We warned everyone a few weeks back — wear your seatbelt, or else. Friend and fellow blogger Rock Creek Rambler opted for the “or else,” and he’s not happy with the results. He writes today:

So apparently DC has instituted seat belt traps. I found this out yesterday when I pulled onto Park from 14th, and was commanded to pull over by an officer in the middle of the street. I joined the other 5 cars pulled over to the side of the road and received my $50 punch in the balls. Should I have been wearing my seatbelt? Sure, I guess, but considering I was only a block from my house and doing 5 mph circling the block looking for parking, I thought I was safe from flying through my windshield. What pisses me off more than the state charging me $50 for not protecting myself is the fact that, in this city, I’m 100% POSITIVE there is a better use of the time of three police officers.

RCR, we’re torn between wanting to sympathize with you and wanting to tell you that you got what was coming. You’re right — you were only going 5 mph. But did the police know that you were slowly circling? Couldn’t you just as well have torn down the street at 50? But you are right about this — those three cops could have been doing something a little more productive. Giving tickets for traffic infractions tends to serve the purpose of generating income for the city as much (or more) as it does in increasing the public’s safety. Cops could always be used elsewhere, especially walking the streets and dealing with more pressing crimes.