I find it hard to believe cops are writing bogus tickets when the simple fact is there are ample opportunities for REAL tickets.
I read this thread and then had to walk 6 blocks to the post office. So I decided to wait at the corner of California and Fullerton for fifteen minutes and count violations.
In 15 minutes I counted 50 (then stopped) people using cell phones while driving. I counted over 30 (then stopped) people not wearing seat belts while driving.
And this doesn’t count the ones doing both which I chose not to count at all.
With so many people blantantly violating the law in Chicago, I find it hard to believe that cops need to make things up.
OK now I can maybe see in very small towns where there isn’t a lot of people how this could happen perhaps.
I worked in two small towns East Hazel Crest, IL and South Holland, IL both which had a lot of hotels on the access roads off of I-80. I used to be a desk clerk and I’d tell people, don’t park in the handicap space when you register. I’d say “The cops have nothing to do in this small town but wait for you to park there and give you a ticket.” But no one listened and the fact is they DID only ticket the ones who were doing illegal things.
I walk a LOT and most people drive horribly and deserve tickets. I can’t even tell you the last time I saw a car actually stopped BEHIND the line at a red light. You don’t notice till you walk and have to walk into the traffic, to get around these people.
Sorry for the rant, and like I said, I believe cops MAY do things not appropriate at times, especially if the town is little enough, but I think making up tickets isn’t really one of them, especially since SO many violation exist to begin with.
You have to account for the time/space anomalies that occur here. You should pack a lunch to drive to Newport, and Cranston is just too far away, but hopping in the car to drive to Maine is perfectly reasonable.
In reasonable terms, this would be the best state for roadblocks, small with a very high population density, and plenty of drivers violating some law.
I first noticed the bogus tickets a few years ago when I could not figure out why people were being stopped. Yes, I see obvious violations constantly myself and wonder where the police are when you need them. But the bogus ticket phenomenon is true. Certain officers have been caught or admitted it. One admitted it publicly on Topix when he said he would write fewer tickets if people paid more taxes. I have seen officers stop one vehicle after another as soon as they could finish writing each ticket. I have sat in court and interviewed victims. I am in a position to witness these things more than the average bear. I sure wish it were not so.