Check out this Dumb ticket I just got

[AAIIIC]

vmoving - Just above the "Shift" key on the left side of your keyboard is a key labelled "Caps Lock." Hit that key once.

[thebigjimsho]

It's as simple as this. There are laws. Whether they are sensible or not matters not to the officer. Do what the officer says and fight the ticket in court.

[vmoving]

Originally Posted by AAIIIC

vmoving - Just above the "Shift" key on the left side of your keyboard is a key labelled "Caps Lock." Hit that key once.

Thanks AAIIC did you forget about that button when you came up with your screen name? What would I do without you?

[Luna.]

Originally Posted by vmoving

SORRY BRO! BUT THIS IS REALLY PATHETIC! A BUNCH OF GROWN MEN AND POSSIBLY WOMEN COMPLAINING BECAUSE SOMEONE GOT A TICKET THAT THEY DESERVED! IT IS FUNNY HOW EVERYONE BLAMES IT ON THE COPS! AS SOON AS THEIR LITTLE WINEY ASSES GET THEIR LITTEL CADY BROKEN INTO OR STOLEN THEY WILL CALL THE COPS AND KISS THEIR ASSES TO GET SOMETHING DONE ABOUT IT. BUT LORD KNOWSIF THEY GET A TICKET FOR BEING A JACKASS ITS THE COPS FAULT!

Check the "Caps Lock" button please...

And getting a ticket for "being a jackass" is fine. In other situations, however, it becomes a little more unclear.

And yes, while the cops pretty much are only enforcing the laws, they DO exercise judgment & this is where, at times, I have an issue with police; they sometimes exercise poor judgment that is extraordinarily frustrating to deal with. Note that this is a trait/flaw of being a human being and not necessarily a police officer.

The police are the only buffer for folks who can't fight the insurance giants & the government officials who want to help balance their budgets. They do NOT have to enforce the laws if they don't want to & don't frequently.

My motto on the government is SIMPLE. You want more money? RAISE TAXES! Do supplement tax income via the use of STUPID laws (traffic in this case) for budgetary purposes. And ANY insurance company recommendation should ALWAYS be viewed with a high degree of skepticism, for they are driven by money. It's like a related party disclosure for a company---you just CAN'T assume the transaction is at arms-length.

Traffic laws should be there for legitimate SAFETY reasons and nothing more. Sadly, the most significant ones have little to do with safety and everything to do with money and THAT is my source of frustration

[vmoving]

Originally Posted by Luna.

Check the "Caps Lock" button please...

And getting a ticket for "being a jackass" is fine. In other situations, however, it becomes a little more unclear.

And yes, while the cops pretty much are only enforcing the laws, they DO exercise judgment & this is where, at times, I have an issue with police; they sometimes exercise poor judgment that is extraordinarily frustrating to deal with. Note that this is a trait/flaw of being a human being and not necessarily a police officer.

The police are the only buffer for folks who can't fight the insurance giants & the government officials who want to help balance their budgets. They do NOT have to enforce the laws if they don't want to & don't frequently.

My motto on the government is SIMPLE. You want more money? RAISE TAXES! Do supplement tax income via the use of STUPID laws (traffic in this case) for budgetary purposes. And ANY insurance company recommendation should ALWAYS be viewed with a high degree of skepticism, for they are driven by money. It's like a related party disclosure for a company---you just CAN'T assume the transaction is at arms-length.

Traffic laws should be there for legitimate SAFETY reasons and nothing more. Sadly, the most significant ones have little to do with safety and everything to do with money and THAT is my source of frustration

Wow Luna! I think there is an echo in here!

[thebigjimsho]

Originally Posted by CIWS

Laser's are a biotch.

It was quite embarrassing. They had just widened the highway and cleared out the median. 5 miles from my house. I make it a point to know every inch of Interstate in the area. Every nook and hiding place.

[concorso]

I can see both sides of the arguments here, and as my views have allready been said by other people, theres no real need for me to bore you with my own version.

I do have some questions tho. Police often state that the reason for tint laws are
A. to protect the the Officer from an unseen attacker
B. to allow the glass to shatter properly (tho I dont hear this excuse that often anymore.)

Most places that have tint laws, it applies to the windshield and the front side windows, of varying degrees, generally around 30%. But both the back side windows and rear windows can be as dark as you want. It would seem to me, then, that the officer is only protected from the front passengers. If the rear side/windows are limo tint, how would a cop see someone in the back seat with a gun? He wouldn't until he's looking in through the front window, and by that time, he could be dead. So why not ban ALL TINTS?

[bossplayer]

Originally Posted by concorso

I can see both sides of the arguments here, and as my views have allready been said by other people, theres no real need for me to bore you with my own version.

I do have some questions tho. Police often state that the reason for tint laws are
A. to protect the the Officer from an unseen attacker
B. to allow the glass to shatter properly (tho I dont hear this excuse that often anymore.)

Most places that have tint laws, it applies to the windshield and the front side windows, of varying degrees, generally around 30%. But both the back side windows and rear windows can be as dark as you want. It would seem to me, then, that the officer is only protected from the front passengers. If the rear side/windows are limo tint, how would a cop see someone in the back seat with a gun? He wouldn't until he's looking in through the front window, and by that time, he could be dead. So why not ban ALL TINTS?

