I STRONGLY DISLIKE Traffic Cops

[btsave]

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[btsave]

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[todwic]

I was in court (cop didn't show up and still not dismissed. travesty of justice, yadda yadda) and I found a little tid bit: cops will pull over the tail end charley in a group of speeders because "it's safer for the officer and the citizen". Hmmmmm. Now if I had a flock of sheep in my garden, I wouldn't start kickin sheep, I'd go kick the sheep dog. (well, I'd prolly kick a few sheep, too, but only en route to the ringleader)

Fight your ticket, plz. Even if you don't win, yer fine will PROBABLY be reduced, and if everyone fought thier tickets, it wouldn't be such a profitable enterprise, it reduces their profit margin, regardless. It takes a lot of people to make the courts go round n round. There's a wealth of information at your local book store, and the net.

I just have to mention stop light cams: Don't pay for a ticket you get in the mail that nobody made you sign for. Trash it. They can't prove you recieved it, and they really just count on Joe Public to just send the money in like good sheep.

[todwic]

Do I seem bitter? I feel your pain, man. I got a following too close ticket and my insurance doubled (went to court, they knocked $30 off of the fine. If you do fight it, just remember, never cop to anything. Buy a book or two on the subject.

[todwic]

I could spiel on for hours

[livewirevoodoo]

i got pulled over, 2 days before christmas... i was cutting through a small burb town (pop. 2000) when i hit a road block for a field sobriety test.. i got flagged to pull over b/c of the porsche vanity plate on the front of the car (guess CT has some law against it...)

the guy was cool as hell tho.. "Thats a beautiful car you have there, and honestly, if it were mine, I wouldnt want to put the front plate on either, but it is the law..."

got off with a warning, and a recommendation to keep the DMV plate on the front around christmas, new years, memorial day and the 4th..



but... $180 for a ticket is excessive. my girlfriend (ticket princess) always takes them to court and the cost goes down around 70%.. although that doesnt account for the time missed from work.

i dont know why they needed 2 cops cars for a low risk traffic stop though.. eveyone knows floridians drive crazy.... lol.. j/k

[todwic]

Originally posted by livewirevoodoo

i dont know why they needed 2 cops cars for a low risk traffic stop though.. eveyone knows floridians drive crazy.... lol.. j/k

No sir, they ARE crazy

Out here in Calli, they seem to like to have back up real close, if not right there. Course, this is the fwy chase state.

[livewirevoodoo]

maybe they had experience with how bad-ass 944 owners can be:

[bearone2]

you were clocked 16 over the speed limit and want a pat on the back because you got a ticket and you try to make it as though the cop was the bad guy.

might be time to grow up.

[btsave]

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[Zero10]

Have you ever heard about crimes that go unsolved due to a lack of manpower in one of the states where they are really strict on traffic enforcement?...
I would say, they will catch both the guy going 61 on the clear road, _and_ the rapist/murderer.

Sorry, but speeding is one of the crimes I have very little tolerance for, that holds true for all driving related crimes. My experience is, in the US, there are speed limit signs about every 50 feet. They're pretty hard to miss. I found a lot of the speed limits stupid, but I did not break them for that reason.

[livewirevoodoo]

my police dept doesnt have a specific traffic enforcement unit..

its all "uniformed services".. makes up a majority of the police force.. roughly 60 cops on the street at any one time, out of a force of 450. motorcycle cops are dedicated to traffic control (major accidents, etc) and write a majority of the tickets.

out here they dont get rich from traffic tickets.. the PD's budget is around $60mil... they only collect around $80k a year from traffic offenses. and that goes to the state, not city, so there's no vested interest.

PARKING tickets are another matter. municipalities make $$ on those.

"A laser license reader New Haven purchased for $20,000 already has brought in $210,000 in revenues from unpaid parking tickets and overdue motor vehicle taxes. During one four and a half hour period, New Haven police recovered four stolen vehicles. If every city in Connecticut had a laser license reader, motor vehicle and license theft would become yesterday’s crimes,” Representative Farr said.

i was responsible for spec'ing out the system and integrating it w/ the rest of the network.

the upshot is that i get to make sure my licence plate never makes the list.. lol

[bryanthompson]

He's just doing his job. you were going 16 mph over the limit, and you got what you had coming. Yeah, he could've picked anyone in your group, but you probably looked the least dangerous. Don't speed and you won't have a problem, or if you do speed accept the consequences.

[auh]

I haven't had any ticket problems since getting my Valentine One radar detector...

[Porsche-O-Phile]

The roads in FL are straight, flat, and 99% of them could easily accommodate cars doing triple digits. The ONLY reason for speed limits in that state are (1) densely populated areas (you do need speed restrictions where there are pedestrians) or (2) revenue generation. Clearly this was a stretch of road designed for the latter reason and the revenues are down in that area. They probably figured "antique car = guy with some money = easy pickin'". Get used to it. The federal government is spending more and more and state revenues are shrinking. I predict this kind of crap will only increase in the years to come.

[bluebullet]

get in line I just ranted about another cop who had nothing better to do than bug me late at night. Its in OT somewhere lol.

"Go eat some more doughnuts" I'll say....

[Blackfoot]

I can see now why FR might have gotten less and less tolerant.

_________________
Cars

[hpaulb]

I live in a city that has one of the worst records for unsolved crimes. Curently at a 25% solve rate. But one of the highest revenues from traffic violations. Even in Canada there is crime. House broken into and ransacked, guns stolen, car robbed 5 times now. They told me right at the time or report, they dont even look. Constantly have these traffic awarness sprees were they ticket everyone for everything. Insurance ia at a all time high. Now there demanding "Retension Bonuses" These are bonuses so they don't go looking for jobs somwere else. Nothing makes me angreer than to have cops that harass the law abiding citizen and let the crooks go free.

[Mike M]

What really bugs me is photo radar....it has absolutely nothing to do with safety.It's a cash cow,pure and simple.The reason I say this is because most people don't know they've been ticketed,so they don't slow down!!! They continue to drive at the same speed which we are told is unsafe. I've seen near collisions at other times,when people slam on their brakes to try to slow down when they see these guys parked on the side of 100km/hr road. In my opinion,they themselves are dangerous.
Our province generates millions and millions from these things.

[Porsche-O-Phile]

Yep. Welcome to the newest "non-tax". I love how the government now calls everything a "citation" or a "fee" or a "service charge". Sorry - if you're ordered to pay something in the furtherance of government it's a tax - pure and simple. Factoring that in, I estimate fully 1/3 of my income goes to "taxes" of one sort or another. It's probably similar to others.