Stupid speeding ticket

[Coffinhunter]

Originally Posted by Deserion

The FHP doesn't mess around. The only time I was hit by FHP they were nice enough to write-down the ticket to 9mph over (backroads, no traffic, broad daylight) even though I was, ahem, well past that.

Don't know how you got so lucky. I have talked to a bunch of people at work and they have NEVER had a FHP let them off, nor reduced. I even had my Federal Law Enforcement ID out. So much for professional courtesy...lol

[dbansal]

at the end of the day...I beleive NWA said it best.... **************** the police....

[rdass623]

generally what I have found in my experiences as a l.e.o. was attitude is the key to getting a ticket and getting out of a ticket. generally speaking we are all adults and as such we are responsible for our actions. trying to badge your way out is a hit or miss. the one time I was pulled over in the last 20 years, I was polite, and advised the officer I was an off duty officer and armed at the time of the incident and asked him what he wanted me to do. his response was quite simply to slow down and he thanked me for advising him of my weapon, and let me go without incident.

[Frodo]

Yeah, with every passing year this stuff burns me up more and more. I am, by my own choosing, on the email list for NMA and have come to firmly believe much of what they have to say on various motor vehicle law enforcement tactics. Two of the biggies, of course, are speed traps and traffic light camera tickets. I have come to firmly believe they're truly a racket, brazen money making machines utilized by cash-strapped local and state governments. Easy money on a grand scale.

And what makes it even more irksome is that it's carried out in the name of safety. Keeping us safe from ourselves! If that's the rationale, you'd think there would be more enforcement when inclement weather exists. Surely speeding's much more dangerous in the rain, right? But I've rarely--virtually never--seen tickets written when precipitation is a factor. I'd LOVE to be able to read the minds of the troopers, deputies, etc, who've pulled me over for speeding during the course of the past 35 years and determine how many of them actually thought my driving on the day in question was unsafe. Obviously it's impossible, but if I could somehow get an honest answer from them, I suspect it would be exceedingly few.

Don't get me wrong...I'm in favor of law enforcement and the important work law enforcement personnel carry out. They're just following orders. I simply think there are better ways to utilize their talents than having them running radar or pointing laser units at me and my fellow commuters/travelers.

[Joe B]

Bottom line, if you were going 10 over, you deserved a ticket, and you got caught. Sorry you got caught; the fine hurts. I hate tickets, but I try to take responsibility for my own actions. Cop was doing his job (and you were driving a Boxster ).

[BrokenLinkage]

Ticket quotas are a reality. This officer was probably one short, and it was getting close to time to go home.

Ticket revenues usually support the municipalities general budget (more "discretionary" spending by our politicians). The police chief is an appointed position, who serves under the direction of the mayor, who is the main spender of these funds, to repay political debts or whatever he sees fit.
State patrol officers are theoretically more independent, but still have budgetary pressures. Interestingly, in many areas of the South, a large percentage of ticket revenues are directed by state law into an officers retirement fund.

Red-light cameras are always marketed to the municipalities on the basis of revenue increases, with potential enhanced safety postulated but seemingly never supported by data. These cameras are almost always contracted out to vendors providing the service, whose reimbursement is contingent on the revenue received. 2 of the 3 companies offering this service locally were found to have engaged in dubious practices, such as altering the timing of lights and advancing camera timing relative to lights, to catch more motorists.
I won't go into why this is wrong on an ethical, governance, or philosophical basis. If you do not posit that it is wrong for a government to outsource enforcement of the law, or profit from defining its citizens as criminals, then we will have a hard time having an intelligent dialogue.

LEO's are always tasked with using discretion in enforcing the law. They must prioritize. For example, a poorly maintained and fully loaded log truck driven by a logger with a CDL, going 55 in a 45 zone on a mountain road in the rain with poor visibility , probably deserves a ticket. An alert and attentive driver of a well-found sports car enjoying a sunny drive at the same speed & location, probably does not, even though the same law is violated to the same degree.
And if the police stopped every car in Atlanta going 10+, there would be no traffic whatsoever on the perimeter.
So while the idea of "selective enforcement" is anathema to some, it is a reality that lets our society function.
So maybe this officer had poor judgment. But more likely, his judgment was removed from the equation or his priorities shifted by external forces (such as pressure from his shift commander, who himself got heat from upstairs.), or perhaps more personal issues.

But yes, you are right that he clearly was not primarily serving the interest of public safety, or he would have been seeking a larger threat. Sorry you got caught. On the whole, these guys do a hell of a job for not too much money, and many are true heroes. A few are true duds, just like in any field. I try to give them the benefit of doubt.

