Just Because...: Click It or Ticket...

Thursday, June 01, 2006

Click It or Ticket...

Well - Florida has a new seatbelt incentive, "Click it or Ticket". 'Sall well and good, except for Thursday when the Orlando Police Department took it too far. I was stuck in traffic on I-4 Eastbound, headed towards Downtown Orlando and, while there normally is traffic, that morning it was beyond normal - it was utter gridlock which, in normal terms, can lead one to believe there is a pretty bad accident.

Inch by Inch the cars move and I get to the OBT Exit - okay - no accident. Right AFTER the OBT exit, I see the problem. 5 Orlando Police Officers (and one of them, I swear, looked like the Cop from the Village People) were walking through the traffic on an interstate highway checking cars for seatbelts. In Morning Rush Hour, no less What. The. Hell.

I had my seatbelt, so I had no worries, but Mr. Village People decided to check all IN my car windows in case I was harboring someone who didn't wear a seatbelt like a bad scene from the Fugitive. I rolled my eyes at the idiot and he caught the taxi driver on the OTHER side of me (middle lane) and decided to pull him over THROUGH traffic to ticket him. Morning rush hour traffic and you are going to have a car go in front of me to get your fee? What idiocy (insert another eye roll here).

SO, now I'm beyond exasperated, 30 minutes late for work AND I see flashing lights ahead. Wait - there's an ambulance and fire truck - so there IS an accident. It's before the Kaley exit - about 50 ft. or so from the wandering cops and traffic starts to clear after we all pass inspection. Traffic is flowing like a breeze through the accident scene (which, for Orlando - no rubbernecking? Wow - that's a first)

Well, to my right, sure enough, there is an accident - 3 cars that are pretty bad off, ONE COP processing the ENTIRE scene, and there is an ambulance and fire truck. DO you think this one cop having to deal with 3 vehicles could use some help? My guess is his partner was 50 ft. behind over by OBT wandering through traffic trying to make that "elusive" quota that Florida so often denies having.

I guess Doc Holliday is right when he says that Click It or Ticket is really a fundraiser. However, I expect this idiocy of wandering through traffic from the Orange County Sheriffs, not the Orlando Police Department.

OPD - GET IT TOGETHER and, don't endanger your guys by making them walk through rush hour traffic to get your stupid $80 ticket! Don't you have a rash of crime to worry about?

Labels: Orlando, PD

Posted by Lys :: 10:34 PM :: 2 comments

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Just Because...

Thursday, June 01, 2006