Justice
Seattle to Law-Abiding Drivers: Here's a Gift Card
As part of its Vision Zero plan, the city is rewarding everyday acts of safety.
The idea originated with a cop in the Seattle Police Department who was about to retire. Years earlier, his wife had been hit by a driver who failed to stop for her at a crosswalk. He and his colleagues regularly conducted enforcement efforts to ticket other drivers who did the same.
But as he was about to leave his post, in 2012, Captain Richard Belshay decided to do something a little different: instead of stopping drivers who violated the law, he bought a stack of $10 gift cards from a local restaurant and handed them out to drivers (and bicyclists) who did the right thing and stopped to let people on foot cross the street.