h a l f b a k e r yIt's as much a hovercraft as a pancake is a waffle.
add, search, annotate, link, view, overview, recent, by name, best, random
news, help, about, links, report a problem
browse anonymously,
or get an account
and write.
register,
|
|
|
I live in a community with country roads that have low speed limits. Typically everyone drives 25-30 mph above the posted limit and everyone gets away with it but whenever there is an officer behind me on that road, I don't take my chances.
The other day there was a cop car behind me on a section
of the road where it was unsafe to pass another car and it had no shoulder. I could see the frustration on his face where he looked like he wanted to tell me it was OK to speed for that moment so that he could get to where he was going.
So I thought about incorporating an "OFF DUTY" light where the citizens do not have to fear being penalized in areas where it is acceptable to bend certain traffic laws. Of course the officer is still available to address "real" crimes such as robberies, assaults, thefts, etc.
Marked unPolice cars
Marked_20unPolice_20cars
Sort of the opposite .... [8th of 7, Sep 29 2009]
[link]
|
| |
I don't believe that being "off duty"alters a police officer's duty to uphold the law, in any civilised country I can think of at the moment. |
|
| |
True, he can STILL enforce the law but the light indicates that he not going to. Like if he is on the side of the road making a phone call, he might not want to create a traffic jam making everyone think that it's a speed trap. |
|
| |
In that case the offcer would be derelict in his duty, or potentially guilty of perversion of the course of justice, or of corruption. |
|
| |
They would have the light on all the time and then get you anyway, just to keep you on your toes, as they should.- |
|
| |
This sort of begs the question, "Why do the police use marked cars ?" |
|
| |
Surely it's just giving the game away ? |
|
| |
If all police cars were unmarked with concealed strobes, surely that would be more effective ? |
|
| |
Better yet, they could use disruptive camouflage patterned cars, so no-one could see them until they pounced and shot the shit out of you... or maybe not, as that sort of thing has been proven to be a little heavy-handed for policing civilians, time and again. |
|
| |
I dunno about other countries, but in the US of A they drive
unmarked cars frequently. I've seen green Mustangs, silver
Chargers, black Explorers, and even white F-150s. Giving the
game away my foot! |
|
| |
"I don't believe that being "off duty"alters a police officer's duty to uphold the law" |
|
| |
Well said. I don't know that they really are all that much...I mean, isn't it their job to keep the streets safe (and make money for the city with traffic tickets)? |
|
| |
The definition of morality is something like, "Fear of the guilt I'm going to have to endure if I'm actually caught doing something wrong". Right, [Jscotty]? |
|
| |
Many times they're on a call that requires them to keep their lights and sirens turned off... happens all the time around here -- or, the call they're on isn't high enough priority to warrant sirens/lights, but they still need to get there. Either way, they're not off duty, they just don't have time to pull you over, and don't have authority to switch on the lights. |
|
| |
Off topic, terribly. I just can not stop looking at the
user name [BouncyPaw], and thinking that they need
to report to the "how'd you get that moniker" idea. |
|
| |
BouncyPaw is an excellent name. |
|
| |
On the subject of a police car off duty sign in particular
//isn't it their job to keep the streets safe // |
|
| |
It would seem it is their duty to react to the aftermath of tragic events and endanger as many motorists as possible by disrupting traffic in an effort to raise as much money as possible in the form of traffic tickets of all kinds. |
|
| |
I would prefer to just pay a monthly mandatory ticket than be apprehended when I am late to work and delayed further. |
|
| |
You know how they sell pollution points in big industry, I want crime points so that I can break the law at will within a certain time frame without repercussions as I paid up front. |
|
| |
Try becoming a cop for a while. Then, I suspect, you'll begin to understand why they're so misunderstood. |
|
| |
god what a tired old bit. |
|
| |
//The definition of morality is something like, "Fear of the guilt I'm going to have to endure if I'm actually caught doing something wrong". Right, [Jscotty]?// |
|
| |
If you and the policeman both agree that the section is marked at a speed somewhat less than that which would be equally safe, then one or both of you should write a joint letter requesting a review of the speed limit. That is how things work... evidence will then be reviewed and changes made if there appears to be no justification for the posted limit. If no review is conducted, I guess it is time to vote for someone else in the next local election. |
|
| |
// That is how things work// |
|
| |
Where do you live - Idealville? |
|
| |
//// That is how things work// |
|
| |
Where do you live - Idealville?// |
|
| |
The statement 'things work if done right' while being slightly circular, says nothing about the current situation working or not. |
|
| |
the low speed limits are there so, should it be decided to do so, the officer may punish whom soever they please, to whatever degree they please. Selective enforcement doesn't even begin to describe the caprice of who, where, why and for what aspects of traffic enforcement. I have been pulled over for going 3+, i have been pulled over for a visual, I have been pulled over for going 75 in a 50 (25+) and received no ticket. I've been buggered and harassed and searched because I was driving a borrowed ghetto mobile and I've been treated with equanimity when driving a BMW. Nothing other than the biased personal attitudes of the officer can be reflected by this method of enforcing traffic law compliance. |
|
| |
A few years ago, I got pulled over in a nearby town called Airway
Heights for blowing through a stopsign. It was an unlit road, and
it was dark out, and I didn't see the sign, and drove through it at
full speed. I was also uninsured at the time. The ticket for each
