Well, at least we can own guns legally and have concealed carry permits. The traffic enforcement here is almost draconian at times though. I need to knock on some wood, haven't been ticketed in years now...

 

True, true. While I enjoy our low violent crime rate, sometimes I wish the local police would get off our backs and do some real crime-fighting. My friend just got 4 days in jail and suspended license for speeding, yet they let another guy I know (not a friend!) walk with his 3rd DWI. Another friend served on a jury for a rape case and the only witness didn't show so they had to let the otherwise very guilty guy go for lack of evidence. Priorities are all backwards - the cops should be out there chasing those guys, not us. Have you noticed that all of the new police cruisers are unmarked now? I personally would rather have a police presence visible to everyone to deter criminal behavior, instead of using those camouflaged traffic interceptors to hide from us. It's no wonder the DC police call the Fairfax County police "squirrel chasers!" But what do I know, perhaps we have such low crime rates because our police really are effective...

 

I have to throw in my $0.02

I have the same issues where I live and I actually asked a cop "why are you bothering me for unsafe vehicle (had my slicks on) when there are drug dealers and rapists running around" and he looked me in the eye and said "fines pay bills, criminals create bills, therefore we have to fine as much as we can to keep catching criminals"

I wanted to get into the whole "what about my taxes" thing but the nitrous was turned on and I had no cats, air pump or emissions equipment on my car at the time and I wanted to get away with what I had and no more.

As for the the "you started too fast of those lights so here is a ticket" thing I would be suprised to see if anyone has figured out exactly how fast you can leave a set of lights and if it's on the books anywhere.

 

I echo your sentiments, Big6 & SMJ... I too live under the boot of UnFairTax county... While it's traffic hell, at least, as SMJ points out, we can pack heat while we're being written a ticket

Actually, I've *HEARD* that this is a good way to get the subject off how fast you were going to something more... fun to talk about

On of my instructor cohorts & I got into a discussion about control & loss of it as regards wheel spin... Having open tracked, I advised him that his legal definition of loss of control didn't jive with the laws of physics... Unfortunately, he doesn't do traffic, so despite his new understanding, it won't likely help... <sigh>

 

LMAO... Cheebmonkey you may be on to something. We have the most fines in Fairfax, thus the largest budget to fight crime, which is why we have barely any crime at all (relatively speaking of course). Wow, what a vicious cycle!

I wonder if the crime-fighting budget can be expanded next year to include those new-fangled laser guns to clock rapists as they exit the crime scene!

 

Ugh, I'm of two minds on the whole mess when it comes to police/traffic enforcement. I do agree that the unmarked car thing is just chicken @#$%. It's revenue generation, pure and simple. When it comes to DUI/DWI, I've seen people get hit with fines pretty heavily, but they're all back on the roads in short order. So once again, it's just more MONEY, but not really any ENFORCEMENT.

Regarding the "packing heat" taking a police officer's mind off of the ticket, well, anecdotally speaking it does, and I wasn't even carrying at the time. I got pulled over on 95n, just south of the mixin' bowl, and I was very very guilty of some improper driving. I knew I was going to get busted all to hell, so I pulled over, rolled down the window, and stuck both hands out. (This is the universal signal for "I'm armed", btw...) Well, the police, when they approached the vehicle, were pretty darn cautious. I got asked why I was doing that, and I told him it was so he could see my hands. He asked if I was armed, and I said no. He then asked me to step out and subjected me to a pat down, then asked if he could look through my vehicle. All of this time he never even asked to see my license/reg. (He was that distracted.) I told him to go ahead, and while he went digging through my car, I stood behind the car and talked to his partner. He very quickly found out that there was absolutely nothing in the vehicle, got out, chewed me out for driving like an ***, and then let me go.

Bottom line, I don't know if I'd want police freaking out every time they approached the vehicle, but it worked pretty well for me that one time.

 

If you think US cops get itchy with guns come on up to Canada, they never really have to deal with it so it scares them when they do. I got pulled over with all my paintball/airsoft gear in the back and when the cop got to my window it was kind of like this

"License, regestration and proof of insur....what the HANDS ON THE WHEEL DON'T MOVE!! (apply weapon to side of head...not really but it was out)

So needless to say i am a wee bit confused at this time and Trigger boy is shaking like a leaf and i can't figure out what the heck is going on.

Then it clicked

I explained very calmly why there was a rifle but hanging out of a bag on my rear seat and what a air soft glock is...

I still got removed from the car, they searched me and the car and left everything on the side of the road for me to put back in.

If you are ever in Canada and you happen to be in Durham Region be prepared, they are not very nice/smart...in fact it sounds like Durham Regional and Fairfax county police should get together and go bowling.

but your right, it is a very bad cycle but it does serve a purpose in a way I guess. More fines = more cops more cops= more fines maybe one day there will be enough cops to still write fines and stop real crime....

 

The police are just doing their job.

I always remember that I am considered innocent until they beat a confession out of me.

