RC – the question was of a rhetorical nature
The following responses are not specifically in answer to your comments - rather a musing on the general state of affairs, which led to your response the sentiments of which many people may concur... so please don't 'flame' me
It went out of the window after so many people complained about the police "Having nothing better to do"...
That rather presupposes that the policy makers really understood what the public was saying, which has to be a first! We also have the people who are now looking back at the pre-camera days through rose-tinted spectacles. It also suggests that the majority of Traffic Officers (the pre-HATO variety) previously spent much of their time chatting to people about their minor infringements and not ticketing them – from my observations, I would suggest that
some police would offer the benefit of their wisdom in the hopes that drivers would learn from their mistakes (and I certainly think it's a greatly missed PR opportunity); others would ‘always’ ticket, regardless of the situation. As today’s lifestyle is all about ‘standardisation’, it’s deemed better for the population to have set expectations for each circumstance, hence the use of cameras. (Initially the cash bonus hadn't been recognised but they were hardly likely to turn down the unexpected windfall.)
That is why you've got very few dedicated traffic (road policing officers)....nowadays.. Speed enforcement now done in over 95% of locations by cameras..
and patrolling of motorways done in the main by the Highways Agency, with no powers of prosecution whatsoever..
There is also the financial situation to take into account. By reducing the numbers of highly trained traffic police, the cars they needed to do their job efficiently and the time in their shift dedicated to roads policing, the costs attributable to all three become available for other policing policies. The Chief Constables are accountable to the Home Secretary and successively the he/she of the moment has reacted to a public who have constantly demanded a reduction in street crime as being the area of most concern to them. Doing something about that issue wins votes. The amount of police funding has in the main, not kept up with inflation; therefore the distribution of funds has had to change. As funding for ‘Traffic Officers’ is now the responsibility of the Highways Agency, there’s more left in the Police pot for other things.
the Result; a further decline in driving standards.
It’s not just a decline in driving standards – I don’t think people deliberately go out to drive badly. Some just don’t know (or care) how to drive differently. Being given a Pass Certificate by a driving Examiner is an announcement that you are now a 'careful and competent' driver. People forget that by passing they have 'reached the
minimum required standard to drive unaccompanied and nothing more.
Having said that, how far do you want 'Education and Encouragement' to go? It's all a bit namby pamby for my liking..
I’m hopefully not being “weak and affectedly sentimental” or attempting to write poetry in the 16th Century style of Ambrose Philips by pressing for more encouragement. There is too little compassion in today’s society and far too many rules, regulations and laws. There is little ‘encouragement’ to take pride in what you do on the road. It’s a chore. It’s crowded. People do things without thinking that upset other people and they in turn react badly. We now have a ‘blame’ culture pervading insidiously into our psyche and ‘reason’ and ‘reasonable behaviour’ has been left by the wayside.
After all, the driver had to read the highway code prior to taking their test..and thats' the education part. Also reinforced by the nice MATRIX signs on the motorway saying KEEP LEFT UNLESS OVERTAKING. (seen in various parts of the motorway network)..
There’s more to education than reading a book or being tested on your ability to remember a few signs. Throughout the formative years we should have been developing a foundation of acceptable social practices, learning interpersonal skills (with or without the body armour of a lump of metal around us) and generally coexisting in a companionable manner. As you say in your last sentence, many people are selfish. We’ve probably travelled too far down the road of being ‘self-centred’, ‘self-indulgent’ and self-serving’ and have lost sight of ‘self-control’, ‘self-criticism’, ‘self-assessment’, ‘self-restraint’ and ‘self-respect’. If people 'thought' more, there'd be no need for nice matrix signs - or any other signs for that matter - because we would all be adapting our driving in accordance with the prevailing conditions. But that won't happen, so we have to accept that some signage will benefit the majority.
Then there's the media, where you hear about what pisses drivers off the most..and middle lane hoggers are usually in the top couple...
So I think people just don't give a monkeys about education and encouragement..and will do what they selfishly want....
The samples used in the surveys so beloved of our media are usually a mere handful of MOP who are generally not motoring enthusiasts for a start and probably do the very thing they complain about in others, without realising. You get the occasional person who stays in the outer lane because he is travelling a couple of mph quicker than the one to his left, which he is perfectly entitled to do but he could be being deliberately obstructive. In general though, I'd say people go straight to Lane 2 and stay there because
a) they perceive Lane 1 as the 'slow' lane meant only for lorries, plus it's often rutted
b) initially they lacked the confidence to do anything more than 'overtake' a lorry and once in Lane 2, it felt comfortable, so that's become over time,'their lane' where they now head to without thought for the actual conditions
c) Lane 3 is the 'fast' lane and they don't go 'fast' because it's dangerous
Get 'em hurt in their pockets...THAT's the way to drive home a message...
By inference, one could interpret that statement as ‘prosperitist’
effectively giving anyone to whom the odd fine will just be lose change down the back of the sofa the advantage of being able to DLAP at will
We are in a sorry state. It must be nigh on impossible to enjoy being in the Police unless you have an interesting assignment. Paperwork, targets and dealing with a general public who have few manners and even less respect must be demoralising - over the last ten or twelve years I've seen friends crossing off the days until their retirement or even leaving early because the pastoral element of policing is virtually non-existent
I wouldn't have a problem at all with some HATOs being given additional 'responsibilities' as long as they were given the right training and possessed the right mental approach - you know where I'm coming from 
