So my kindly in-laws decide to come for a visit for Thanksgiving. That entails a 7 hour drive from Chicago to Minneapolis which means an extended drive through Wisconsin.
So, they leave at 4 a.m. to dodge heavy traffic. The mother-in-law drives and likes to take it easy going the posted limit in the right hand lane. You think this would keep her out of trouble.
But apparently there was a cop who had somebody pulled over on the right hand side of the road. She stayed in the right lane, maintained her speed, and drove past.
Then, before you know it, another trooper comes barreling up behind her lights a blazin and pulls her over.
“Do you know what you did?”
“No.”
“Illegal passing of a stopped emergency vehicle.”
“Oh?”
“Yes, Wisconsin state law requires you to slow to 20 mph under the posted limit and move over into the left lane when passing a stopped emergency vehicle. This law went into effect December 2001.”
“Oh?”
“Here’s your $250 ticket, have a nice Thanksgiving!”
You know, one time some jackass cop gave me a ticket when I made a left turn on red. How the hell was I supposed to know you can’t do that? You can make right turns on red! Expecting me to know the law? What a DICK!
Well I’m going to go against type and voice my sympathy. Texas just passed the same law here, in the mentioned by reeder and if I hadn’t been specifically watching the news that night (or the ex hadn’t had brought it up himself whilst driving with me in the car while it actually happened), I’d have never known. Certainly because I don’t get out much or pay attention to the TV when someone else has it on. I don’t view it hardly ever on my own.
So, I can empathize. Definitely when it comes across as kinda spiteful, unnecessary (IE: a warning to someone apologetic and unawares would probably suffice – and yes, before anyone says it, I realize some folks use this tactic to their advantage to just avoid consequences but I’m assuming innocent before guilty and giving the benefit of the doubt) or just as “Why sir??”. However, under the same principles, no matter how it felt or might have seemed, the policeman perhaps operated in a similar fashion and meant no ill intent. Therefore, “DICK” would indeed be too strong, but a dismissive attitude (But THEY were breaking the law! And he’s just doing his job!) in regards to the situation is also, IMHO, uncalled for. Sometimes a nice ‘bedside manner,’ if you will, goes a long way. It doesn’t come across that it was present. YMMV.
Hoping their (and your) Thanksgiving gets better and becomes ticket free for the remainder.
Yeah, I can see how you got confused. I once thought that they changed the law about red lights after I saw some fire trucks running them and got into some trouble myself. What a bunch of dicks.
I remember from road trips to Ohio that most of those midwestern states have that law, and put it on huge billboards as you enter the state, along with “Speed Limit Strictly Enforced” (ha, ha!), “All Trucks Must Stop”, and so on. Most of them also have signs now and then reminding you of the law. And besides being the law, it’s also only common sense.
Somebody beat me to it, but yeah, it’s the law here in Minnesota too.
I can understand why the law has been put in effect. It’s pretty hazardous to be a cop nowadays anyway - so why add the risk of getting hit by a motorist driving by going at 50 mph on the freeway?
I’m sorry about your mother in law’s ticket. It kind of sucks considering it’s Thanksgiving and maybe the cop could have given her a warning. That said, it’s also possible that the troopers have taken a zero-tolerence approach to this particular type of offense. They are, after all, trying to protect themselves as they exit their vehicles and walk by the side of the road.
Let’s see if we can get this straight. Car with Illinois plates commits a technical violation in Wisconsin on a day that the highways are flooded with State Troopers. This happens early in the morning before the traffic really starts moving and when all those extra Troopers don’t really have anything to do except cruse around looking for trouble. While a Trooper’s standard response is that he is permitted to write as many tickets as he wants, there is a quota and any Patrolman who wants to get plum assignments – like being selected to guard the sidelines at a UW-Madison football game – had better write every ticket he can. If you can’t get a drunk then get a speeder. If you can’t find a speeder then look for a car with a tail light out. If you can’t get a tail light then go looking for no-harm technical violations of obscure rules of the road. Plus, anything is an opportunity to do a search that might just pick up a trace of marihuana. Welcome to the wonderful world of public safety – to serve and protect, after all.
Don’t pay the ticket. File a written not guilty plea and find out if the county prosecutor has as much time on his hands as the Troop did. See if the Trooper is willing to take his off-duty day to climb up in front of the local magistrate and explain just why this is an offense that should not have been handled with a friendly word of advice or a warning. You don’t have to actually go to court. All you have to do is make the county attorney think you are willing to. You know the Trooper was thinking that it might be a chicken shit citation but what are the chances that this motorist is going to come back to contest it.
What ever you do don’t ignore it. Your MIL might well lose her Illinois license on a interstate agreement on defaulted traffic tickets.
Let me add that while there are good, devoted, reasonable people in law enforcement, the trade does seem to draw more than its share of jerks who get their jollies from wearing a side arm and ordering the inoffensive citizenry around. In an army these are the same guys that you do not trust to safely escort prisoners off the battlefield.
Ignorance of the law is no excuse. Your mother-in-law had just as much opportunity to get her doctorate in jurisprudence as anyone else. The laws of every state are publicly available. She should have read them and consulted an attorney from the bar of each state she intended to traverse if she had any questions.
Actually, people that don’t move over for emergency vehicles are the pricks. Whenever we work an accident or some sort of call on the side of a highway or major road most of the drivers never fail to scare the crap out of me. I was very thankful for the law in Minnesota, and I wish Colorado had a similar law.
Spot on. That was perfect. And I completely missed or read over the part about her/them being from out-of-state. Yep, I’d expect we should all do the proper legal research before making a possible once-a-year trip.
That was perfect. And I completely missed or read over the part about her/them being from out-of-state. Yep, I’d expect we should all do the proper legal research before making a possible once-a-year trip.