"TRAFFIC laws are not really laws. They are mere suggestions."

This motoring witticism came to mind when I drove from Sta. Rosa, Laguna to Fairview, Quezon City this morning, via Skyway, Quezon Avenue and Commonwealth.

Indeed, despite the clear signs posted along the way of speed limits -- 100 kilometers per hour (kph) on SLEX, 80 kph on CALAX and Skyway 1, and 60 kph on Skyway 3 and Commonwealth there are still those who drive way above the set limits with nary a care. On the comments and posts on social media we see 'pilosopos' who rant and rave about the limits to assert their expertise on motoring practices.

The thing is these speed maniacs don't care because most are not apprehended to start with. What indeed are all those speed limit warnings for if they are not enforced? The thing is, unless the speeding rule is enforced consistently many will break the rule and in time their numbers will add up, leading to sheer anarchy on the road.

Most disconcerting about this phenomenon is that the accumulation of bad habits will spill into other facets of our lives. Today it's traffic rules, tomorrow it will be fraud, waste, corruption, abuse... murder. People will be so desensitized by the lack of law and order that they will take the rule of law and order for granted.

Malcolm Gladwell, in his 2000 book "The Tipping Point," describes this as the Broken Window Theory: “If a window is broken and left unrepaired, people walking by will conclude that no one cares and no one is in charge."

Forbes Magazine writes: " (Broken Window Theory) posits that visible signs of crime, anti-social behavior and civil disorder create an urban environment that encourages further crime. The best way to reduce crime, then, is to deal with the visible signs first–however insignificant they might appear to be. Studies undertaken in New York and the Netherlands support the effectiveness of this approach. As the journal Science reported,'One example of disorder, like graffiti or littering, can indeed encourage another, like stealing'."

Taking off with enforcing a simple traffic rule like observing speed limits, it should not be difficult for the authorities -- toll road operators and government agencies -- to enforce the law. We have traces of the brilliant ways it can be enforced. First, link up the systems and databases of the expressway speed cameras and radar systems with the Land Transportation Office. If you get caught speeding, you don't get to register your car.

Set up a social media/ web based information system that can provide updated info on the motorist/ vehicle status. These are currently being done by the MMDA's non-contact apprehension system and "May Huli Ka?" website. Why can't that be adopted and expanded?

Once this seriously gets off the ground it should cascade to other law enforcement and discipline matters. Yes, it will take time. But different parts of the world have shown the Broken Window Theory works. And once it does, that Tipping Point -- where critical mass of disciplined practices by law abiding citizens -- will happen.

Up until then we will have a growing population of "pasaway" citizens with the ever growing norm of crime and corruption. And we will never have nice things.