of those two offenses was a little over 500 bucks. Each. The
police officer was an elderly gentleman, and when I explained
that my insurance policy had been recently cancelled because I
had no money to pay the bill after my wife left me high and dry
(it wasn't a lie: this was 4 months after she left and I was 3
months behind on my rent), he gave a stern warning to get some
insurance by any means I could find, and he let me drive away
without any kind of citation. This is where an officer's judgement
comes into play, and I would never support any legislation to
take that away from them. The number of times I've been pulled
over for something far outweighs the number of fines I've
received. Sure, I've gotten some bullshit fines from some
dickhead cops before, but the majority of officers I've
encountered in my life have been honest, helpful folks just trying
to do their job. There are bad apples in every organization,
everywhere you go. |
|
| |
Now, as far as this idea goes, it's a bad one. Officers may choose
to let speeders off with a warning, and may even let some go
without stopping them. But to encourage people to ignore their
presence simply begs for disaster to strike. |
|
| |
OR you could have a PROGRESSIVE (red scare) system of penalties that takes in to account the actual financial means of the individual and punishes them to a painful, but not sadistic level. If you like the fact that your hard luck story got you off, consider how it feels to be the minority who is just as hard up as you were and gets the book. The ability to totally fun a person over, or let them off with a warning INVITES abuse of power. It sure feels great when it goes in your favor, just hope that it never goes the other way. (oh and, god bless America) |
|
| |
I admit I got lucky. I didn't volunteer the story to get out of the
ticket, though. The officer asked me why I didn't have insurance,
so I told him. I usually have a pretty good and plausible reason
for breaking the law, which is why most cops believe me when
they ask why I did it. I really am a terrible liar, which is another
reason I firmly believe that honesty is the best policy, unless
you're damn certain you can pull off a lie. Perhaps I am
advantaged as being a young white male, but I'm also honest
(sometimes to a fault) and project humility and a humble
demeanor, and I think that counts for a lot more than race or
gender. A lot of people of minority get themselves in trouble by
responding to every slight accusation with indignation and rage,
like that Harvard professor in Cambridge, Massachusetts (sp?)
Who got arrested for getting beligerent when police officers did
their job and questioned him after getting called by a neighbor.
A law professor should have known better. Especially a black law
professor. Why he was so shocked is a mystery to me. |
|
| |
isn't privilege sweet. keep telling yourself that it's because you are so honest and nice, and those other people are just incorrigible. I say take the whole thing and put it in front of a judge. Officers should report every violation as they saw it with the consequences to be decided by somebody else, somebody who doesn't need to stand in the rain while they make the judgment. It's quite simple really. |
|
| |
Do you want to have to go before a judge every time you get
stopped for a minor traffic infraction? Do you want to be the
one who's job it is to find room in the city's budget to pay the
extra judges and court officers, not to mention construction of
extra courthouses, to handle all the cases that would suddenly
require a judge's active participation? There's a reason they leave
it to the officer's judgement to reduce the number of people
who make it to a judge. |
|
| |
no, I want the cop to decide. its really really nice. |
|
| |
As far as being priveleged, that's a crock of shit. I just (as in, this
week) moved out of the absolute shittiest part of town, where
I've lived for the last 3 years (to the month). While living there,
my wife left me, my car was vandalized 4 times, one of my
bicycles was stolen out of my yard, and I went through 3 garden
hoses, which kept getting cut up by vandals looking for siphon
hoses. Read my profile to see how many jobs I've gone through.
Priveleged? I've been fucking cursed. |
|
| |
//and project humility and a humble demeanor, and I think that counts for a lot more than race or gender// |
|
| |
Please read that passage slowly, three times, [21Q], and see if you can imagine why some would find a few things in there hard to believe. |
|
| |
One of the problems with petitioning for higher speed limits is that they are one size fits all. An otherwise safe driver (doesn't tailgate or weave in traffic) is a lot safer going 10-20 miles over the speed limit than someone who does. Likewise, a car with a low center of gravity can take a curve a lot faster than a truck or SUV with a high CG. |
|
| |
The cop was behind, you were in front. The cop 'apparently' wanted you to speed but couldn't tell you do to so. He was not authorised to use the light and siren. Yet, even if you did speed, the cop would still have to follow the speed limit... as he is not (in most countries) permitted to speed without his light and siren on. Or do you now advocate police officers breaking the law? |
|
| |
I was going to fishbone this, but I'm off-duty. |
|
| |
21 listen no matter what ticket you do get, you should take the time to go to court make sure that you get there early and make buddies with the cop that gave you the ticket because he will reduce the fine 9 times out of ten. It's worth it you could have sidestepped some points on your license man. |
|
| |
Cops are corrupt; they get away with breaking traffic
laws in their own cars all the time. The courts see
the cop cars as a deterrent and will never want to
remove that effect during certain times. I have to
give you a bun for trying, though. This whole issue
pisses me off. |
|
| |
I'm wondering... about the scenario in the post... how do you
know he wasn't frustrated by the fact that you didn't give in to
the pressure and speed so he could pull you over? |
|
| |
How do you know he wasn't in a desperate rush to get to a toilet? |
|
| |
//BouncyPaw is an excellent name// |
|
| |