Florida driving e-mail #2

I liked this e-mail exchange. Notice the idea that it's OK to keep going if it's "only" a crosswalk and the pedestrian is in "no real danger." I also got a kick out of the follow-up...

This morning a person stepped into busy lanes of slow moving traffic and I happened to be one of the cars in those lanes.  While this person was in no real danger, I took note of both him and the police cars in the cross street nearby. As I passed through this intersection (with no traffic light only a crosswalk), one of the police cars pulled out behind me and pulled me over. I had failed to come to a complete stop while the pedestrian was still in the roadway.  (None of the cars in any lane stopped)
The part that grabs me is I have a pretty clean driving record and when the cop handed me the ticket he said it was to spread the word about pedestrians having the right of way and recently being in a lot of accidents.  He admitted that the point of me receiving a ticket for $120 was to help evangelize this message of pedestrian safety. 2 houses down from me is a known drug dropoff point and the cops have done nothing about that.  But they will ticket me for not coming to a complete stop when a cop jumps in front of my car.  Thanks for the safety tip. -- N.A.

Thanks for the note....  I hope you do not mind if I disagree a little bit. Pedestrians in crosswalks means stop, and this is a part of Florida culture that needs to change ... in fact, there is a bill in the Legislature this year to step up both penalties and public awareness of the rules. Not what you wanted to hear, I am sure, and yes, the cops can always being doing something else "more important." On another day I hope to be of better use to you. Cheers, Howard.
 
Having traveled the U.S. many times and I concur that FL is a very dangerous place.  The question it raises is should cops be jumping in front of moving cars to prove this point?  Do they jump in front of bullets to raise awareness of gun control?  If I had not seen the police man who purposefully stepped into traffic, and had we been traveling at unsafe speeds, I could have hit him.  How would that "Serve and Protect"?  By turning their public service agenda into involuntary manslaughter charge, turning a cop into a martyr, leaving his kids without a father? So what I'm hearing you say is dead cops are the best way to teach Florida drivers about pedestrian safety.  I'll let the folks I know that read your stuff that you feel that way. -- N.A.