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This is a bit of an old story, that I hope I can do justice. It's a wonderful case of Kharma, and from what I remember of it, even though it does involve one heck of a wreck, there really weren't life threatening injuries involved. It did however change the policy of one little town deep in Georgia.
I forget the particular town's name, but at one time there was a place in the heart of Georgia that was KNOWN as a speed trap. Ninety percent of the town's budget came from this little trick they had hooked up, which was pulled on big rigs as they came through town. How it worked was this. The city had this four way stop in the center of town. Hanging from above it was this old traffic light that was wired to the second floor of the local bank (built in the 1900's as I recall). Up there was a switch, that when triggered would cause the light to quickly go from green, to yellow, to red. Fast enough that any truck which was coming up the road would not be able to stop, blow through the intersection, and thus garner a ticket from the police cruiser which had started following them at the city limits.
It worked perfectly for years, until one fateful day.
On this day, as a loaded tractor trailer came down the road, the cop radioed for the crew to flip the switch. The light quickly went to red, but the truck didn't run through the light. The MOMENT the light went to yellow, there was a loud screeching sound as the driver laid onto the brakes hard. Leaving rubber and smoke behind him, that driver brought the truck to a full stop.
The cop car didn't. He ATE the back end of that truck, and though the cop would spend months in the hospital, his injuries though serious weren't deadly. That wreck ended up getting the attention of the state DOT, and after doing some investigating they found the controls for the light. In the end, an edict was handed down from the Governor. This one city was henceforth banned from EVER writing a speeding ticket, or a traffic ticket of ANY kind from that day forward.
I forget the particular town's name, but at one time there was a place in the heart of Georgia that was KNOWN as a speed trap. Ninety percent of the town's budget came from this little trick they had hooked up, which was pulled on big rigs as they came through town. How it worked was this. The city had this four way stop in the center of town. Hanging from above it was this old traffic light that was wired to the second floor of the local bank (built in the 1900's as I recall). Up there was a switch, that when triggered would cause the light to quickly go from green, to yellow, to red. Fast enough that any truck which was coming up the road would not be able to stop, blow through the intersection, and thus garner a ticket from the police cruiser which had started following them at the city limits.
It worked perfectly for years, until one fateful day.
On this day, as a loaded tractor trailer came down the road, the cop radioed for the crew to flip the switch. The light quickly went to red, but the truck didn't run through the light. The MOMENT the light went to yellow, there was a loud screeching sound as the driver laid onto the brakes hard. Leaving rubber and smoke behind him, that driver brought the truck to a full stop.
The cop car didn't. He ATE the back end of that truck, and though the cop would spend months in the hospital, his injuries though serious weren't deadly. That wreck ended up getting the attention of the state DOT, and after doing some investigating they found the controls for the light. In the end, an edict was handed down from the Governor. This one city was henceforth banned from EVER writing a speeding ticket, or a traffic ticket of ANY kind from that day forward.
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