Is it me or are people changing?

It’s just that they don’t seem to be as friendly as they used to be.

For example, driving and obeying the rules of the road.

At traffic lights, when the lights are at green you go. When the green light changes to amber you should prepare to stop and when the amber light changes to red, you should be stopped.

As I see it, the few seconds of amber before the red, is to allow a driver who is already too close to the junction to stop safely, to get through.

It is not an invitation to play the game of ’How many vehicles can get through on amber’. So why do it?

Breaking the speed limit is another game. What some law breakers fail to understand is that speed limits are not there just to irritate them. Speed limits are to try and make the roads and streets safe for all to use.

Now I am about to say something that to me seems so obvious but, whenever it is mentioned in any public debate, it always inspires howls of derision and cries of ’why does everyone pick on the motorist?’.

Traffic cameras.

For some reason the very thought of the police using traffic cameras to entrap the poor old road user is seen to be on the same level as law-abiding citizens in the USA being up in arms, if you will pardon the pun, if someone dares to suggest that the right to bear arms to protect you and your property will in anyway be affected by a ban on the private ownership of weapons, such as an AK47 automatic rifle.

A few years ago, the powers that be thought that it would be a good idea to do some trials with traffic-light cameras at the York Road/Woodbourne Road junction. The cries of indignation were heard all over the island.

And if that wasn’t enough, someone else had suggested that, while we were at it, we might as well try out some speed cameras.

Well that was the last straw. Before you coud say Komitet Gosudarstvennoy Besopasnosti (KGB to you) the campaign to ban the cameras was soon in full flow.

Now this is something that has always puzzled me.

Can anyone please tell me how have I missed the point?

I think that we all agree that jumping the lights is not simply illegal, it is potentially lethal, and that exceeding the speed limit in a restricted area is just plain dangerous. What possible reason can anyone give me to explain why any law abiding citizen should not agree to support a zero tolerance approach to catching offenders who persistently continue to flout the rules by objecting to the idea of the police actually prosecuting drivers.

I am baffled.

Just think of some of the other uses that traffic cameras can be put to.

I am told that the licensing authorities can instantly tell whether or not a vehicle is insured. And what about using a hand-held mobile phone? If I can see the law-breakers, I’m sure that the camera can as well.

When you get on the bus you are watched from start to finish. If you poke your nose outside the front door, don’t forget to smile. No matter what you do or where you go, you are being watched. And no-one gives a sniff.

But if someone is driving the car, don’t even look at them.

Why not? What are they afraid of?

I say that if you’ve nothing to hide, you’ve nothing to fear. And guess how long it will be before someone shouts the final words. What about the cyclists? they don’t pay tax or insurance and they’re always in the way. Never mind, at least I tried.

And finally, I was just a little bit worried about the signs of bleeding gums that showed up when I cleaned my teeth. It turned out that I was using a pink mouth wash. Just remember, it’s not always what you think.

A decade ago Pullyman – aka Michael Cowin – was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease, a condition that affects people in different ways. Michael discovered writing and Island Life is featuring some of his musings. Sometimes topical, sometimes nostalgic, read about life as seen through the eyes of Pullyman