 

Doing your job and riding a power trip are two completely different things. Don't get me wrong the Metro Toronto cops are great, they are professional but don't take things too far. They understand mistakes and would rather stop a DUI or a rapest then wasting their time with some doughnut spinning his tires through an intersection.

In Durham you can get a ticket for a broken taillight...a taillight that wasn't broken when you got pulled over if you know what i mean.

I guess when you look at it we all did/do dumb things behind the wheel of a car at one point in our lives right?

 

Best one I ever got was "Excessive noise by spinning tires on pavement" from grabbing second in my Mustang.

 

Hey SMJayman, aren't radar detectors illegal in VA too?

 

Don't you mean "fine collector detectors" are illegal in Virginia?

 

OK, remember, the police do not make these stupid laws, we just get stuck enforcing them. The people WE elect as politicians do that.

Here's the statutes...in FL

Exhibition of speed/Racing on highways
316.191 (1) :
no person shall drive any vehicle in any race, speed contect, drag race or acceleration contect, test of physical endurance, exhibition of speed or acceleration and no person shall in any manner participate in any such race, competition, contest, test, or exhibition.

Starting parked vehicle:
316.154 :
No person shall start a vehicle which is stopped, standing, or parked, unless and until such movement can be made with reasonable safety.

For just smoking the tires, you CAN get either-or. Both are moving violations in FL, an $80 fine, and 3 points on the DL.

Reckless Driving
316.192 :
Any person who drives and vehicle in willful or wanton disregard for the safety of person or property is guilty of reckless driving.

Reckless is a CRIMINAL violation, a misdemeanor, the driver can 1) be arrested or 2) be given a criminal citation with a mandatory court date. reckless is very hard to prove.

New law this year that covers most aggressive driving...

Aggressive careless driving
316.1923 :
committing two or more of the following acts simultaneously or in succession :
exceeding the posted speed limit, unsafe or improper lane changes, following vehicle too closely, failing to yield right of way, improper passing, violating traffic control and signal devices.

This is one step below reckless, it also a moving violation, $80 fine, and DL points.

FYI, the law book we use for reference is 799 pages long. There is a law about just about anything. Each officer is different, some like enforcing the little petty ones and other don't. Me personally, I normally look for the misdemeanors (DUI, suspended DL, improper tags, etc). I do write speeding tickets too. My guideline is normally a warning for 10-15 over, 15+ over normally gets a ticket. I write anywhere from 5 to 10 tickets per week. Probably 75% are criminal violations, not petty chirping the tires. If I have any doubt, I give a warning. However, if someone is a butthead and runs the mouth, we all know where that gets us. I am always polite and honest with people. If I get that in return, I am much more likely to give a lower ticket if I can, or just a verbal warning.

To close, I will repeat something I posted months ago. I know traffic enforcement is not very highly looked upon by many people. Trust me, I know, I have had tickets before, and it sucks. However, from the police point of view, driving is one of the most dangerous tings we do on a daily basis. I worry MUCH more about being in a bad crash than being shot on duty. Most cities are seeing accident rates, especially serious injury and fatalities, rising at an unacceptable rate. In my city, this is only June, and we are already at 75% of the total traffic fatalities we had the entire last year!! We also will have considerably more people killed in traffic related incidents than violent crimes. The only way to lower this rate, is traffic enforcement and education.

I know some officers can be extremist, but don't rate us all on one bad apple. As far as money for the cities, yes, the city gets a small percent of each ticket. I have NEVER written a ticket with that in mind, and NEVER will. I could care less what the city gets. When the city gives us a next to nothing raise, takes away some benefits, raisies medical insurance cost, WHY we we do it just to get those sorry polititians money?? We hate politics as much as everyone else.
I do it to try and save some lives and to educate and remind people of the traffic laws. Many people I stop have a long history of traffic violations. Someone that gets ticket after ticket and is very close to getting thier DL suspended for too many points, is a risk to everyone around them on the road.
I am tired of telling people thier loved ones are either seriously hurt in the trauma room right now, or worse case, killed in the crash.
So, all I ask is that things are normally done for a reason. It is not personal towards anyone. Please looks at the big picture and from our point of view. And remember, we are just normal people too.

 

Slapshot, you're ok in my book! I didn't mean to offend you or belittle your profession - just poking a little fun at the situation in our immediate jurisdiction. We could have easily been making fun of doctors, lawyers, politicians, etc. I hope you didn't take our posts the wrong way, and I did not intend to paint every police officer with a broad brush. You guys do have a tough job to fulfill.

BTW, thanks for sharing the descriptions of the various charges! Your "rules of engagement" on how you determine if/when you should write the person a ticket sounds very reasonable too. Wish I had run into you instead of some of the other cops I have encountered around here (or in NORTH CAROLINA!)...

 

A friend of mine used to drive an '84 Z28. He was cited once for "excessive accelleration" by some local goober in a po-dunk town in norther Iowa. He didn't even spin the tires.