Click it or Ticket
Monday through Friday, I'd get dropped off to school by my mom. One fine morning, while pulling into the drop off lane, a cop approached the window and peered down. I was in the front seat. I wasn't buckled. The cop, clearly seeing this, directly asked me whether or not I was buckled before he approached.
Tell the truth or avoid a ticket? Lie or get fined? The cop had no way of knowing the truth. The "law" and parents are probably the two biggest figures of authority in a child's life, and this situation seemed to pit the two against each other. Had I been in the back seat and looked in the rear view mirror, the glare I'd have seen looking back at me surely would have affected my response. Nevertheless, I was in the front, with my full attention on the cop.
When you're jay walking, speeding or not wearing your seat belt, and then you see a cop, your heart jumps and you quickly correct yourself, hoping you don't get caught. If you don't it's a win. If you do, well, you had it coming. It's nothing more than a game, as compared to a dilemma. The situation I was in was closer to a dilemma.
The question was direct, the pressure was high. I couldn't reason through this conflict, so I went with the first response that came to my mind; no. Fortunately, he didn't write me a ticket. My mom wasn't as lucky.
Why didn't I take the opportunistic route and avoid the ticket?
The element of surprise certainly contributed to my response. If someone called just before we pulled in to the lane to say a cop was checking seat belts, I'd make sure to put it on. If he asked about being buckled, of course the answer would have been yes. If you don't know when you might get checked on, it's could promote desired behaviors. However, I didn't like what happened, and I'm inclined to think that the cop was pushing his boundaries with his method of surveillance. So rules and expectations being mutually understood could also impact behavior.
Another factor was uncertainty. I really didn't know whether of not he knew I was buckled. Maybe something really bad would happen if he found out I lied. Also, related to this is context. Both my parents and the police take action to enforce buckling habits. Parents aren't the authority on car laws though. It's easier to pull one over someone that isn't an "expert" in something.
Some people might commend me for being a "good citizen", or for making the right choice my avoiding the "unethical" option. Others might tell me not to worry, and that good things come to those who wait. Given a one off situation like this, I'd say they are all true and amount to the same thing. However, make this situation reoccurring, and it raises some additional questions. If someone were to live their lives consistently on one of these principles, then I'd imagine it would lead to them falling victim to opportunism. Perhaps leaving room for opportunistic behavior while also the chance to get caught, creates a cycle that makes everyone better off in the long run.
Tell the truth or avoid a ticket? Lie or get fined? The cop had no way of knowing the truth. The "law" and parents are probably the two biggest figures of authority in a child's life, and this situation seemed to pit the two against each other. Had I been in the back seat and looked in the rear view mirror, the glare I'd have seen looking back at me surely would have affected my response. Nevertheless, I was in the front, with my full attention on the cop.
When you're jay walking, speeding or not wearing your seat belt, and then you see a cop, your heart jumps and you quickly correct yourself, hoping you don't get caught. If you don't it's a win. If you do, well, you had it coming. It's nothing more than a game, as compared to a dilemma. The situation I was in was closer to a dilemma.
The question was direct, the pressure was high. I couldn't reason through this conflict, so I went with the first response that came to my mind; no. Fortunately, he didn't write me a ticket. My mom wasn't as lucky.
Why didn't I take the opportunistic route and avoid the ticket?
The element of surprise certainly contributed to my response. If someone called just before we pulled in to the lane to say a cop was checking seat belts, I'd make sure to put it on. If he asked about being buckled, of course the answer would have been yes. If you don't know when you might get checked on, it's could promote desired behaviors. However, I didn't like what happened, and I'm inclined to think that the cop was pushing his boundaries with his method of surveillance. So rules and expectations being mutually understood could also impact behavior.
Another factor was uncertainty. I really didn't know whether of not he knew I was buckled. Maybe something really bad would happen if he found out I lied. Also, related to this is context. Both my parents and the police take action to enforce buckling habits. Parents aren't the authority on car laws though. It's easier to pull one over someone that isn't an "expert" in something.
First - you are writing this post about the prompt for last week's post, because you did this week's then. So you are doing these out of order, but now have written to each of the prompts.
ReplyDeleteNext, while you told the story in an entertaining way, it would have helped me to understand whether you normally had your seat belt buckled or if much of the time you rode without it. At around the time that mandatory seat belts became the law, the mechanisms were not well constructed and would often jam. Nowadays, they are much better - not nearly as clunky. So I don't get not wearing on unless some physical ailment prevents that.
The other part of the story that I didn't get was whether your mom was in on your not wearing the seat belt, or if you were doing that on your own, without her permission. I believe the law says that the driver in the car is responsible for passengers wearing their seat belts - but that is a guess.
As far as cop using unfair mechanisms of monitoring, a reality of performance measures probably enters into the equations. Cops have performance minimums they must achieve each month based on tickets issued. At the end of the month, they are more likely to be on the prowl so they can achieve their quota. Knowing this, that is a time to be more careful about these sort of transgressions.
At the time, I usually tried to wear a seat belt as little as possible. I don't really remember why. They were pretty uncomfortable with how they wrapped across the body and they'd sometimes lock up, making the strap tight.
DeleteBuckling was something that I'd be reminded to do before driving anywhere. In this case, I might have just ignored it, or it never came up. Occasionally getting to school would be a bit of a rush to get there on time.
I think that a very important aspect of this situation is the absolute lack of information. One big one that you touched upon was the fact that you legitimately did not know if he had seen you without your seatbelt buckled prior to pulling up. This uncertainty definitely affected your decision. Another issue is what the consequences of telling the truth would have been versus telling a lie. Obviously, honesty ended up in your mom getting a ticket, but you definitely didn't know that beforehand. If you had said yes, it's also possible that the cop would've given you a ticket anyway, since he might've seen you pull up or may have gotten you on some kind of technicality in regards to when you can and cannot be without your seat belt in a car. Overall, had you known for sure in that moment that saying no would've resulted in a ticket, you may have acted otherwise. However, had you known there was a cop behind you, you probably would've just worn your seat belt and avoided the situation entirely.
ReplyDelete