Thursday, December 25, 2008

Population Control Road Carnange Reasons

Well, this certainly explains a lot. Who knew that the reason we don't see traffic police stopping drivers who callously and wantonly break the laws by speeding and running lights and a whole slew of other violations was because they are afraid they will be found guilty of "issuing tickets to motorists on false charges?" The traffic policemen will "face tough punishment and [be] made to pay the fines they wrongly imposed." Hmmph.

There are all sorts of new traffic laws. They have been introduced and implemented during the course of this past year. Supposedly there is a "point system" in place - similar to what is done in the States - where if you get a speeding ticket you get so many points and if you run a red light you get so many points - accumulate enough points and you get your license taken away from you and you lose the privilege of driving. I'd be curious to know how this is working out, here, where only ex-pats get tickets.

I was discussing the issue of driver's here - and how they are the absolute most dangerous in the entire world with my driver - one of my regular drivers - last week during one of my trips downtown. He told me he had received a ticket for not stopping "100 percent" at a stop sign. He says that he did stop - but that when he was pulled over he was told that although he stopped "he didn't stop 100 percent." The drivers we use on the compound are imported workers. I'd be willing to bet the man did stop - and stopped "100 percent." These guys know that they will be deported immediately if they get caught doing so much as breathing wrong. He had no recourse when he went to Court. His employer went with him. He has been told by his employer that if he receives a violation for anything - ever again - that he will be sent home and black-listed [he won't be able to return].

So the driver gets a violation for "stopping - but not stopping 100 percent" and the "locals" can get away with NOT STOPPING AT ALL and get no violations. And that is only the tip of the iceberg. The speed alone, at which many drivers insist on maintaining, should be enough to get them pulled over and ticketed. It just doesn't work that way, here. The "road warriors" that drive endangering everyone around them will be allowed to continue causing death and destruction in their paths because if they get ticketed by a traffic policeman they can simply appear at the Court and say "he ticketed me falsely."

What a system! Put traffic policemen out there. Give them vehicles which are little more than the equivalent of "pedal cars" compared to all of the Mercedes and BMW's out there. Give them virtually no authority and then bind their proverbial hands even more tightly by allowing the public to say "he ticketed me falsely" and thus punish the police. It is absolutely nuts to think that population control road carnage on the streets in The Sandbox will ever be controlled with the system like it is. What is the point? I mean, come on. Why even bother?!?

2 comments:

  1. Sounds like the 'anything syndrome'. "Do something!" "What?!" "Anything!"

    Even if it doesn't work. Appearances are everything, doncha know. Driving in The Sandbox reminds me of driving in Uzbekistan (where 3 lanes of traffic equals 5 lanes of cars, lines on the road or not!).

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  2. What the heck are lines on the road, for, anyway?!? Single lines / double lines / no lines - all the same. "Do something." "What?" "Anything." Perfect, Angela. Perfect!

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