, our major highways (aka, for those in the Montgomery area, interstates 85 & 65) are being highly patrolled by state troopers. What is the point? Well, they claim that this is a targeted effort to accomplish a couple of things: 1) to help reduce the number of highway fatalities, which we have had several of over the past couple of months, and 2) to catch the druggies who apparently speed down the highway instead of creep along our neighborhood streets ("they" say that drug busts are commonly made by the routine traffic stop). So is this promotion on anyone else's nerves but mine? I don't usually blog about current events, but this is frustrating to me for several reasons:
1. This may help with the number of highway fatalities we have THIS WEEK, but what happens after this week is over? Everyone goes back to speeding.
2. If you want to really catch people speeding, DON'T ADVERTISE IT. Hello - everyone's driving slower because we have known about this for weeks now. (Ok so apparently EVERYONE isn't driving slower, because I have seen people pulled over...which makes me want to roll down my window & yell, "You idiot! Have you been living under a rock for the past month?" I digress.)
3. When drivers see someone pulled over by a trooper, they freak out & slow down to 30 miles UNDER the speed limit. Ok, people. You are allowed to actually drive the speed limit. Seriously - on my way home yesterday, several people were pulled over on the OTHER side of the interstate, so the traffic on my side slowed to a crawl of a whopping 40 mph in a 60 mph zone. Stop freaking out when others get pulled over!
What do y'all think about this "taking our streets back" promotion? Do you think it's going to do any good, besides collecting money for our state from the 6,000 tickets that were apparently issued yesterday? I personally think it's a political promotion to make it look like the state government is trying to do something about the speeding on the roads. Here's a novel idea - maybe crack down on speeders ALL THE TIME instead of just one week??
I don't trust my car telling me that I'm only going 50. What if I am really going 52? Oh no! Speeding ticket! We have to drive to Birmingham this weekend. If we leave Saturday by 10 am, we might get there by next Tuesday.
ReplyDeletedoes the government ever do anything that is not a political promotion?
ReplyDeleteI agree with your blog.
I agree too that all laws should be enforced all the time instead of just here and there.
ReplyDeleteI saw the worst thing! I saw a broken down car between to cars pulled over by cops. This broken down car had no help because the cops were too busy writing tickets. I completely agree this week is a waste. I heard on the radio this morning that this week is to make up for the tax free weekend.
ReplyDeleteWell, I am glad for the increased survillence. It would be nice if they could use the increased revenue from tickets to hire more cops to continue to curb speeding. I don't think it's a total wash, at least those speeding will be slower next week (mostly because of their thinner wallet)...
ReplyDeleteI agree! And we also don't have to keep going the school zone limit after we've passed through the school zone either...
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad that I'm not in AL! :) I would probablly get several tickets since I refuse to slow down to a snail's pace when I see a cop. Really what's the point they already know your speeding.
ReplyDeleteActually, a good percentage of the tickets written have been for tailgaters. For this I am VERY thankful. There is no doubt that we need more enforcement and supposedly this is a "gimmick" to indicate to those who control the budget that much more could be done with more troopers. It is coming. We will need at least 4 just to control the traffic around the BassPro shop in Prattville!
ReplyDeleteSTUPID COPPERS! GO EAT A DONUT!!! what??
ReplyDeleteYes, officer, that is a coral Quest with a soccer magnet on the back.
ReplyDeletehaha! you know, I probably won't be stopped because im driving a mini, either. hmmmm. this could really pay off! (subject of my next blog)
ReplyDeletei really wish that they would put their resources in curbing the murders in town.
ReplyDeleteSpeeding on highway = getting places faster (and maybe getting in a wreck in a 5-star crash-rated van)
Murder in the city = people not feeling safe, which leads to less people investing in businesses, which leads to less money being poured into the city, which leads to people having less opportunity to better themselves, which leads to higher crime rate, which leads to more murders.