[Jeff Higgins]

I doubt they keep their beater truck at the same spot for anywhere near four hours, Jeff. Probably less than half an hour before they move it.

John, cops used to want to visible when hanging out with a radar gun. That visiblity has the effect of slowing EVERYBODY down, and making for safer roads. Supposedly. When they hide, no one slows down. They get their speeder (still in the name of "traffic safety") but do nothing to increase safety on that section of road. It just makes their new, revenue based motivations all that much more transparent.

Like Supe said, the focus of the WSP has changed. Years ago you really had to work to get a ticket from one; they had better things to do. Most of the time they would simply chastise you for driving like a bone head, and put a good scare into you. Now they walk up to the door with the ticket book already in hand. No question about a ticket anymore; if you are pulled over, they are writing.

The courts have changed as well. Since this is a "code violation" rather than breaking a law, the rules of evidence are vastly more lenient. Basically the cop doesn't have to bring squat to the table, and the "rules" for what he must bring keep getting more and more relaxed. The burden here is very much on you to prove, somehow, that you did not do it if you are innocent. It's just a revolving door for revenue. That is what most of us have a hard time with.

Yes, speeding is illegal. It is illegal because it is obstensibly unsafe. This law is enforced to keep us safe. That is the logical progression of that argument. Now, however, it can be convincingly argued that these methods of enforcement do nothing to increase safety. The whole reason for speed enforcement, as originally sold to the public, has been lost in all of this. The very clear message is that they could care less if everyone slows down, they just want an unnending stream of poor saps that they can pluck from the herd.