Floor it!
"Putting the brakes on speeding tickets; Police cutbacks blamed for huge drop in citations" July 31, 2011|By Peter Schworm, Globe Staff
The number of speeding tickets handed out across the state has sharply declined, dropping by more than one-third since 2008, as budget-crunched police departments scaled back traffic details to focus on crime....
Which is what they SHOULD HAVE BEEN DOING all the TIME!
Little bit of budget-crying wolf going on, huh?
Law enforcement officials and traffic specialists speculate that a range of factors could be influencing the decline - from high gas prices slowing mileage-conscious drivers and persistent unemployment reducing the number of commuters, to sympathetic police officers letting more off the hook with a warning.
But the drop also coincided with a period of widespread layoffs and reduced overtime budgets since the economy collapsed in 2008, they say, leaving police departments with fewer officers to patrol the roadways.
“I can’t tell you the last time I wrote a ticket,’’ said James Machado, a sergeant in Fall River, where staffing levels have dropped 20 percent during the past few years. “Very seldom do you hear a patrol officer calling out a traffic stop. The call volume is constant, and you just don’t have the time.’’
Then there is some good to the budget cutting!
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Police officials said staff shortages have made traffic details a luxury in recent years. Since officers on general patrol rarely have time to concentrate on the roads, even losing one or two traffic officers can sharply reduce ticket output.
“Believe me, very little time is being spent on traffic enforcement,’’ said Robert A. DeMoura, the chief of police in Fitchburg, where the traffic unit has been cut to a single officer and citations have dropped 19 percent.
Some police say they are more often cutting drivers a break, saying they don’t want to inflict the big fines and insurance premium increases that come with a ticket at a time when many are struggling.
“Officers are definitely being more lenient,’’ said A. Wayne Sampson, who directs the Massachusetts Police Chiefs Association. “Chiefs hear this every day from their officers: Times are tough, and they are deeply concerned about how people are going to pay for this. So they hope a warning will be enough.’’
Several departments said they are trying to counter the fact that they are issuing fewer tickets by maximizing the impact of the traffic stops they do make....
Still, the decline in Massachusetts has alarmed safety advocates, who say fewer tickets inevitably means more speeders and more dangerous roads.
“You have to enforce the law or people won’t take it seriously,’’ said Judie Stone, president of Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, a Washington D.C.-based coalition. “There’s nothing quite so educational as a ticket.’’
That's a fascist mind-set.
And if you are worried about law enforcement, LET'S GET SOME BANKERS in JAIL!
Stone said departments and state agencies will often cut traffic enforcement budgets when money is tight, and that public attention has shifted to other safety concerns, such as distracted driving.
Related: U.S. Government Directing Traffic
Intersection empty due to debt deal budget cuts.
As a result, speeders feel they can open the throttle with impunity.
Nationally, speeding is a factor in about one-third of all fatal crashes, killing nearly 900 Americans every month, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety....
Police say it’s the threat of a ticket that gives drivers pause, and that the odds of actually receiving one haven’t fallen enough to change their behavior.
John Paul, manager of traffic safety for AAA Southern New England, said the drivers he sees on his morning commute from the South Shore to Providence seem slower now than in the past, a trend he attributed to high gas prices.
“People are being more frugal, and there’s no better way to waste gas than drive above the speed limit,’’ he said.
But police officers are skeptical that people are driving any slower, no matter how much they are spending at the pump.
“That’s wishful thinking,’’ said Sergeant Greg Hayford, who oversees traffic enforcement in Weymouth....
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Don't worry; one day the cameras will issue the tickets through the mail.
Driver's license, pleez:
"Latest counterfeit driver’s licenses taking toll in lives" August 07, 2011|By Ashley Halsey III, Washington Post
WASHINGTON - The days when faking driver’s licenses was a cottage industry - often practiced in college dorm rooms by a computer geek with a laminating machine - have given way to far more sophisticated and prolific practitioners who operate outside the reach of law enforcement.
In an era when terrorism and illegal immigration have transformed driver’s licenses into sophisticated minidocuments festooned with holograms and bar codes, beating the system has never been easier....
And go see WHO they BLAME!
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I suppose they poured the booze down the kids' throats and made them drive, huh?
At least there is always the T:
"T fare hike likely despite ridership high; Stronger economy cited in record trip numbers" July 28, 2011|By Martine Powers, Globe Correspondent
Bolstered by a rise in weekend travel, ridership on MBTA trains, buses, and ferries hit a new record this year, according to numbers released yesterday by the transit agency.
While the record was a coup for MBTA administrators, the increased revenue from the boost will likely not be enough to eliminate the need for an eventual fare hike, said Richard Davey, the T’s general manager....
So debt and bond payments can be made to banks and investors.
Davey suggested a number of reasons for the increase: volatile gas prices, an improved job market, a resurgence of interest in travel, and smartphone applications that have taken the guesswork out of arrival times and delays.
“We’ve really seen how customers are appreciating our real-time data amenities,’’ Davey said....
Yeah, just ignore the aging cars and system shutdowns.
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Related: Slow Saturday Special: Stalled T Train
T Stalled on the Tracks
Sunday Globe Commute
Green With Anger
And now you will have to pay more.
Yeah, the trains don't run on time but at least you have real-time apps and amenities.
Won't work when you are stuck in the tunnel, but...
Davey won't be around to worry:
T chief to be transportation secretary
Richard A. Davey, general manager of the MBTA, was named yesterday the secretary of the Massachusetts transportation system, a vast network of roads and rails that is struggling with billions of dollars in unmet costs, low morale, and a lack of public confidence lingering from the Big Dig.
He will be missed:
"T chief is rated by the ride; Public’s views on his promotion vary, like the service" August 05, 2011|By David Abel and Vivian Yee, Globe Staff
After nearly an hour waiting for a bus at the JFK/UMass station, a grinding routine that can make every day feel languorous and unpredictable, Mery Daniel had a hard time comprehending how the man who has overseen the MBTA for the past 17 months could be promoted to the state’s top transportation job.
While she has never met T chief Richard A. Davey, whom Governor Deval Patrick appointed yesterday as the state’s next secretary of transportation, Daniel knows the agency he runs quite well, after years of using its buses and trains several times a day.
Like many riders, she complains of the T’s frequent delays, crime, and lack of cleanliness and wondered whether the 38-year-old is up to the new job.
But at least you have the real-time app to tell you about it!
“I’m very much concerned,’’ said Daniel, a 29-year-old medical student from Dorchester, as the bus that was supposed to take her to Dudley Square inexplicably drove by without stopping....
Probably saw the reporter. That's what I would do.
To be fair, some regular riders had better reviews of the general manager’s performance....
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Always takes longer than I thought in Boston.
