The enforcement of traffic law by police is a very costly operation in terms of money, time, manpower and facilities. Enforcement activities need to be judged on the basis of whether they work and how much they cost. Cost effective enforcement must be directed towards reducing life-threatening behaviours. Development of strategies for optimim use of enforcement resources will require co-ordination of efforts among police, legal professional representatives, Government authorities and road users. This paper provides a brief perspective of road traffic law enforcement, an assessment of the effectiveness of traditional enforcement practices, and outlines a set of broad strategic concepts for optimising police enforcement resources to reduce road crashes. (A)
Abstract