I've been thinking lately, and I realize a lot of people have a negative attitude towards cops because they get tickets and scoldings from them when they have negative driving behavior. Although people shouldn't be upset at cops for this, they are and will continue to be that way.
But, what if cops were to start pulling people over for "positive" driving behavior? And instead of punishing them they were to reward them? It would be completely at random and only for good driving practices, such as not speeding, using a turn signal appropriately, having a good following distance, etc.
Granted people don't like being inconvenienced by officers, especially if they havent done anything wrong, but if the reward was significant enough, people wouldnt mind. For example: police could provide monetary compensation or waive the driver's registration fees for the following year, or some other idea perhaps. A reward of some kind would have to be given each time. Along with that, a written receipt could be given incase it made the person late to work or something.
People in the field of psychology all know that positive reinforcement is more helpful in the long run than negative reinforcement. Therefore it would seem that perhaps rewarding people for driving well would not only encourage people do drive better, but more importantly it could improve relations between the police and the public.
I know some of you may think I'm crazy for writing this, but surely someone else sees something good in this idea of mine. Sure the idea is a little rough, but I think it has potential.
But, what if cops were to start pulling people over for "positive" driving behavior? And instead of punishing them they were to reward them? It would be completely at random and only for good driving practices, such as not speeding, using a turn signal appropriately, having a good following distance, etc.
Granted people don't like being inconvenienced by officers, especially if they havent done anything wrong, but if the reward was significant enough, people wouldnt mind. For example: police could provide monetary compensation or waive the driver's registration fees for the following year, or some other idea perhaps. A reward of some kind would have to be given each time. Along with that, a written receipt could be given incase it made the person late to work or something.
People in the field of psychology all know that positive reinforcement is more helpful in the long run than negative reinforcement. Therefore it would seem that perhaps rewarding people for driving well would not only encourage people do drive better, but more importantly it could improve relations between the police and the public.
I know some of you may think I'm crazy for writing this, but surely someone else sees something good in this idea of mine. Sure the idea is a little rough, but I think it has potential.
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