I'm pro-LEO most of the time, but this is different

[wdfifteen]

Originally Posted by Rick Lee

Good! Nothing wrong with letting people know they need to slow down. If cops wanted people to slow down, they'd park a cruiser with the lights on and be standing out there with an orange vest on, holding a "SLOW" sign. They don't want you slow down. They want your money, they then want you to take the traffic school for the same cost as the ticket, in exchange for no points and then to do it all over again.

That's pretty much my take on it. If a cop's goal is to get people to slow down, they should welcome the help. The behavior in this case makes it clear the goal is to write tickets - or relieve the boredom.

"They want your money, they then want you to take the traffic school for the same cost as the ticket, in exchange for no points and then to do it all over again."

Hmm, sounds like you've had some experience!!

[Baz]

Didn't see it mentioned.........looks like someone "alerted" the cop to what was going on. Otherwise he didn't even know about it.

So the guy was ratted out.

By whom, though?

And shouldn't that actually be the point of the entire story?

How being a dirty stinking lousy rat really throws a wrench into things that otherwise wouldn't be a big deal at all?

[masraum]

Originally Posted by john70t

LEOs are mostly local:
Day after long day. Decade after decade.
A very lonely job or worse if not forced upon with the wrong partner.

They picked that specific jerb-e-jerb as a career.
Waiting for something to go wrong.
And then to do right.

And then they have to act. Suddenly. Not intentionally.

Psycho ****ers wanting to kill them with every potential next road stop. Blip Blip you dead.

Exactly! It would be damn hard to be human and not occasionally let your emotions get the better of you. There are folks that are wired that way, that can do that. I would say that those folks are the minority. And the longer that you do the job, the harder that I think it would get.

All you've got to do is watch a dozen body cam videos to get to the point where you think "taze 'em all and let the courts sort them out." I've seen so many videos where a cop rolls up and is very professional, not inflammatory or antagonizing, and then the folks that they are talking to create a situation where there previously wasn't one. It's truly mind boggling at the stupidity of some folks.

[Rick Lee]

Originally Posted by wdfifteen

That's pretty much my take on it. If a cop's goal is to get people to slow down, they should welcome the help. The behavior in this case makes it clear the goal is to write tickets - or relieve the boredom.

"They want your money, they then want you to take the traffic school for the same cost as the ticket, in exchange for no points and then to do it all over again."

Hmm, sounds like you've had some experience!!

Yes, I have. In AZ, unless it's egregious speeding, you can take the online traffic school and the fine and points are waived. You can do this every 18 mos. Of course, the online traffic school costs the same as the fine. So they're blackmailing you, when, if you really were a danger to the public, then you should get the points and fine. As long as the state gets paid, that's all they care about. You should see how the DUIs work now that Uber and Lyft have taken too many drunks off the road and thus too much fine revenue out of the city and state coffers. No more plea deals for anyone.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by Rick Lee

Yes, I have. In AZ, unless it's egregious speeding, you can take the online traffic school and the fine and points are waived. You can do this every 18 mos. Of course, the online traffic school costs the same as the fine. So they're blackmailing you, when, if you really were a danger to the public, then you should get the points and fine. As long as the state gets paid, that's all they care about. You should see how the DUIs work now that Uber and Lyft have taken too many drunks off the road and thus too much fine revenue out of the city and state coffers. No more plea deals for anyone.

I don't know about AZ, but in Houston/Texas, if you take the traffic school option and then check your driving record, it'll say "moving violation - speeding - 0 points".

If instead of traffic school, you take the deferred disposition/adjudication option, when you check your driving record, the infraction isn't there. It's like it never happened. I have done both. I think the deferred option has got to be better than the other.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by Rick Lee

You should see how the DUIs work now that Uber and Lyft have taken too many drunks off the road and thus too much fine revenue out of the city and state coffers. No more plea deals for anyone.

Or, now that not driving has gotten so much cheaper and easier, there's less excuse? And folks that are still DUI shouldn't be getting a lot of leniency anyway?

Fewer's wrist slaps for DUI seems like a good thing.

[Rick Lee]

I'm not defending drunk drivers. But when I was driving for Uber and Lyft, I drove for a lot of folks who were suspended and I heard some crazy stories. One guy, who really was a habitual offender, was asleep in the passenger seat while car was running (to have A/C in the 120 deg heat), while his buddy was inside the gas station. Cop knocked on the window to check on him and that landed him another DUI - adult in control of a vehicle. I even have a customer who blew a 0.0, but pleaded guilty to DUI to get a more serious charge dropped. So I'm not going to assume every DUI guilty verdict or plea I read about has anything to do with taking a drunk off the road.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by Rick Lee

I'm not defending drunk drivers. But when I was driving for Uber and Lyft, I drove for a lot of folks who were suspended and I heard some crazy stories. One guy, who really was a habitual offender, was asleep in the passenger seat while car was running (to have A/C in the 120 deg heat), while his buddy was inside the gas station. Cop knocked on the window to check on him and that landed him another DUI - adult in control of a vehicle. I even have a customer who blew a 0.0, but pleaded guilty to DUI to get a more serious charge dropped. So I'm not going to assume every DUI guilty verdict or plea I read about has anything to do with taking a drunk off the road.

