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May 04, 2007 Background While I imagine this is far from an original idea, I decided I would toss it out there. I think it would be incredibly interesting to add the notion of civilian issued tickets into the mix, in addition to police issued tickets. Often citizens do things that are deemed socially wrong because they feel that there is no policing force to catch them. We should enable all of the country to be a policing force - not to invade on privacy, but rather to make sure that people get penalized at all times for hurting society, rather than just when there happens to be a policing agent nearby. What immediately comes to mind is driving situations - for example, situations where drivers intentionally cut off other drivers, drive in the HOV lane or the curb to bypass traffic, use the horn incessantly, litter out of their windows, and so on. In these situations, civilians should be able to issue tickets to other citizens. How to issue the report: Upon seeing an infraction on the road, the civilian could: 1) Call a 1-800 number and report the license plate into the system 2) Record the license plate number, and upon returning home sign on to a website and report the violation 3) [In the future] On their in-car navigation system touch-screen display, touch the icon representing the infringing car on the road, and narrate the infringement into the system (this same system could be used for car-to-car communications - such as "your gas tank is open") Result of civilian reports For every report, a certainty value can be assigned to the report. Some example variables that go into deciding how reliable the report is include: - The number of reports about that same incident (major factor) - How many other incident reports that same infringer has received - How many other incident reports the reporter has issued o For example, some people may over-report, so their reports would be less likely to be taken seriously. - Averages for the road or region or state o Some regions of the country my be trigger happy so to speak, so their reports may be taken less seriously, where as for example a very rural community may see reports very rarely, so a report is taken very seriously All of these variables are taken into consideration, and if the report seems legit, the penalty is passed on to the infringer. The infringer may still be able to argue the case as they currently can with police tickets. Also, reporters found to be abusing the system can be fined. Expanding on the idea 1) The idea does not have to be restricted to driving. It could also apply to non driving situations such as when you see someone litter on the ground while walking. Identifying the infringer would be a more difficult task in this case. 2) Potentially this would not just apply to illegal activities, but also to socially unacceptable behaviors. Examples include incessant beeping of the horn, driving in the exit lane to get around people and then cutting back the last second (or perhaps this is illegal?), or just in general being incredibly rude. There may have to be some separate penalty system for non-illegal activities. 3) Perhaps people could also report positive actions as well - a truck driver’s actions helped prevent an accident, someone helped an old lady cross the street, etc. Send Comments |
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