As a followup to this article about a Haltom City judge, WFAA-Channel 8 announced that he resigned this morning.  This was after the city had “cleared” him of any wrongdoing.  I think we all know how much that “clearance” was worth.

WFAA also mentioned that Dallas Police are starting a traffic crackdown on speeders and dangerous drivers.  They will be using marked and unmarked units and they will be driving side-by-side at the posted speed limit to try to slow people down.  Having driven in Dallas on numerous occasions I can tell you that most of the problems don’t really have to do with “excessive” speed (although I’m not saying that this doesn’t happen).  During rush hour speed limits don’t matter, because no one is able to go anywhere near that fast.  Outside of rush hour the problem is that the speed limit has been set arbitrarily low (supposedly for the purpose of cleaner air, but I’m skeptical that it has any impact).  When the speed limits were reduced I did not see many people slow down.  From my observations I think that the near universal reaction has been contempt for the speed limit (this ties in with my long-held belief that laws must be reasonable or they risk corroding respect for all laws).  If you drive I635 outside of rush hour you will come to the conclusion that the real problem is slow drivers who don’t keep right and the occasional raging maniac.  I think these “rolling roadblocks” that the police are planning will do little other than inconvenience everyone.  Further, I have seen instances where police radar traps have nearly caused accidents because some drivers have the bad habit of slowing WAY under the posted limit when they see a cop.

If the police want to go after truly dangerous drivers (i.e. the ones driving 80 or 90 and weaving in and out of traffic or the raging manics), that’s fine.  In fact, some unmarked units seeded in the flow of traffic could help with that.  But what I think this will become is an excuse to stop anyone going five over the limit and give them tickets to generate revenue (it’s no secret that the City of Dallas is in financial trouble due to a budget shortfall).