I suspect Im not alone in this: When driving on the freeway, I spend maybe 30-40% of my attention looking for highway patrol officers in order to avoid getting a speeding ticket—time Im not spending looking at the cars in front of and around me. Imagine being told by the government that you can only crawl; walking has become prohibited. If no authorities are around, chances are that youll get up and sneak a few steps. Why? The desire for freedom encourages us to peacefully act in ways that will make us more happy, prosperous, and efficient. Why should I have to crawl, anyway, when walking doesnt hurt anybody? When its clearly safe to do so—when there are very few cars in the vicinity—I travel at a speed that I consider reasonable and efficient, yet which allows me to retain control of the vehicle should I need to quickly slow down or stop. Why should I have to crawl, at 65 miles per hour, when going 75 or 80mph doesnt hurt anybody? We often hear talk about banning distractions from drivers to increase safety. This leads to crackdowns on cell phones, primarily, though many other distractions also exist and remain outside the gaze of lawmakers. Yet one of the greatest distractions is the constant threat of a speed trap—the revenue-generating misallocation of law enforcement resources that has very little, if anything, to do with public safety. How about we ban them, shifting drivers full attention to the drivers around them? Id prefer to travel at a reasonable speed, keeping the safety of myself and others in mind. Id prefer to focus exclusively on the drivers around me. But I definitely dont like crawling, and the urge to walk (okay, and sometimes to run) cant be ignored.
Posted on: Mon, 02 Jun 2014 03:29:13 +0000