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Comment by Frozenlock | Hacker News Reader

What's the point of having laws, if your citizens can't possibly know/remember them?

Not that I think the US is there yet, but the answer is that having so many laws that basically waking up and going about your daily routine means breaking at least a few laws, is the ultimate goal. If everything is a crime and everyone is a criminal, it's much easier for the government to control the people rather than the other way around. This concept comes up in many science fiction works, even non-Dystopian ones.

I've always wondered this while driving through Chicago. The speed limit is 55mph, but everyone, cops included, goes 70 when traffic allows for it. And I've done 80mph with a cop behind me and not been pulled over.

Which leads me to believe that the speed limit is only there so the police have a reason to pull over anyone without any other reason. Don't like the look of the driver? Pull them over, while ignoring every other car doing 70.

It's even worse in some places. Here in Atlanta, there is a law against impeding the flow of traffic. The I-285 perimeter highway around the city has a posted speed of 55 for most of it, yet traffic constantly flows at about 70-80mph. Theoretically, if you are going 65mph in the leftmost lane while people are flying around you and backed up behind you, you can be stopped and cited for both impeding the flow of traffic and speeding.

Who knows if it would get thrown out in court, but most people plead guilty to traffic citations by just paying the fine anyway, and the system knows that.

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