A rapid heart rate and broken windows theory

Ok. So this has very little to do with sport. Other than my heart rate racing up as if I were sprinting up Table Mountain.

But today, stuck in traffic on the Grayston Drive offramp in Sandton, I was passed by a flurry of cars belting up the emergency lane and restricted shoulder. Passing as they did so, a beautifully parked JMPD car on the side of the freeway. It was impossible for our enforcement officials not to see this blatant disregard for basic traffic rules. But even if they had missed it, the guy in front of me and myself rolled down our windows and after a bit of pointing at the disappearing offender, asked politely why they weren’t giving chase?

For our effort we got a verbal torrent of aggression and unsurprisingly no action. The Metro cops didn’t even bother to get out of their cars and pretend to care.

I am currently reading Malcolm Gladwell’s The Tipping Point which goes into some detail on the Broken Window’s Theory.

Simply the theory goes, that if a window is left broken, another window will become broken, and eventually as the chain of destruction unfolds, the entire building will be vandalised. Therefore by tackling the smaller misdemeanours (by fixing the window quickly) and demonstrating zero tolerance, you create an environment where people know that crime is not tolerated, and your crime rate dips. This is the approach that was taken in New York when they reached their tipping point, and dramatically reduced crime in the nineties.

There are plenty of arguments against the theory, but today I had a seminal moment, where I proved it.

Because I was so incensed by the Metro cops blatant apathy towards doing their job, I, after much thinking, got on my cellphone to rant at Ian. My reasoning? Well, if they don’t enforce the emergency lane law, they’re not going to bother about me breaking another law. And so it goes. Take this example and expand it, and you have an environment where the respect of law is eroded.

As I said, this missive has nothing to do with sport. But it did make me realise that we could do so much if there was a show of action on the ground. If litterers were really fined. If emergency lane drivers were pulled off the road. If there really was zero tolerance to drunk driving, or skipping red lights, or tipping your rubbish into the Jukskei River.

Not only would it help tackle some of the issues of life in SA. But it would also start tackling that sense of helplessness, that frustration that people can get away with flouting the rules. That even if you do say something, no-one is listening.

By implementing Broken Windows — by having a voice (I report a problem) and seeing evidence of action (I’ve been listened to) — our passion and care for our environment would be ignited and the way we live and interact with our surroundings would be transformed.

Plus. It would help keep my heart rate down.