Time to add some humor. Ask the cop if you can buy Tickets to the Police Man’s Ball. Most don’t have them, thus, they say, ‘we don’t have balls!!!’
When did I suggest no traffic laws or law enforcement? I simply suggested that the SPEED LIMIT laws were arbitrary numbers and should be changed or perhaps done away with. Again, it may be too radical to completely eliminate them but they are definitely arbitrary. AGAIN, consider a road that goes through mulitple cities, but has a different speed limit for every city. AGAIN, I didn’t say to eliminate law enforcers, some of them, very few, are not egotistical, arrogant, wanna-be-gods. Bluepony suggests in his post that attitude determines whether or not someone gets a warning or a ticket (I’d bet a weeks pay a good looking woman/man <if he’s gay> offering him a quickie would do it too). Sounds to me he doesn’t like a person expressing his constitutional right to free speech. Of course most cops believe citizens have to many rights anyway. No surprise since he also suggests attitude determines if the ticket will be "a harmless warning or minimum-fine excessive speed into the “speed in excess of…” inferring that he is even willing to LIE about how fast someone was going because of their attitude (their constitutional right to free speech). Perhaps it should be illegal for car manufacturers to produce cars that can go faster then 60 or 70. I’m sure most law enforcement would be for that. Of course most of them would also support a police state, no guns for citizens & random house searches too.
As far as it being foolish of me to suggest I will never need police assistance I’ll relay a story.
My car was parked in front of my mothers house a few weeks ago when I was visiting her (I’m such a good son). Suddenly, I heard a crash and looked outside and it was my parked car that was smashed in. Fortunately, the other guys car tire was too smashed in for him to drive away (if that is what he would have even done. perhaps not.). The guy wasn’t drunk, he just wasn’t paying attention. My mother insisted on calling the police but I asked her not to and I went and talked to the guy to make sure he was alright and to make sure he had insurance. He was and he did. I even loaned him my jack to change the tire on his car that had been destroyed (what a nice guy i am). Well, sure enough, my mother called the cops anyway and the guy got a ticket for “inattentive driving”. Now I ask you: What purpose did that ticket serve to me, the vicitm? Answer: NONE. But it will fatten the coffers of the city/county/state (take your pick, it’s all government). I was satisfied with the fact that he had insurance and they would either be fair about my car or I could sue. Plus, this guys car was damaged and his insurance rates will undoubtedly go up. Wasn’t that enough? To me it was. As far as never needing a cop… Ok, maybe someday I will. But only like I need the city to pick up my garbage. Break into my house and you face two rather large pit bulls (I have to admit they only look scary and would probably be happy as long as you pet them. anyone want to test my theory?), or perhaps even worse, me and a gun. Then, I admit, I will call the cops. So they can clean up the mess. AFTER I’VE RESOLVED THE PROBLEM.
Personally, I drive between 2-5 mph over the speed limit. That seems to be low enough for the cops not to mess with me (knock wood) and it gets me where I’m going. There’s always plenty of people out there driving much faster then me that I know the cops will wait for them and let me pass.
One last point: If every person that got a ticket asked for and went to trial IT WOULD INDEED CLOG THE COURT SYTEM. But that’s fantasy. They know most people will just pay the fine and be done with it.
Wow Blockhead, interesting positions…
Bluepony, always nice to hear from you, right on.
Sorry, but I couldn’t agree with Blockhead less. I don’t want to hijack the thread, but speed limits are designed for SAFETY, not conveneince.
BTW, all cops aren’t assholes, not even most of them. But some otherwise decent guys might feel and act differently if enough people like Blockgead constantly gave 'em shit. I might if I were them. It’s self-fulfilling- if you tell someone they’re an asshole enough, they’ll act like an asshole. Check out the child psych stats if you don’t buy it.
Sorry for the hijack, I just can’t stand whining sometimes.
A girl, can’t you just plead guilty to Improper Equipment? IIRC, that’s a lower fine, and it’s not a moving violation, so you’re insurance wouldn’t go up (check with your insurance company - don’t take my word for it). Then you don’t have to wait around in court all morning, and you don’t have to address the problem of admitting to a lesser offense to disprove the greater.
In NC, we have something called prayer for judgment continued, where you plead guilty, but if you don’t get another violation for 3 years, your record is cleared.
As for the utility of traffic laws and police:
Actually, it provided objective evidence to back you up when the insurance company tries to weasle out of paying. This happened to me, and you better believe if I even have a fender-bender, I’m calling the police.
I got a bullshit ticket for unsafe movement, which I beat, but I think in general, traffic laws and police are useful and beneficial.
quote:
Check out the child psych stats if you don’t buy it.
I like how you associate them with children. It fits perfectly!
Bravo, EJsGirl! Well done!
btw- I’ve never given any cop “shit”. But I did used to frequent a restaurant that cops hung out in and believe me when I tell you the stories I woulod hear them tell and the comments they made about “citizens” were deplorable.
Fight every ticket. But don’t try to hope a little honesty will get you a break. Once you say “I was just one mile over the limit”, you have confessed and given the judge no choice, except the size of the fine. Your insurance will still go up. You’re a lot better off saying you were keeping up with traffic and hadn’t looked at the odometer in a couple of miles. In this case, the judge can agree and let you off.
Wow…who pissed in your Wheaties, Blockhead?
I’m not going to debate about your perceived problems with law enforcement. I post on forums like these because some people want to hear a cop’s point of view. Fair enough, I give it honestly, and if people like you don’t like what I have to say then you can hit the scroll and cruise on!
I don’t have to prove my integrity to you, nor my physical fitness or eating habits, suffice to say that I entered this field immediately after 20 years in the military and I never broke stride in my physical fitness regimen or core beliefs in honor and integrity. If you think I am a donut-eating, fat, lying pudge that’s your opinion, and like Dennis Miller says “You could be wrong”.
A lot of things you say come out of emotion so I’ll just treat it as such. Cops, as a group, aren’t evil, but some cops have done evil. So have some businessmen, engineers, doctors, and clergymen. But when you’re emotional you tend to argue in extremes right? I seriously don’t think even you would equate what I do as comparable to a guard in Auschwitz in 1944 or an Inquistor in medieval Spain.
You have a tendency to infer a lot of things from a short, few written lines of text. I don’t bitch and whine about traffic accidents. If I get tired of this, I’ll quit. They truly sadden me when the causes were preventable. If I enjoyed going to them, then something is definitely wrong with me. You don’t have to tell me that I can’t solve or prevent them all, but I can prevent some, and that’s fine in my book.
You’re not the first poster who hates cops and you won’t be the last that I run into. I don’t care, I’ve heard worse thrown at me, in person, than what I’ve seen in this thread. The funny thing is that, hypothetically, if I ever ran into you and knew that you needed help or assistance from a simple car problem to your life being in danger, I would still do my best to keep you out of harm’s way. That’s the oath I swore to, to protect and serve everyone, not just cop lovers. Hell, you can even cuss me out afterwards. I’m used to that too.
If this was the case, please pardon my snappy answer. In my state, traffic school is assigned to you if you get x number of tickets. I assumed Daniel was implying that “maybe you need to learn to drive instead of fighting the ticket.”.
Nope, aaron was right. See, thats why the post was directed to Agirl, as she lives in CA. Every state has got different laws regarding “infractions”, and CA has traffic school to “fix” one ticket. A real good idea if it is your SECOND ticket (IN CA again).
I’m about one of the closest things you can have to a lawyer, withou actually being one, as I can actually represent folks in Tax Court. Not an expert on all law, and WAY short of a real attorney in his/her speciality (with the possible exception of Tax law).