Laws useless if they aren't enforced

Our legislature in Springfield is great at writing new laws, with great ideas, just not always practical. It is one thing to make a law, another to get it enforced.

An example would be the law prohibiting a diesel truck from idling in a residential area longer than 10 minutes. That's a laugh. Never going to be enforced. How would a policeman on the beat know how long that truck was running? Do they think the police will pull over and start a stopwatch? The onus is on the public to file a complaint.

I agree with the sense of the law. I hate when any vehicle sits idling. It pollutes the air and wastes fuel. We all like clean air to breathe. Please don't let your vehicle idle.

Another law that has been around forever would be the front license plate requirement. Look around. That is not enforced.

I wonder how the legislature could force localities to enforce such low-priority laws, given the serious criminal activity at large today. Oh and add marijuana to the mix.

Roger Lehmann

St. Charles