To Protect and Delay

I've been meaning to complain about something that I feel does little good: speedtraps. I don't drive very much, but I do take the bus home from work every day. Today traffic was especially horrendous, some may chalk it up to regular DC Metro area traffic, but I saw something else. Three or four police cruisers were pulling over vehicles for assorted offenses; they were writing the tickets as the bus slowly crept by. As I watched those patrol officers doing their job, I had to think: is this necessary? Is it possible that this speed trap, which has all the best intentions, actually making traffic worse? How does one weigh the supposed greater good versus efficiency of traffic? Anyone who knows me knows the answer to that question, especially when the greater good being served is not clear at all.

I believe that those police officers are actually making more traffic simply by being there. Everyone knows that driving behavior changes when the boys in blue are out. Suddenly everyone's hands are at ten and two, their seatbelts are quickly clasped and most importantly, they slow down to or below the speed limit. I'm all for safety, but sudden slowdowns caused by traffic police presence is not for the greater good. What happens is a giant accordion effect, like a catepillar contracting before expanding. Traffic all slows down, and the effect trickles further and further back. Before you know it, the police have caused far more traffic by simply being present than if they were not.

There are other ways to monitor driving behavior, like cameras and sensors. In Germany, the police would put a radar in the back of a beat up van, pulled over on the side of the road snapping pictures and speeds of passing drivers. These unintrusive devices can ensure a steady flow of traffic while satisfying the need to catch speeders. I simply argue that a police officer's presence during an already congested rush hour is more harmful than good. Traffic inevitably slows, making congestion that much worse. Are the few speeders caught worth the headache that the police cause simply by being present?