Fighting Real Crime: WA State Seat Belt "Night-time" Enforcement

With a state government near bankruptcy and job loss up the wazoo (Thousands at WaMu today), you'd think the state of Washington would seek more cost-effective law enforcement methods. But the bureauweenies in Olympia have come up with a costly scheme to "get tough" on that great scourge of our society: people not wearing their seatbelts at night. From the Washington Traffic Safety Commission:

Research shows that aggressive enforcement of the seat belt law, combined with publicity, create the greatest driver behavior change; in short, this formula gets people to buckle up. The threat of getting a ticket is a powerful motivator, far more believable than the threat of being in a collision.

This complete waste of the police's time has been advertised on TV and is costing a $1M. The Safety Commission asserts righteously states that "There is greater social deviance by those who do not wear seat belts". Well, there's greater social deviance by teenagers who sag their pants halfway down their ass, but that doesn't mean the entire state has to give up its 4th Amendment rights to be hassled for committing an offense that does no harm to anyone else. Cradle to grave nanny state. Nurse Ratched, eat your heart out.