What’s the point in pulling someone over and giving them a ticket? Is it to educate the public about traffic rules, create safer streets, and punish wrongdoers? Well, can you imagine a less-efficient way of doing it than having police in cars waiting randomly for an infraction, catching up to the infractor, pulling them over, running plates and registration, writing up a warning or a ticket, and delivering it, and maybe even a lecture, in person? That must take at least half an hour per ticket. Wow. Maybe 10 or 15 interactions in an 8 hour shift. That’s not a very good return on investment in police officers. Look at all the technology we’ve got now; speed limit signs that tell you how fast you’re going, license plate readers on the highways, intersection cameras. Look at what’s happened to toll roads; no more stopping at one end to pick up a ticket, then stopping at the other end while the attendant calculates the charge, then exchanging money or worse, a credit card with a clipboard, paper, and a signature. Now, we just drive through a reader and the charge shows up in the mail or against a prepaid pass. All these technological advancements, but the process of writing traffic tickets hasn’t hasn’t changed in a hundred years! No, I didn’t get a ticket, and I’m not saying we should use technology to write ten times as many tickets; I’m saying, couldn’t we use technology to free up police officers for more productive constructive work?
Still putting dots on the map.
L.A. Basin part of the trip map
And birds on the list. Four more today: Red-masked Parakeet, Red-whiskered Bulbul, Yellow-chevroned Parakeet, Mitred Parakeet. Finished the day at 490!
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