# Government officials and traffic laws **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 8, 2017, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/government-officials-and-traffic-laws/801067 "2017-11-08T18:26:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Tom\_Terrific](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tom_terrific/32/342_2.png) [@Tom\_Terrific](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Terrific)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2017, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/government-officials-and-traffic-laws/801067/1 "2017-11-08T18:26:49Z")
I was reading the thread about the president’s motorcade and some people claiming the motorcades are illegal. I remembered the serious accident involving, then governor of NJ, Jon Corzine. Corzine was riding in the front seat with a state trooper driving, they were involved in an accident. Corzine wasn’t wearing a seatbelt and they were traveling at 91 mph. This was considered normal behavior. I never heard much more about it, of course I don’t live in NJ. Is this disregard by elected officials for traffic laws normal throughout the country? I have not heard about other instances anywhere else. Did the rules change in NJ after this accident? ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2017, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/government-officials-and-traffic-laws/801067/2 "2017-11-08T19:23:14Z")
On a much smaller scale: one of the Oregon state legislators who drafted the “distracted driving” bill was ticketed for using her cell phone at a traffic light (yes, it’s illegal now). She paid the ticket and went public to continue support for the law. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2017, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/government-officials-and-traffic-laws/801067/3 "2017-11-08T19:41:39Z")
[A funny incident locally.](https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/mayor-wont-be-charged-for-jumping-ahead-of-concert-traffic/2017/11/03/849abd42-c0d7-11e7-9294-705f80164f6e_story.html?utm_term=.b452cdd7725d) “Mayor coming through!” But no criminal prosecution. I’d imagine that the majority of officials are pretty law abiding re: traffic laws. I remember when I got my appointment, a judge said, “Don’t EVER use your position to try to get out of a ticket, because you KNOW that is going to make the news!” I suspect most folk would think it just isn’t worth the risk of embarrassment+. But I gotta imagine that in some jurisdictions there are folk who let it go to their heads, and cops who are willing to humor them for whatever reason. ---
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2017, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/government-officials-and-traffic-laws/801067/4 "2017-11-08T20:07:53Z")
I don’t know if this fits what you are looking for but does [vehicular manslaughter](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Janklow#Vehicular_manslaughter) count? (Jump to the Vehicular Manslaughter section). ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Terrific](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tom_terrific/32/342_2.png) [@Tom\_Terrific](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Terrific)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2017, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/government-officials-and-traffic-laws/801067/5 "2017-11-08T20:30:12Z")
> [@Kimballkid](#): > > I don’t know if this fits what you are looking for but does [vehicular manslaughter](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Janklow#Vehicular_manslaughter) count? > (Jump to the Vehicular Manslaughter section). Yeah, kind of. I was wondering more along the lines of officials running around in mini-convoys breaking the traffic laws. Like president juniors. Corzine was in a SUV with another SUV as escort, while running well above the speed limit and it seemed that was business as usual. It was interesting that Governor Janklow couldn’t be sued because he was on official business. ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2017, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/government-officials-and-traffic-laws/801067/6 "2017-11-09T19:10:25Z")
It happens in PA quite a bit even when you are the police head/boss. [http://www.yardbird.com/reform\_pa\_Col\_Miller\_caught\_speeding.htm](http://www.yardbird.com/reform_pa_Col_Miller_caught_speeding.htm) Note the next to last line of the article - "Earlier in his term, Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell was also caught speeding on the turnpike. " And my personal bet is that for everyone that is known about there are tons more unreported. ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2017, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/government-officials-and-traffic-laws/801067/7 "2017-11-09T19:37:56Z")
Last year the mayor of Atlanta, GA was in the news for using lights and sirens to go…[anywhere he wanted](http://www.wsbtv.com/news/2-investigates/is-mayor-kasim-reed-breaking-the-law/462400973), pretty much. ---
**Author:** ![rbroome](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/838e76/32.png) [@rbroome](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rbroome)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2017, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/government-officials-and-traffic-laws/801067/8 "2017-11-11T15:33:41Z")
At least in this case the Governor paid for his indiscretion. > **[Mystery Shrouds Crash of Mississippi Governor](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1996-12-18-mn-10325-story.html)** > > Accident: Six weeks after Kirk Fordice nearly died in a vehicle wreck, questions about his out-of-state activities, and an alleged affair, still rage.