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Comment by sidewndr46 | Hacker News Reader

The reason why drivers are increasingly angry where I live is because there is no enforcement of traffic laws at all. Red lights are run nonstop, drivers use bicycle lanes as travel lanes, etc. I watched someone just reverse down a road opposite the direction of travel yesterday. Like it was no big deal.

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This has been my experience, in my area people have even found ways around the newly installed red light cameras, they just remove their license plate. Usually you would get hit with a pretty big ticket for that but the police are not enforcing any sort of traffic laws and relying on cameras to do the enforcing.

This is what happens when every traffic stop is billed as a combat situation. Cops feel like their dangerous (and they are) because America can't pass sensible gun restrictions.

Cops don't actually get shot all that much. Most deaths were covid-19 during the pandemic.

Oh yeah, that's 100% true, but take a look at the way they train each other.

What do you mean by "sensible"? People would probably start carrying Glocks with a suppressor, stock, vertical front grip, and micro red dot. That's only sort of safer for police as long as people don't look up how to make an armor piercing bullet.

It's always fun having gun nuts pretend to debate in good faith. Thanks

Lol statistically nearly every traffic stop is a completely benign affair with zero danger. Cops just spend all their training being told everyone is trying to kill them and to shoot anything they don't like.

Meanwhile, the vast majority of cop deaths are from traffic accidents, but try telling cops to stop driving like idiots or driving distracted and they'll just tell you "no no no no it's a hard and dangerous job".

Sanitation workers die on the job more often than cops.

Agreed. Sometimes I feel that most traffic laws only exist to serve as stand-in probable cause for forces' own agendas.

Nah that's what drug prohibition is for. It turns out almost everyones vehicle smells like weed.

This is an extremely local phenomenon. We have very light touch enforcement in our state yet people do not run red lights or stop signs, because that's a stupid thing to do and a great way to get into an accident.

Distracted driving could use more enforcement though.

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