A moral dilemma

[HoreTore]

So, I made the thread about God's will, and now I have an even greater philosophical question:

Let's say you work at a roadside restaurant, a gas station or whatever. It's a place where nearly all the customers drive, and you have quite a few regulars. Through someone else, you hear that the police are going to organize a big operation on the highways to catch speeders. What do you do with this information?

Do you tell everyone(well, at least a lot of them), saving them from a speeding ticket?(here the fine for speeding is very big, so have that in mind)
Do you keep your mouth shut, believing that those who are caught need a wake-up call to drive slower in the future, to prevent deaths? Or,
Do you choose only tell the regulars, and not the others?

[CountArach]

I wouldn't tell anyone. If they continue to break the law in this manner, then they deserve to be caught.

[Fragony]

I'd tell everyone. Police should fight crime not tax disobedience.

[sapi]

I'd tell them.

Speed cameras are nothing more than a money making scheme for the police, and deserve to be treated as such.

[Geoffrey S]

I'd tell everyone. That help achieve the nominal goal of the speed check, wouldn't it, that more people adhere to the speed limit?

[HoreTore]

I'd tell everyone. That help achieve the nominal goal of the speed check, wouldn't it, that more people adhere to the speed limit?

Only for that day though...

[Andres]

Since I got a 50 euro fine once for driving 6 km/hour (that's about 4 miles) too fast on an empty highway at night (and yes, I was sober, I never drink when I still have to drive the same day/night), I would tell everybody.

[Duke John]

I wouldn't tell anybody.

Everybody knows how fast you are allowed to drive and everybody knows that going faster can have consequences.

[Ronin]

Wouldn´t tell anyone....

telling people would hinder the police from doing their job effectively....why would I want to do that?

[Rodion Romanovich]

Since I found out that there are people who actually drive at something like 150 km/h on roads with around 50-90 in speed limit, I'd hesitate about telling everyone. I'd stick to telling those I'm sure would never exceed the limit by more than a few km/h, but if they're all strangers and I don't know that, I wouldn't tell anyone. Usually these fast-going guys are the same guys who sometimes try to run you over at a zebra-crossing, only so they can drive 5 meters more and end up in the queue behind the next red traffic light

[Sigurd]

If you tell them, wouldn't they drive slower than usual?
Hey here is a thought, you could actually have saved a life.

[Ronin]

If you tell them, wouldn't they drive slower than usual?
Hey here is a thought, you could actually have saved a life.

it has been my experience that if people know exactly were the police will be they will drive slowly in that immediate area but a lot faster everywhere else...

best to keep the average driver guessing as to where the cops are....keeps things more civil out on the roads.

[Fragony]

If you tell them, wouldn't they drive slower than usual?

Yeah, here it is illegal to to signal other drivers when the laserbrigades are zapping. People slow down when they know there are zappers. Less money for the zappers. Safer perhaps, but since when is it about safety.

[Innocentius]

I wouldn't tell anyone because:

1. I don't care.
2. It's fun if they get caught speeding.

[lars573]

I would tell people. But maybe not give al the details. But I do hope that my dad gets a speeding ticket, and soon. As he's taken to driving 30-40km over the posted speed limits on highways all the damn time.

[Warmaster Horus]

I'd tell only the regulars. Well, only the guys over there you can count as friends, or at least good acquaintances. That's what friendship's for, right?

Or better yet, when you give your customers what they want (food, gas, tickets, you get the picture), remind them to drive carefully, within the speed limit, etc. That way, if they really ignore your advice, then it's really their fault.

[atheotes]

i would tell everyone (atleast most people) but probably leave the date out of it...

[Seamus Fermanagh]

"Speeding," of itself, is not a threat to safety. Failure to adapt to the conditions of road and weather, failure to yield right of way correctly, following vehicles too closely, operating your vehicle when unable to perform/make decisions correctly are ALL responsible for more accidents than is the speed of a vehicle or vehicles.

"Speeding," however, is nice and easy to measure -- very concrete and hard to dispute -- so it makes a convenient benchmark with which the government in question can levy more taxes from the community. Policing all of the other activities that breed accidents would require a LOT more time and effort on the part of police forces.

I have never reported a speeder to the police. I have, on a couple of occasions, reported those tail-gating or driving in a manner that suggested they were inebriated in some fashion.

Not much of a dilemma for me.

[macsen rufus]

I wouldn't tell anyone:

a) they deserve it
b) you never know who's an off-duty cop

[FactionHeir]

Only tell the regulars you know are not cops.

Afterall, you might just be the one paying otherwise.
On the other hand, in many countries, the radio tells you exactly where they are zapping regularly and it seems to be tolerated by the police.

[rory_20_uk]

Live by the sword, die by the sword.

They are aware they're breaking the law, so I'd leave people to do what they would do.

[Seamus Fermanagh]

Afterall, you might just be the one paying otherwise.

For what? They'll charge me with Obstruction of Justice for a crime that hasn't been committed yet? That's sounding like Spielberg and his pre-cog enforcement team.

Or maybe they'll give me a nasty look....ooooooh nooooooo!

[Crazed Rabbit]

Yeah, here it is illegal to to signal other drivers when the laserbrigades are zapping. People slow down when they know there are zappers. Less money for the zappers. Safer perhaps, but since when is it about safety.

Really? Illegal? It's like drug laws in the USA; can't just punish making and using drugs, have to make it illegal to do things that could lead to those activities.

Here in the US the universal signal is flashing the high beam headlights at oncoming traffic.

To the question; I'd tell everyone, and encourage them to tell everyone they know as well.

In Washington at least, speed limits are below what is measured as the speed a reasonable driver goes. This 'reasonable speed' is the speed at which 85% of the drivers drive at or below.

So the cops aren't enforcing a reasonable limit, they are enforcing a limit that is arbitrarily low.

Also, the cops don't give a crap about safety, they do it solely for the revenue generation. Bigger causes of accidents are harder to prove and not as many people do it (pulling out too early at intersections, driving poorly). Speeding in itself is not dangerous as it is merely going faster than a somewhat arbitrary limit.

CR

[Devastatin Dave]

I'd tell everyone. Police should fight crime not tax disobedience.

Agreed....

[ICantSpellDawg]

only the regulars.

[seireikhaan]

Tell any pretty ladies who might wanna return a favor sometime. Other than that, nobody.

[Boyar Son]

dont speed, or u'll get into an accident

and I'm not willing to risk myself getting injured.

[Big King Sanctaphrax]

Speed limits are arbitrary (the motorway speed limit here has been 70 mph since the 60s. How much have car brakes improved during that time?), and, as others have mentioned, speeding comes a very poor second to plain careless driving in terms of accidents caused. So I would tell everyone.

[Papewaio]

Tell everyone... on days that they aren't patroling.

[Husar]

Tell any pretty ladies who might wanna return a favor sometime. Other than that, nobody.

One of them will inevitably be the police officer in civil who is inquiring about who always warns people that there is a speed control ahead.

Tell everyone... on days that they aren't patroling.