Eric Estrada on patrol

$4 Gas is driving police departments around the country to transition patrols from fossil fuel to pedal power. Or so says a new article I came across by the AP...

Since even the long arm of the law can't rein in fuel prices, the long legs of the law are getting more exercise these days.

Bicycle patrols — a community policing tactic that some law enforcement agencies de-emphasized in recent years — are seeing a resurgence as the price of gasoline approaches or surpasses $4 a gallon across the country.

read rest of article...

While I'm certainly not an advocate for law enforcement, I think this trend is pretty cool. I'm starting to believe that the rise in gas prices is changing our world slowly but steadily and I sense we're approaching a tipping point somewhere out there on the horizon. I've heard people say that gas prices will likely fall sometime soon but I think it's largely irrelevant. They'll rise again. The long term outlook for the line on the graph is an upward trend. And it's sad but true that financial motivation is the most powerful transforming influence on how we live our lives. So for cycling advocates and activists, we may be entering a long and gradual downhill stretch.

And I have to say that I have faith that it's not all just about money. While the article above focuses on the savings from fuel costs, I saw another news report in which cops talk about benefits from bike patrols that are more meaningful to them .... like becoming fitter and being more connected to their surroundings. One cop says that on a bike he can see, hear, and smell things he could never in a car. Another cop says in a southern drawl, "In a car, most of the time people wouldn't even stop to talk to you, cause you're closed off in a box."

Don't get me wrong sir, I hate it when you abuse your power or enforce bullshit laws like the criminalization of victimless acts, but I have to admit that seeing you ride patrols on a bike is a beautiful thing.