I once had an officer pull me over for speeding in Atlanta. I was speeding, but I was slower than most cars, and had just been passed by a large group going about 20 mph faster than me. I asked him why he pulled me over rather than one of them. He said "you were easier to catch." I told him "thanks, I'll make sure THAT never happens again!"

My bias: old enough to have seen how the world works, both of my brothers in law enforcement, no recent tickets but one recent warning - was kinda funny, for another day.

[dbansal]

Originally Posted by BrokenLinkage

Ticket quotas are a reality. This officer was probably one short, and it was getting close to time to go home.

Ticket revenues usually support the municipalities general budget (more "discretionary" spending by our politicians). The police chief is an appointed position, who serves under the direction of the mayor, who is the main spender of these funds, to repay political debts or whatever he sees fit.
State patrol officers are theoretically more independent, but still have budgetary pressures. Interestingly, in many areas of the South, a large percentage of ticket revenues are directed by state law into an officers retirement fund.

Red-light cameras are always marketed to the municipalities on the basis of revenue increases, with potential enhanced safety postulated but seemingly never supported by data. These cameras are almost always contracted out to vendors providing the service, whose reimbursement is contingent on the revenue received. 2 of the 3 companies offering this service locally were found to have engaged in dubious practices, such as altering the timing of lights and advancing camera timing relative to lights, to catch more motorists.
I won't go into why this is wrong on an ethical, governance, or philosophical basis. If you do not posit that it is wrong for a government to outsource enforcement of the law, or profit from defining its citizens as criminals, then we will have a hard time having an intelligent dialogue.

LEO's are always tasked with using discretion in enforcing the law. They must prioritize. For example, a poorly maintained and fully loaded log truck driven by a logger with a CDL, going 55 in a 45 zone on a mountain road in the rain with poor visibility , probably deserves a ticket. An alert and attentive driver of a well-found sports car enjoying a sunny drive at the same speed & location, probably does not, even though the same law is violated to the same degree.
And if the police stopped every car in Atlanta going 10+, there would be no traffic whatsoever on the perimeter.
So while the idea of "selective enforcement" is anathema to some, it is a reality that lets our society function.
So maybe this officer had poor judgment. But more likely, his judgment was removed from the equation or his priorities shifted by external forces (such as pressure from his shift commander, who himself got heat from upstairs.), or perhaps more personal issues.

But yes, you are right that he clearly was not primarily serving the interest of public safety, or he would have been seeking a larger threat. Sorry you got caught. On the whole, these guys do a hell of a job for not too much money, and many are true heroes. A few are true duds, just like in any field. I try to give them the benefit of doubt.

I once had an officer pull me over for speeding in Atlanta. I was speeding, but I was slower than most cars, and had just been passed by a large group going about 20 mph faster than me. I asked him why he pulled me over rather than one of them. He said "you were easier to catch." I told him "thanks, I'll make sure THAT never happens again!"

My bias: old enough to have seen how the world works, both of my brothers in law enforcement, no recent tickets but one recent warning - was kinda funny, for another day.

Thanks for that... other people on this thread need to get their head of their a$$es

[Chuck W.]

Originally Posted by dbansal

at the end of the day...I beleive NWA said it best.... **************** the police....

Yeah, right. And then when things go to hell you want them to lay their life on the line for your sorry ass. It is a traffic citation. Nothing more and nothing less.

[dbansal]

Originally Posted by Chuck W.

Yeah, right. And then when things go to hell you want them to lay their life on the line for your sorry ass. It is a traffic citation. Nothing more and nothing less.

Yeah get off your high horse chuck. Cops are supposed to serve and protect.

Maybe you're too naive to realize cops serve to generate a big chunk of revenue for their respective state.

[Flavor 987S]

Originally Posted by dbansal

Yeah get off your high horse chuck. Cops are supposed to serve and protect.

Maybe you're too naive to realize cops serve to generate a big chunk of revenue for their respective state.

Stop while you're ahead. You're a fcuking idiot! Mr. Chuck W is a retired and highly decororated law enforcement hero. When was the last time you ever did anything to serve and protect anyone other than your own sorry a$$, if even that.

[dbansal]

Originally Posted by Flavor 987S

Stop while you're ahead. You're a fcuking idiot! Mr. Chuck W is a retired and highly decororated law enforcement hero. When was the last time you ever did anything to serve and protect anyone other than your own sorry a$$, if even that.

really? did you think this thread was going to end up differently in any way? Get a reality check.