My sister and I were driving back to the house the other day after picking up groceries and we happened to pass a state trooper (not an uncommon experience when driving on highway 60 now-a-days).  He had someone pulled over (another common experience) but I just nonchalantly reminded my sister to slow down since she couldn’t get over into the other lane.  She knew that of course, but it started the converstation that it is actually law to either move into the other lane or to slow 20 mph when passing an officer pulled off on the side of the road (which I think is a greatly needed safety for them, especially with the speeds that some people fly by).  What the conversation centered on was not whether or not the law was legit (by all means we both agree that it is) but in the manner in which the states deems appropriate in announcing new laws, especially ones that apply to wide spread audiences such as Florida drivers.

The thought had crossed my mind that you should slow down when you can’t get into the other lane but I never knew it was actually a law until about a year ago when K was in Texas for his knee surgery (surgery #3) and was pulled over because he didn’t slow down quite enough and that same law had just been passed in Texas.  Needless to say, he told the officer he was sorry and he had no idea, that he had been in Florida for the past 5 years for school and the officer let him off with a warning.  After that episode however, he asked me if it was a law in Florida as well.  It made complete sense but I was unaware of any actual law that existed.  My mom was in her Criminal Justice class at the time so I went ahead and asked her and she was able to inform me that there was in fact such a law and that the way that our system sees fit to advertise the new laws (and claims that it is enough) is by posting it on their website!  I don’t know about you, but I don’t think that I have ever even thought to look at the website of the Florida State Troopers.  It’s not on my weekly to do list.  I mean, how many people honestly say to themselves, “you know, there may have been a new law posted so I need to check myflorida.com and the state troopers site to be sure that I don’t violate anything that may have just passed through the state congress.”  I don’t think so.  People I know don’t work that way.  If something is passed that pertains to us then we expect that we will be informed in a resonable manner.  Let’s suggest, I don’t know, run an add campaign for a week on the new acts that pertain to the general public.  If the pertain to a specific audience then that audience is then a little more responsible for obtaining that information (maybe they get in contact with some state head of their organization who then determines the best means of distribution).  I’m just saying that no one I know checks the state websites on a regular basis unless they are employed or looking for work or doing research.  I have my routine when I get on-line.  It includes my homepage, which is my e-mail, then perhaps a little pooch cafe (i like to have my comic amusement), if I have something to say, I get onto my blog here, I keep in touch with a couple friends through the myspace and facebook stuff, but if I don’t have to I won’t do more than check those, and then I look up whatever I got on-line to look up in the first place (which right now is jobs or volunteering with YoungLife), I don’t normally stray far from that.  Am I the only one who thinks that if it pertains to the general public there needs to be more initiative to get word out than simply posting it on a homepage?