First ticket

[husker boxster]

I have to agree with PL to some extent that there is profiling because of driving a Porsche. At my age I'm not out late at night much anymore, but a few yrs ago there was a 6 mo stretch where I was pulled over twice after midnight. Once for rolling thru a stop sign and the other for making a left hand turn and rather than completing that turn into the left hand lane, I slid over to the right hand lane. Both times they were trolling for bigger fish than these two minor infractions. Even had to do the full sobriety test once. I'm OK with them trying to get drunks off the street as I was almost killed by a drunk 27 yrs ago and the only reason I'm here today typing this is because I wasn't drinking that night and took life saving manuvers. As long as they're not jerks when they pull me over and they're not pulling me over every time I'm out late, I can go along with some inconvenience. But they're watching for us. I live with that and adjust accordingly.

I also don't have a radar detector and as previously stated only have a few wks to go to my 25th anniversary w/o a ticket. That doesn't mean there aren't places where I speed, but for the most part I keep it 5-7 over during the day and I'm not a big enough fish for them at that speed. I also know if I get stopped I deserve a ticket because I'm breaking the law. One that the officer didn't make but is supposed to enforce. The responsibility is mine.

And thanks Jager! I'm double nickels and your comment got me thinking - I'm 6 mo from being 56, which means I'll have been driving for 40 yrs. Now I feel old. I didn't feel bad when I turned 30, but had a crisis birthday at 32 - it was such a milestone to get to 16 and get a driver's license. At 32, I'd been driving for 1/2 my life. Maybe I am car crazy since traditional milestone birthdays don't affect me but car related ones do.

[jdraupp]

I spend most of my time looking for drunks because I work nights. Most of the drunks I get on the Interstate are cars I pull out after for speeding. Biggest dope bust I've had to date was for a speeding stop. Call the system arbitrary, but it works that way. The goal is to gain voluntary compliance. Some people will realize the goal just by having my lights on in their mirror and do not need a ticket. Some people will only slow down if you hit their wallets. Its my goal to talk to people on stops and figure out which one they are. Sometimes they even fall into a category that requires jail for the things they have in their cars or the things they put in their bodies.

European speed cameras do get people to slow down...When they see cameras. All the local commuters, who are the worst speeding violators I run into, know where the cameras are, slow down for them, then pick it right back up.