AJ, I'm in complete agreement with you that traffic enforcement for the sake of fines collection is wrong. Myself personally, I would completely prefer we start outright punishing through a system of suspension, revocation, and finally imprisonment for dangerous drivers. The lack of awareness and outright neglect of safety on the roadways is getting to level stupid, and simple fines don't do anything to stop bad driving anyhow.
Two days ago, I had to go into Rapid City for a day of errands like an oil change on the wife's car and bulk grocery shopping. I put up with the multitude of tourists in town, slow drivers pulling campers and fucking Coloradans and mother fucking Californians who still drive insane like they're back home. As I'm leaving the city and get to the stretch of 60 mph four lane divided highway just south of town, I'm in the right lane and just set the cruise to the speed limit (as I always do). I see a Suburban in front of me to the right start pulling out, I assume to travel the same direction as me so I change to the left lane, but the Sub keeps slowly coming across the highway and they're now directly in my path and not moving. I have to nail the brakes, execute full on wheels squealing evasive driving left into the paved break in the median, then get off the brakes and correct back right just before I'm plowing into the median as well as the engineer posts showing the snow plows the border. I missed the Sub by a cunt hair, they were completely oblivious to my presence in a bright blue car that thankfully I take very good care of and was capable of executing the evasive action I needed it to, but I did catch a quick glimpse of their mother fucking phone stuck in their face as they crept across 60mph+ traffic. If I was in either of my work trucks (one is a 16k GVW F450 and the other is a full on Freightliner crane truck), I would have had no alternatives as I plowed straight through their driver door while killing who knows how many kids in that massive grocery getter.
Driving is the most dangerous thing that 99.9% of the population does every day. I'm a multiple combat vet with fourteen years active duty, another eight years as a civilian contractor in Afghanistan where I've been hit with multiple VBIEDs and other attacks, and I now work for a major railroad where I'm around heavy machinery and moving trains every day. But with all that, the top five times I've come closest to dying all came from behind the wheel of a car in the US.
Peace to the Trooper's family, friends and co-workers, I mourn for him and all others killed on the roads because people still selfishly don't fucking get how to pay attention while driving several thousands of pounds at speed.
I hear you, and you get it. Back in '04 I got hit by a 18 y/o broad in oncoming traffic decide to turn left without slowing down OR indicating whatsoever. There was a car in the left lane (beside me) and I (on my bike) was in the left track of the right lane. The car beside me swerved and drove head-on into oncoming traffic to avoid her, and she drove right into the 10:30 position of me. I went ass-over-teakettle over/through my handlebars, onto her quarterpanel. Slid up her hood then ricochet'ed up-off her windshield. (remember, she hadn't slowed down at-all, so this is close to a 60+60 km/h interaction here.) I was then doing the famous circus routine -flying, through the air,,,, with the greatest OF ease...) whilst the bike is tumble/rolling under/behind me.
And then I landed.
Fun fact. Less than 5 minutes previous, I finished filling up as I was just beginning to go for a cruise. I felt (and remember the sound) of my pelvis snapping in half, both front and back. It was when I landed that there was more 'crunching' and no small amount of "owwww".
And then, while I lay there I happened to be in a depression on the road. My bike was upside down, and spewing a stream of fresh gas. Flowing like a small river to me. Leather soaks up an INCREDIBLE amount of gas. Then I started to get the shakes. I was doing the bacon on the ground there, which was literally splashing the gasoline all around me even more. I couldn't move, cause it hurt too much. At the same time, I couldn't stop moving. Idiot passenger (A) comes over to me and asks: "is there anything I can do for you?"
I replied "yeah, you can get the FUCK away from me with that cigarette!!!!" (oh, I was MAD)
Then I see Idiot broad driver (B) chatting on the phone saying "Mom, this guy just came out and hit me...." I looked to a guy standing on the sidewalk watching all this, and said straight to him "give me that goddamn phone".... he walked over and took it away from her ear and handed it to me.
I hung up on 'mom' and dialed 911 myself. For myself. On her phone.
That was in July, I got out of the hospital in November, and started learning how to walk again the following February.
Apathy is the bane of mankind. If it don't matter to people at that moment, then it don't matter. People nowadays are FAR too apathetic anymore.
Tell me I'm wrong.
