Editor:
From time to time an incident happens that makes one question the status quo.
It happened to me a couple of months ago. I received a traffic ticket. That in itself is obviously not remarkable, for what and where, is. I received it for making a rolling right turn at the corner of Releiz Station Rd and Olympic Blvd.
Now a vehicle only makes a dead stop when the wheels stop rotating, anything else and the vehicle is rolling. At that intersection there is no left turn, there is a right turn lane, and there are no pedestrians or cross traffic. Thousands of vehicles go through that intersection every day. Ninety nine percent of them turn right and ALL of them make a rolling right turn. Now human behavior is very rational. That means that all drivers making that turn believe a traffic stop is an unnecessary and irrelevant requirement. So what is the point of writing traffic tickets for that infraction. You could literally write thousands a day and over a million per year. It is a bit like King Neptune holding a trident and trying to stop the tide coming in. Yes, you can do it but what is the point.
Would it not be more reasonable to make that turn a yield, just like the right turn from Pleasant Hill Rd onto Olympic, which also has a right turn lane, but has cross traffic too.
This would then save the costs of policing an intersection. Policing is expensive.
Surely there are higher priorities for a Lafayette police officer than these duties. Having a motor-cycle police officer is a luxury both the Orinda and Moraga departments can't afford.
In these days where personnel costs are bankrupting cities, prioritizing tax payer funds is a necessity. Squandering tax payer money on unnecessary policing activities is surely not the best use of these funds. Perhaps they would be better utilized if dedicated to schools, firefighting, or resident seniors, which are all feeling the economic pinch. As a retired Lamorinda resident who volunteers over 30 hours a month for our seniors, my mind actually boggles
Sincerely,
David Cummins
Moraga
From time to time an incident happens that makes one question the status quo.
It happened to me a couple of months ago. I received a traffic ticket. That in itself is obviously not remarkable, for what and where, is. I received it for making a rolling right turn at the corner of Releiz Station Rd and Olympic Blvd.
Now a vehicle only makes a dead stop when the wheels stop rotating, anything else and the vehicle is rolling. At that intersection there is no left turn, there is a right turn lane, and there are no pedestrians or cross traffic. Thousands of vehicles go through that intersection every day. Ninety nine percent of them turn right and ALL of them make a rolling right turn. Now human behavior is very rational. That means that all drivers making that turn believe a traffic stop is an unnecessary and irrelevant requirement. So what is the point of writing traffic tickets for that infraction. You could literally write thousands a day and over a million per year. It is a bit like King Neptune holding a trident and trying to stop the tide coming in. Yes, you can do it but what is the point.
Would it not be more reasonable to make that turn a yield, just like the right turn from Pleasant Hill Rd onto Olympic, which also has a right turn lane, but has cross traffic too.
This would then save the costs of policing an intersection. Policing is expensive.
Surely there are higher priorities for a Lafayette police officer than these duties. Having a motor-cycle police officer is a luxury both the Orinda and Moraga departments can't afford.
In these days where personnel costs are bankrupting cities, prioritizing tax payer funds is a necessity. Squandering tax payer money on unnecessary policing activities is surely not the best use of these funds. Perhaps they would be better utilized if dedicated to schools, firefighting, or resident seniors, which are all feeling the economic pinch. As a retired Lamorinda resident who volunteers over 30 hours a month for our seniors, my mind actually boggles
Sincerely,
David Cummins
Moraga
Reach the reporter at:
Lamorinda Weekly, Moraga CA