SURVEY OF PUBLIC PERCEPTIONS OF TRAFFIC LAW ENFORCEMENT IN MICHIGAN

Perceptions of police presence varied little between road types, however, police presence in construction zones was generally reported to be lower than that of the road types. Although the comparisons were not statistically significant, blacks consistently reported higher levels of police presence on freeways and local streets than did nonblacks. When the chance of getting a speeding ticket when an officer is present was examined, we find that the perceived chance of being ticketed is quite low at 5 mph over the limit, increases quickly at 10 mph over the limit, and increases still further at 15 mph over the limit. The most notable differences among the population subgroups examined were again those of blacks versus nonblacks. While these differences were not statistically significant they are again of interest, particularly given the national attention being given to issues of police harassment. Specifically, blacks reported a higher chance of getting a ticket at 5 mph over the limit than did the other races, but did not differ as much from the other races at 10 mph and 15 mph over the limit. This may indicate at some level a heightened perception of police activity among blacks at what may be considered marginal levels of speeding. The perceived chance of getting a ticket for running a red light or being arrested for drunk driving are comparable to those for driving 15 mph over the speed limit. Respondents reported the likelihood of getting a ticket for safety belt nonuse to be about the same as speeding at 10 mph over the limit. The perceived chance of getting a ticket for aggressive driving was slightly higher than that for driving 10 mph over the limit but slightly lower than that for driving 15 mph over the limit. There were no statistically significant differences found by subgroup on these items and unlike speeding, few notable differences were observed.