It’s OK to Break the Law

Nothing tells people it is OK to break the law like the government’s failure to enforce the law. One of the strongest ways to learn a process is to repeatedly observe that process. Upon moving to Shreveport, it didn’t take long for me to learn that it is ok to violate certain laws.

A screech of brakes from the car behind me taught me it is OK to push the limits of the yellow caution light at intersections. To do otherwise caused me to risk getting rear-ended. Take a moment and think about the accidents you see around town. Most of them are rear-end collisions or traffic light violations. How many times do you see someone stopped for running a red light? The city has been “studying’ solutions to this problem for over a year. It’s time to stop studying and get busy enforcing.

Watching drivers on Youree Drive soon taught me that is OK to ignore “No U-Turn” traffic signs. Illegal u-turns are a regular violation, a violation committed without fear or guilt. I have been next to a police car at an intersection when a car going the opposite direction made an illegal u-turn in front of us.

Littering? That’s perfectly OK, no matter the idle threat of the no littering signs. I watch people throw cigarettes out the window all the time. Sheesh, I even saw a cop do it my first day in Shreveport.

Governmental agencies say there is too much crime and they are understaffed. One reason for increased crime may be due to the fact that enforcement of some laws is negligible. Once people are convinced the laws will be enforced, the laws will be obeyed.