Wow. I have heard of folks passing out in a car and getting DUI because they were in the car, plastered, and could have driven. I've heard folks say before "throw your keys under the car" because if you're in the car, but don't have the keys, you couldn't possibly drive the car. I don't know if that's legit or not.

"plead guilty to get another more serious charge dropped" well, that's another matter entirely.

[gsxrken]

One of my son’s is a Nashville policeman. They are lucky to have one of the finest human beings I know. Given how short-staffed they are, traffic enforcement is almost unheard of, and they spend their time on some pretty sobering stuff, day in day out.

[A930Rocket]

What if you get a ticket out of state? Ms Rocket got one a of couple years ago somewhere and I’m wondering if an online course would help mitigate it. Our insurance went up because of it.

[Rick Lee]

Depends on the state. There's an interstate compact that handles this stuff, but not all states are part of it and not all those that are handle things the same way. I sure have lucked out with a major charge in one member state while a resident of another member state. My home state and thus insurance company never heard about it.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by gsxrken

One of my son’s is a Nashville policeman. They are lucky to have one of the finest human beings I know. Given how short-staffed they are, traffic enforcement is almost unheard of, and they spend their time on some pretty sobering stuff, day in day out.

Like I said, I'm pro LEO.

When I was born and for a few years my dad was a cop and then he went back into the military to protect his family.

Service, whether in the military or as a LEO or firefighter..., are noble callings. I assume anyone and everyone that does those jobs is a good person doing a very, very difficult job.

I'm sure that there are bad folks in those positions. I believe they are the minority.

[David]

Originally Posted by A930Rocket

What if you get a ticket out of state? Ms Rocket got one a of couple years ago somewhere and I’m wondering if an online course would help mitigate it. Our insurance went up because of it.

On a tail of the dragon rally a few years ago I got a speeding ticket in Mississippi and North Carolina. Mississippi wouldn't do deferred adjudication but would allow defensive driving so I did that. For North Carolina I hired local lawyer to get it converted to non-moving violation like a broken tail light. I haven't checked my record to see how or if they show up.

[Rick Lee]

My last ticket was on my bike on I-10 in Benson, AZ. I had my cruise control set on 104 for days and my radar detector had been fried in a rainstorm in Nashville. State trooper locked on at 95 mph and gave me a ticket for "waste of a finite resource" - non-moving violation with no points. Thank you!

[gacook]

Originally Posted by Rick Lee

My last ticket was on my bike on I-10 in Benson, AZ. I had my cruise control set on 104 for days and my radar detector had been fried in a rainstorm in Nashville. State trooper locked on at 95 mph and gave me a ticket for "waste of a finite resource" - non-moving violation with no points. Thank you!

While I understand that you view it as them doing you a favor (non-moving violation), that ticket actually REALLY peeves me. It's a finite resource THAT I BOUGHT and should therefore be able to waste however I want to. I think that is one of the biggest overreaches there is.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by Rick Lee

My last ticket was on my bike on I-10 in Benson, AZ. I had my cruise control set on 104 for days and my radar detector had been fried in a rainstorm in Nashville. State trooper locked on at 95 mph and gave me a ticket for "waste of a finite resource" - non-moving violation with no points. Thank you!

What's the resource that you were wasting? Gas? If so, WTF? That's bizarre!

[Rick Lee]

Originally Posted by gacook

While I understand that you view it as them doing you a favor (non-moving violation), that ticket actually REALLY peeves me. It's a finite resource THAT I BOUGHT and should therefore be able to waste however I want to. I think that is one of the biggest overreaches there is.

I totally agree. And I wasn't wasting anything. I wanted to get home faster.

It's basically a charge they can hit you with when they want to cut you a break, but could really tow your vehicle and haul you to jail. Cop and I talked about our guns a bit too. He was cool. It's no worse than getting popped for 95 and written for 85 (10 over). Is that perjury or officer discretion?

[red 928]

Power is always dangerous. it attracts the worst and corrupts the best.
Power is only given to those who are prepared to lower themselves to pick it up.

R. Lothbrok

[Arizona_928]

Originally Posted by gacook

While I understand that you view it as them doing you a favor (non-moving violation), that ticket actually REALLY peeves me. It's a finite resource THAT I BOUGHT and should therefore be able to waste however I want to. I think that is one of the biggest overreaches there is.

I got that ticket for going 5 over on the Rim.

DPS has pull over quotas. So just take it or don’t drive.