Every now and then I see a story on television or hear something on the radio touting a new "zero tolerance" policy about one thing or another. Sometimes it's drunk driving, racial discrimination, schoolyard bullies. This week it's speeding on the freeways in the Bay Area.
A morning news traffic reporter was gracious enough today to let us all know that the CHP is instituting a "zero tolerance" speed policy on the freeways this week. It didn't appear that he was leaking secret information. It seemed to have likely come from a Highway Patrol press release.
The implication to me seems to be that during any other period in the past or future, this behavior is tolerated to some degree. Why are they telling us this? First, it has the effect of warning would-be speeders not to speed this week, but lets them know that next week they're less likely to be punished. Second, they are advertising their own lax enforcement for the other 51 weeks of the year. Is that the message they're trying to send?
Next time you hear the words "zero tolerance". Consider the implication.
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