Ask The Best&Brightest: Decrease The Police?

Jack Baruth
by Jack Baruth

It’s been suggested more than a few times on TTAC, most recently in conjunction with an incident where police shot a mentally ill man to death, that stories regarding police interaction with motorists are, or should be, outside the purview of this blog.



Point Two of the TTAC Reboot promises “Accountability and Civility”. In service of that goal, I want to take a moment to ask the B&B how all of you feel regarding cop-and-motorist stories. This won’t be a poll; I’d rather hear the reasons behind the choices. Should we have:

* No stories about police/motorist interactions at all?


* Only stories that are directly related to enforcement of traffic laws (i.e. speed cameras, distracted-driving law)


* Only stories where the police are presented in a positive, community-focused manner?


* Everything under the sun, including that kind of skanky-sexy girl in the Murano who rammed the cops?


* A different set of criteria entirely?

When Car and Driver basically declared war against the 55MPH speed limit lo these many years ago, they unwittingly set the universal template for automotive-enthusiast publications, both print and online. It’s long been assumed that the police are the natural enemy of people who want to drive quickly on public roads. Perhaps that’s no longer true, at least here at TTAC. Perhaps the B&B, as a majority, are comfortable with the speed limits and the manner in which police interact with motorists. If that’s the case, the content should reflect it.

Think about it and let us know.

Jack Baruth
Jack Baruth

More by Jack Baruth

Comments
Join the conversation
5 of 187 comments
  • JohnAZ JohnAZ on Jan 01, 2014

    So what did TTAC editors decide as a result of this feedback?

  • PaulieWalnut PaulieWalnut on Jan 02, 2014

    I'm probably too late for this but I'll at my two bits anyway. I say dump the police stories. It's not what I log in to read. The general vibe I get from those stories is bitterness, possibly because you've he'd a couple of run ins with the law and perhaps the author was in the right and the police were in the wrong. Whatever happened, any article about the police has a venom to it that strikes me as coming from someone with an axe to grind. Like minded people will lap it up but it'll turn everyone else off.

  • Buckshot Buckshot on Jan 02, 2014

    "Only stories where the police are presented in a positive, community-focused manner?" Of course, but then you are the same as North Korean media.

  • Vaujot Vaujot on Jan 04, 2014

    Kind of late but here goes: In think you can report on anything remotely involving cars and the police as long as you have the the time and ressorces to cover the issue in sufficient depth. I think the piece on the Corvette chase did not achieve this. I would have liked to know: What are the rules for LA's police concerning the use of firearms? Did those rules get followed? I think when an unarmed person gets shot to death by police officers, that's a big problem and I want to know whether the police officers are to blame or the policies that they are told to follow.

Next