Dear Editor,
I share a chance observation with the Traffic Chief and exhort him to implement the appropriate changes. I believe a great many drivers will concur.
I am in a taxi when it is stopped for a possible infraction by two traffic ranks on a motorcycle. What followed next is commonplace, but still bizarre; it is standing procedure. The driver is directed to head to the Brickdam precinct after dropping me off. I was all suited and tied, so I don’t know if that contributed to me not being instructed to disembark there and then. For approximately another ten minutes the two officers follow him (and me) through the streets of Georgetown on the way to the Brickdam stationhouse. I was beginning to feel like OJ Simpson.
Editor, there is something wrong with this approach, which some questions should flesh out. What happens on the chaotic roads (and chaotic might be an understatement) when limited manpower is so occupied, so procedurally harnessed? What happens when, simultaneously, other traffic ranks from other cardinal points are escorting potential offenders (or the uncooperative) to Brickdam or Eve Leary or Alberttown or elsewhere? Can pedestrians and road users afford the extended absences of these sentinels, and seeming misuse, of scarce human resources? Is this the most efficient use of the tools and resources at the disposal of the GPF? I think the answers should be self-evident.
Thus, I say to the Traffic Chief, how much better to introduce governing policies and operating procedures for ticketing on the spot, instead of this continuous tango in Georgetown. Saves time, optimizes efficiency, keeps things moving, and safeguards travellers. Of course, I realize that this opens a wide thoroughfare (yet another one) for negotiated arrangements and transactions. Stated differently: tributes, tolls, or involuntary exchanges. Further, I acknowledge that implementing such procedures moves the action from the precinct to the parapet.
Notwithstanding the opportunities for misconduct, I still think that serious consideration should be given to introducing a ticketing system for most matters short of dangerous driving. While I make no assertion as to the merits ‒ or otherwise ‒ of the circumstances in which I was present, it is believed that we can do better in such routine situations. I venture that the Traffic Chief will agree. Perhaps he will be moved to take appropriate action.
Yours faithfully,
GHK Lall
