Photo credit: Wicker Paradise
I remember the days when a broken headlight or a slightly deflated tyre would send me into a tizzy.
I just remembered this the other day when I finally got my headlight fixed after about 4 months of driving about in a Cyclops type manner.
This is not a very smart thing to do but it made me wonder what the UK’s roads would be like if the police had a more laid back approach to enforcing traffic regulations. I know that it is easy to say that they should be out chasing “real criminals” but do you really want chaos on the roads?
I now drive in a country where the only way the police would stop you would be if you were to knock one of them over. Even if they stop you because of an accident or something they will ask you for a small bribe and be off on their merry way.
Kind of Liberating, Man
Is this a good thing? I have to confess that at first I found it kind of liberating to drive in a country where there are no traffic cameras, no police control and where hardly anyone pays any attention to the laws. However, after a while I began to long for a bit of good old fashioned UK law and order.
Of course, that doesn’t stretch to getting my light fixed right away but I think that just goes to prove the corrosive influence that a lack of regulations causes. I reckon that most British drivers would be tempted to let their car maintenance slide a little if there was no real effective way of forcing them to do it quickly.
I sometimes wonder about people who have gone the other way and now drive in the UK after being somewhere a bit less strict. Do they appreciate the speed cameras and on the spot fines or do they long for a bit more freedom?