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Simon Phipps's personal commentary

British Police Say Lies Are OK - If The Cause Is Good

Originally uploaded by grewlike.

For as long as I can remember, my very best therapy has been a long drive, and since I got my Roadster it's been even sweeter - low emissions and still great fun. Right now I love my car, and the best place I can be is driving it somewhere a long way away on a clear day. The only problem with it is it really does like to drive at 80 MPH and I do have to watch carefully that it doesn't run away with me.

Which is to say I have been watching closely for speed cameras on a few long journeys recently, especially one to and from north Wales. I saw plenty of signs, but almost no cameras. Indeed, on some roads I saw no cameras at all. The same happened on a local journey yesterday. So what's the deal here? It seems to me this is actually an untruthful use of the signs, and I wonder what the social consequences are.

It might sound trivial, but I think it sets a tone in society. It says that it's OK to lie about the speed cameras because the objective is a good and important one. It says, with a nod and a wink, that the police know you know it's probably a lie but they like the uncertainty it causes in you. Which means the Police think it's fine to lie, and that we all know it and share the secret. That all has to swirl around in the collective subconscious, and I can't help feeling it contributes to the erosion to society that seems obvious over here.

Labels: Driving, Law, Police, Society, Trust, UK, Zeitgeist

posted at 12:20 AM (UK) | Comment? (3 so far) | links to this post | |