I think the reason rear windows can be tinted is because people who ride around with drivers don't want you and me to look over and recognize him, then flip him off. People like politicians and whatnot.

[faylix]

Honestly, every time I've had to interact with the police (didnt run fast enough) it usually goes like this:

1. Cop yells at me, calls me a variaty of names, then asks if I'm stupid or just retarded
2. I answer "Both, Sir"
3. Cop laughs. Sometimes I get a ticket for something minor - but always lets me go on the major ish. Possesion? 65 in a 55. street racing? seat belt fine. etc etc.
4. Call Ticket clinic


That being said, thats just my personal experience. I've def seen cops be dickheads to some friends. Ive seen all the youtube videos of the officer who hates punk skateboarders. To the guy that was talking about how his dads a cop and how cool he was for pulling people over for running with their fog lights on.......


[edited for ..... ubanski something something only kids with PBA cards blah blah]


kthanxbye.
(faylix is feeling a little touchy this morning)

[trukk]

Faylix,

Do yourself a favor, and edit that real quick, before you end up on an UrBANski mini-vaction. I think the fog-light thing is utter bullsh!t too, but you can't personally attack the guy here, it's against DaRulz.

-Chris

[faylix]

Originally Posted by trukk

Faylix,

Do yourself a favor, and edit that real quick, before you end up on an UrBANski mini-vaction. I think the fog-light thing is utter bullsh!t too, but you can't personally attack the guy here, it's against DaRulz.

-Chris

*grumble*

fine voice of reason, FINE.

[thebigjimsho]

Dammit! I missed it...

[bpitas]

Originally Posted by RunningOnEMT

nope... my radio moves MUCH faster than i can... trust me, can't outrun that no matter how much get upa nd go your V has.

Oh boy, new thread that I feel passionately about. LOL
This subject has come up on every car-based forum I've ever registered for. I love reading this thread wherever it pops up!

Anyway, I've heard the statement "you can't outrun a Motorola" a million times, and whoever says that obviously hasn't actually run from the cops. (not that I have either of course, at least as far as anyone on this list knows ) The radio is only useful when you are in visual range of the cop. Once you're out of sight, it doesn't help them much and actually hurts them if you have a scanner in the car. (which is illegal in pretty much every state, but if you're going to get caught, might as well go out in style!)

If you're in visual range of a cop for more than 20 seconds in a V, then you've got bigger issues. :-)

Just know that if you *do* get caught, they are going to tenderize you with their maglights like a chicken cutlet...

[bpitas]

Originally Posted by MauiV

BTW, the worst cops I have EVER come across are Shenandoah, Texas. They support their hole in the wall town by ticketing their fine neighbors of The Woodlands relentlessly.

I can vouche for that. I used to do some pro services work for Hughes Christensen in the Woodlands, and Shenandoah is the ONLY place I've ever seen a state trooper in the left breakdown lane, parked against a jersey barrier, right over the crest of a hill waiting to bag people. If you were driving with your arm out the driver's side window, you would have smacked the cops mirror!

[bpitas]

Originally Posted by dkozloski

Many years ago when I took the CHP defensive driving course they explained how speed limits are arrived at. They have people do an observational study on how fast the traffic is actually moving on a particular stretch of road and set the limit at whatever 70% of the drivers are doing. This is modified by laws that dictate a particular speed limit because of the design features of the road such as access and driveways. The speed is also lowered on roadway that has an unusual number of accidents maybe because of the traffic mix or a blind corner. In any case it won't be higher than the statutorial limit for the state. In the main, the limit is set at what the average driver feels is safe. If you want to blame somebody for a low limit on a particular stretch of roadway look around at your fellow drivers.

I was an NMA member for 10 years, so I've followed the whole "speed limit" issue for a long time, and this theory about doing speed surveys and then setting the limit for 85% of the average speed always cracks me up. They say they should do a speed survey to see how fast people are *really* driving. But the funny part is that in order to do any real speed survey, you'd first have to take down any existing speed limit signs! Of course nobody ever does that...

In order for any survey they did to be realistic, they would have to post a sign at the beginning of the stretch they are surveying that says "Speed Survey in effect - please go whatever speed makes you feel comfortable - there will not be speed enforcement for the period of the survey". Otherwise the survey information is completely bogus because while almost everyone will exceed the speed limit (the way they do now, where something like 85% of people exceed the posted limit), people aren't going to go as fast as they are comfortable because they are afraid of a giant ticket.

I personally think the govt could make just as much money if they shifted their focus to people who impede the efficient flow of traffic, instead of doing everything in their power to slow people down and create traffic. The roads would be safer, gas usage would drop (while you get less mpg at 85mph than you do at 65mph, you get ZERO mpg when you're sitting in traffic!)

Imagine how nice it would be to drive on the highway if speed limits were raised to 85mph, and instead of pulling over speeders the cops concentrated on picking off all the Volvo wagons in the high speed lane who never pull to the right after passing and have huge knots of traffic stuck behind them. I'll bet you a dollar that if they did that, you'd have LESS accidents because alot of the stupid driving I see during commute time is caused by people trying to pass on the right after they can't take being stuck behind idiots in the left lane anymore. I can't imagine you wouldn't make more money by pulling over people for "driving in the passing lane". Hell, if they want to increase the fine like they do with speeding tickets, they could charge $10 for each of the people stuck behind the first person. That and failure to use a directional would get you millions here in Massachusetts...