Cops will write these things up--but usually only in the aftermath of an accident. Generally speaking, it is difficult to get an officer interested in anything other than his radar gun until there's some metal-on-metal action. In more than 25 years of driving, I have never come across (or even heard of) a cop writing someone up for sitting in the left lane and refusing to move over to allow other cars to get past--which is illegal in most states, whether the driver is "doing the limit" or not. Tailgating, too, is ubiquitous, but there aren't any "smooth-operator," dragnet-style enforcement blitzes aimed at putting a stop to it. And yes, it's technically illegal in many states to use a cell phone while driving, but the enforcement directed at these folks constitutes a fraction of the attention directed against "speeders"--who are, at least, probably paying attention to the road. And because the majority of a traffic cop's time is spent bent over his radar gun, parked by the side of the road, he's not out there on patrol keeping an eye out for the left-lane hogs, the tailgaters, the cell-phone junkies--or the nut job swerving across two lanes of traffic in his pimped-out POS '82 Camry with the "fart-can" muffler hanging off the bumper. As a result, motorists--probably a majority--have become cynical about the police, and view them with contempt, even disgust. This is corrosive. Despite all the blather about "speed kills," sensible people know that there is nothing inherently dangerous about doing 75 or 80 mph on a modern interstate, and they resent it deeply when they are pulled over and issued $150 fines--plus the inevitable insurance-premium increases. Use of police power in this way is massively wrongheaded, no matter how much money is being raised. If local and state governments need money, they ought to raise taxes or cut back on "services"--and quit using police as bagmen. Instead, charge them with the task of identifying and dealing with the ever-increasing numbers of bad and outright dangerous drivers. Sure, it would be a lot more challenging that hanging out on the shoulder, "painting" passing cars with a radar gun. But it would be the right thing to do. THE END ** *** ** LB 59 """"```--~~~~~~~~~--```'""'''
