Thomas Sowell: Swing and a miss!

On September 12, Thomas Sowell, a senior fellow at the Hoover Institute at Stanford University, wrote an editorial concerning police pursuits. He wrote:

We have no way of knowing whether reckless speeders would slow down if the cops didn't follow them when they tried to get away. The people they can kill when there is no police car following them will be just as dead as some innocent person killed as a result of a car chase.

I would ask Mr. Sowell this question: Which do you think is safer, one car driving dangerously through our city streets, or that same dangerous car followed by 10 police cars driving at the same speed? According to Dr. Alpert at the University of South Carolina, 40% of police pursuits end in accidents. Is the percentage the same for speeders Mr. Sowell? No.

Read the editorial in the Baltimore Sun here:
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/oped/bal-op.sowell12sep12,0,1832983.story

Read Part II

Read Part III