Ronin

Have you tried it?

I have, so many times, heard patrol officers groaning about how a citizen complaint brought a benefit to the 'squeaky wheel'.


So, you are saying that it can and has been done, but continue to promote the hopeless cause.

You are simply being too pessimistic or lazy, Loren.

For Loren

...oh, I suppose this just shows it can be done...but just too hard or "beyond what the average person can do".

...these Americans today.

Gurdur

heh, heh, heh.

I particularly like those who say they have nothing against speed limits but they do have something against speeding fines. Hello ? Hello ? Or who talk as though the traffic signs in their own town reflected the entire Universal Reality.

Mind you, it's always odd for me to be defending police; still, principle must outweigh whatever.
I wonder if I can provoke someone into calling me An Apologist For Police Brutality In Speeding Fines.
Then I could add it to my list of what people have abused me as here.

Loren Pechtel

I have nothing against *REASONABLE* speed limits. The problem is that speed limits are genenrally set more with an eye to revenue than safety.

Loren Pechtel

Here's some more on New York's attempts to raise money with tickets:

NY Daily News

uhcord

What I hate, is I saw the same cop that pulled me over for doing 49 in a 35 (it had just switched to 35, from a 45) doing at least 65 in a 45. Well, of course I don't know how fast he actually was going, but I was going 50 in the 45, and he caught up to a car that was about 1,000 feet away quite fastly.

He didn't have his lights on, and he slowed down when he came up on a car, and tailgated the car, till he could actually get around it. Then spud off agian. He was just doing a regular patrol, because he was stopped at a gas station, about a mile down the road. (which I happen to be going to)

This is not a rare, occurance. Everytime I see a police car in my city, it is speeding. ALWAYS. They are going to an emergency, they are just cruising along.

Grrrr, it just makes me made. I swear every cop around hear thinks they don't have to follow the traffic laws.

Ultimate Atheist

I had a copy pull me over once for a headlight that was out. I didn't know it was out and was actually glad that he stopped me because most of the time they just tell you that you have a light out so you'll be aware of it and give you a warning ticket. I happened to be in an area where the cops were all trying to get new cars. Apparently the cops that wrote the most tickets got new Mustangs. The city got about 5 of them.

Anyway back to the point. The cop gave me a real ticket. I looked in my rearview mirror and noticed that the cop's car had a headlight out. I called him back to my car and said something about it. He said that he didn't know it was out. I said "Wow! Where have I heard that before". He gave me a dirty look and walked off. I just happened to have a camera with me and snapped a shot of the front of his car before he took off. I took it to the chief of police and he fixed the ticket for me. He also told me about their little unofficial contest to see which officers got the new Mustangs.

As for cops speeding, I finally got a chance to screw one back once. He was flying down the parkway. He didn't have his lights or siren on. He flew by me and ran a red light. At the particular intersection there is a hill off to one side so intersecting traffic really can't see up the parkway until they top the hill and are in the middle of the intersection. The cop ran the light and nailed this old lady. It flipped her car a few times. Within 2 or 3 minutes there were about 5 cop cars there. They didn't tend to the lady at all. All they seemed to be concerned with was surrounding the two cars and blocking people's view so they couldn't see that an officer was involved. They parked in a circle around the scene and they all opened their doors, hoods, and trunks so no one could see.

I took pictures of the whole thing and then I took down the ladies liscense number so I could find out who she was and contact her. I talked to her lawyer and testified against the officer along with a few other people that saw it. My pictures helped her win the case. The poor old lady was still in a wheelchair when I saw her in court. The cop was fired. The other cops that helped him cover it up where put on probation.

I'm sure not all cops are like this but there are way too many that are. They need to learn that they aren't above the law. They can't do whatever the hell they want to just because they have a badge and some flashy lights on their cars. I've heard the argument that cops are trained to drive at high speeds and that's why they can do it. I think unless they have to drive at high speeds to pursue a dangerous suspect they should abide by all the traffic laws that I have to. That includes not running red lights. I've also seen cops at red lights get impatient and turn on their lights just to get through the intersection, then turn off their lights and casually drive on their way. If I don't come to a complete stop I get harrassed for thirty minutes.

Loren Pechtel

Stilll more on New York's ticketing nonsense.

Loren Pechtel

The tale of the 3-second yellow here