At 23:44 2-4-01 +0000, Louise Rutter wrote:

But I can be offended if they lurk in places where it isn't sensible to prosecute with the sole intention of prosecuting because it's lucrative.

Around here they're hell on parked cars because that fine goes directly to the city. Most annoying.

I recall an instance a few years ago when some rare bird was spotted in the Scottish Highlands and apparently the police sat by the side of a road one night and booked about a hundred twitchers for speeding between midnight and 6am.

First of all, that means that it must have been a lot busier there than usual, with all the attendant security hazards for those who normally use the road at those times and doesn't expect the sudden flood of crazed birders. Second, speeding is not only dangerous even during quiet hours (yes it is, it's a lot easier to lose control of a vehicle when you're going fast, and crashes cause far more injury and damage), but also extremely bad for the environment. When they were arguing about the maximum speed in Holland, one of the reasons for not raising the speed limit was that because of air friction really starting to matter around that speed, a car going faster than, say, 100 kph is going to produce a *lot* more carbon monoxide and other fun gases. And of course there's also the noise pollution, which is a lot worse if you're going fast. Not for you, but for those who live near the road you're speeding on. Which makes it an important consideration in a country as densely populated as Holland.

ObB7.: What about traffic regulations in the Domes? All traffic we saw was either on foot or on those little very uncomfortable looking troop transports. So would pedestrians be required to keep to the left? Look both ways before leaving an office? Honk their noses if they wanted to pass?

Jacqueline