Quotas(little or no Audi Content)

[John Larson <jdlarson@ix.netcom.com>]

Years ago, on the "Car Show" on KPFK in Los Angeles, A CHP Sergeant was
taking phone calls from listeners. When asked about the existence of
quotas, his reply was something like "Quotas? We don't have any quotas,
we can write as many tickets as we want."
I do a lot of long distance driving, it's 3 hrs or so to La La Land, and
about the same to the Bay Area, and I have nothing bad to say about the
CHP. On  my way to the 356 Registry swap meet in Monterey a couple of
months back, at 5 AM, cruising with a pack of farm worker and
construction vehicles at about 80, one passed us with nothing more than
a friendly wave.Even traveling at speeds above the legal limit, we were
all driving in a manner consistent with safety. I 5 north and south is
an 85 mph ride at the end of a weekend, everyone just crusin' home. The
ones being stopped are the ones breaking the pattern, darting in and
out, tailgating, and otherwise acting like jerks. In other words,
accidents looking for a place to happen. These guys are out there making
it safer for the rest of us, people who think competitive driving is
better kept on the track.
Unfortunately lawmakers are easily misled into thinking that legislation
and heavy enforcement will make the highways safer, and do little or
nothing to assure that people with licenses are qualified to have them.
Mandating higher standards and more thorough training programs for
license candidates would be a great leap forward in traffic safety, but
who in the legislature is willing to propose that the "God given right"
to a driver's license be withheld from those not competent to hold one?
It would be instant political death, and the ranks of uninsured,
unlicensed drivers would swell. At the same time, the revenues of the
Department of Motor Vehicles would dwindle tremendously. On the other
hand, turnout at the polls in his district would probably show a
remarkable increase, at least for the next time he ran for office.
Just another $.02 on a lazy Sunday afternoon, John