Stupidest ticket ever
06-15-2006, 12:35 AM
#111
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location:
Posts: 23
RE: Stupidest ticket ever
Urm. First post on the forum, and it's on this topic..[:@]
Revenue from tickets is a drop in the bucket compared to the total operating budget of a government entity. In Georgia, in fact, governments aren't allowed to have more than a certain percentage of their revenue come from tickets. Maybe it's different where you are, but certainly not here.
Having worked on a traffic unit before, I can tell you that at least at my agency, revenue was never, ever a concern. We decided where we would target enforcement based on accident statistics- our entire goal was the reduction of accidents through enforcement and education. The Sheriff himself told us he didn't care if we wrote 1 ticket or 100, all he wanted to see was accident rates going down. He in fact discourages regular patrol deputies from writing a lot of tickets; their primary job is responding to calls. I expect some people won't believe that, but ah well.
We also stopped writing speeding tickets for two months. The county had changed speed limits and road names without ever amending the radar permit. We knew that the permit was wrong on several roads and tried to get the county to amend it, but they were dragging their feet. So we stopped writing speeding tickets until they fixed it.
Now, I'm not saying there aren't bogus tickets written every day somewhere in the country, or that every cop is a saint who never gets a chip on their shoulder. I know there are... I teach radar and Laser to a lot of the agencies in this area, and I've heard some of their stories. (Although I teach the proper way to run radar and laser, and am very meticulous in how I myself operate them. I've never written a citation I didn't believe was valid or warranted.) Bottom line, I guess, is to enjoy your car- I sure enjoy mine!- without getting too crazy on the street.
Revenue from tickets is a drop in the bucket compared to the total operating budget of a government entity. In Georgia, in fact, governments aren't allowed to have more than a certain percentage of their revenue come from tickets. Maybe it's different where you are, but certainly not here.
Having worked on a traffic unit before, I can tell you that at least at my agency, revenue was never, ever a concern. We decided where we would target enforcement based on accident statistics- our entire goal was the reduction of accidents through enforcement and education. The Sheriff himself told us he didn't care if we wrote 1 ticket or 100, all he wanted to see was accident rates going down. He in fact discourages regular patrol deputies from writing a lot of tickets; their primary job is responding to calls. I expect some people won't believe that, but ah well.
We also stopped writing speeding tickets for two months. The county had changed speed limits and road names without ever amending the radar permit. We knew that the permit was wrong on several roads and tried to get the county to amend it, but they were dragging their feet. So we stopped writing speeding tickets until they fixed it.
Now, I'm not saying there aren't bogus tickets written every day somewhere in the country, or that every cop is a saint who never gets a chip on their shoulder. I know there are... I teach radar and Laser to a lot of the agencies in this area, and I've heard some of their stories. (Although I teach the proper way to run radar and laser, and am very meticulous in how I myself operate them. I've never written a citation I didn't believe was valid or warranted.) Bottom line, I guess, is to enjoy your car- I sure enjoy mine!- without getting too crazy on the street.
06-15-2006, 07:49 PM
#115
5th Gear Member
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Small walk way by big walk way
Posts: 4,717
RE: Stupidest ticket ever
It's to bad we couldn't have Autobahns like Germany. Man when I was a soldier there many years ago we had so much fun and I'm still here to grin about it.
And yes police officers occasionally speed why the hell else you buy a mustang.
And yes police officers occasionally speed why the hell else you buy a mustang.
ORIGINAL: Birdieman4
The bottom line is that the country needs speeders, or else we would go bankrupt. I pay a ot of attention to this, and read all I can find on the subject. In Car & Driver current July issue, on page 31 is an article talking about cities that set up 'scameras' to catch speeders. The bottom line was that it increased fatality rates in those areas using them, not lowering it. The real bottom line is that ITS ALL ABOUT REVENUE ENHANCMENT. When revenue enhancment is put before safety, you have a problem. So the entire country has a problem.
There was a story this week of a scam officers used to bust speeders and red light runners, by having a male officer dress up like a female on a bust intersection. In his interview, he said that he believe that it would help drivers keep their focus on traffic more. How so? Sounds like an accident waiting to happen to me. My point here is the police will go to very extreme lengths, IMO sometimes creating a dangerous situation, putting 'revenue enhancment' over safety. No doubt that counties need their $; understood. But when revenue enhancment is put before safety, there is a problem. And this happens too often in today's world. And I am waiting to meet a cop that never speeds offduty.
I've spoken with several of our police officers at our restaurant about this matter (they provide security.)
They have a quota to meet every month.
Why? To make the city/county money.
Plain. Simple. Economics.
People + Tickets = Money
They have a quota to meet every month.
Why? To make the city/county money.
Plain. Simple. Economics.
People + Tickets = Money
There was a story this week of a scam officers used to bust speeders and red light runners, by having a male officer dress up like a female on a bust intersection. In his interview, he said that he believe that it would help drivers keep their focus on traffic more. How so? Sounds like an accident waiting to happen to me. My point here is the police will go to very extreme lengths, IMO sometimes creating a dangerous situation, putting 'revenue enhancment' over safety. No doubt that counties need their $; understood. But when revenue enhancment is put before safety, there is a problem. And this happens too often in today's world. And I am waiting to meet a cop that never speeds offduty.
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