Y'know I've actually wondered myself. Why is it only police officers can write traffic citations?
There's a street my parents-in-law used to live on at the edge of town. It isa long straight stretch with no side streets for 3-4 blocks. Occasionally, drivers would romp through the 25 mph zone at 50-60 mph, and officers were rarely seen, even when called repeatedly to report the dangerous drivers (The police department has no obligation to respond, of course). When we asked the police if we took video and got the license numbers, if they could ticket the drivers, they said no, the officer has to be there to witness the offense.
The couple of times we tried hollering at them, we just got the finger.
If anyone can perform a citizen's arrest (your state law may vary) against someone committing a crime, why not a citizen's citation for breaking a traffic law? Get video evidence, and a reliable radar gun (or some other way of tracking speed, then sit and watch the road at the expected time.
Better yet, it would be a great idea for the police to provide a combined unit of some sort for citizens to be trained on, check out and use for situations such as that; where a citizen is willing to take the time to make their street safer, and the police can't. Just instruct the citizen to make sure they video both the license plate and driver's face, built in radar gun records to tape, and a traffic citation is issued to the offender.
If I lived on the street, maybe this would be a good use for OC
...Excuse me, SLOW DOWN...
...(spotting sidearm) *gulp* Ye-yes, Sir!...
...Orygunner...