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  #1  
Old 01-02-2005, 09:52 AM
Coming back from burnout
 
Join Date: Jun 1999
Location: in the Pacific Northwest
Posts: 2,274
Police-are they here to Serve or Harass the Diesel Motorist?

I know I am the son of immigrants, and I am very grateful to be here and I should not complain. Nor am I upset at the Police, who are people just trying to earn a living. Its probably not an easy job, and its thankless.
I am upset at the System...
Yesterday was beautiful and we took our Dog and our 300D 85 to Cape May. What should've been a great day ended in misery--I got a ticket for doing 35 in 20 mph zone, on a road only local peopple would've guessed had a 20 mph speed limit. It was wide and staight, and I was driving as most of us do, guaging speed by the other traffic and conditions.
Two days ago I got the same type of ticket up here.
Anyone knows a 300D 85 is not fast. I'm a safe, conservative driver.
I do know 15 years ago, the police in Delawre would've laughed both tickets off and let me go on my Way.
Here in NJ, the police sometimes overdo it.
I often have seen minivans with harassed housewives, with two or three kids , definitely Al Queada operatives with explosives in their pocketbooks pulled over for minor traffic violations.
The reason is police are broken down normally into State and County, which is usually some 50 departments in a Big State. Here in NJ we have State and Local Jurisdiction which means, some 350 local departments are trying to live off the driving public.
Traffic traps are a big source of Revenue.
When I see so many traffic traps, sometimes I wonder...are the police overstaffed? The neighborhood here are safe...
Moreover, the State Insurance industry has some of the highest rates in the Nation.
Why I have the more points (and am in danger for losing my license) then a weaving teenager with a Tuned Car doing 100 , or a motorcyclist doing 120, both true threats to the public, is beyond me. Some of it is all my fault. Maybe all of it is, and I am being saved from my own destruction by losing my license because I am absent minded. Perhaps I am the one is wrong.
But dont they know I have a 300D, the safest car in the world?

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  #2  
Old 01-02-2005, 10:05 AM
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Join Date: May 2002
Location: Blue Point, NY
Posts: 25,396
well......

There is that argument.........

And then there is the situation where the police in Suffolk County apparently consider the roadways a free-for-all.

We have certain service roads on the sides of the main highway that have posted 40mph or 45mph limits. They have traffic that turns directly onto them from business establishments. They have traffic signals at the overpasses.

Why should it be possible for every sh$tbox in existence to travel these roads at 60 mph? I'll tell you why. Because there is no enforcement of the traffic laws. Apparently, it is fine to travel 20 over the limit no matter where you go.

I'm a bit of a supporter for speed limits on local streets. 30 mph is more than sufficient when pedestrians are around. 45 mph is more than sufficient on service roads. These limits are there for a reason and they protect the welfare of pedestrians and vehicles that are entering and leaving the roadway.

Now, in deference to your situation, I agree that a 20 mph limit is a bit ridiculous and is established solely to provide for revenue. Nobody, except people from the local area, would know that the 20 mph limit would be strictly held. So, they write tickets for all the visitors all day long. BTW, there is more than enough revenue in writing tickets to pay for the police officer.
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  #3  
Old 01-02-2005, 10:07 AM
Hatterasguy's Avatar
Zero
 
Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: Milford, CT
Posts: 19,318
Are you fighting it? You should fight every speeding ticket you get, I don't care if it is for a 150 in a 65 fight every ticket! Well crap happens their are a few little access roads around here that have a 15 or 20 speed limit. Usually most people seem to go 30, you were just in the wrong place at the wrong time.

I plan on buying a V1 later this year to help protect my self. A laser/radar jammer would be nice but I think their illegal.

Your in danger of losing you license because of two little traffic tickets?
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  #4  
Old 01-02-2005, 10:31 AM
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Traffic enforcement does seem to be run like a lottery. A ticket just means that you were in the wrong place at the wrong time. Unfortunately it is also a license for the insurance companies to steal even more from you.
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  #5  
Old 01-02-2005, 10:46 AM
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Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: Northeast
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tickets

I am a Police Officer and Twitchkitty hit it right on the head, it is a lottery and the insurance company benefits.

Remember, the next paragraph is coming from a cop.

Don't blame the cop though. If you are paying attention, I'm sure there was a speed limit sign. If you're speeding, you're speeding. Although, most cops have the decency and common sense to write tickets "fairly".

Junker
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  #6  
Old 01-02-2005, 11:09 AM
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Dieselsüchtiger
 
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Grand Rapids, MI
Posts: 15,438
20mph is still faster than the residential/city limit in Germany....its 25km per hour everywhere, which translates to about 17-18mph!!! SO slow. They have little hidden camera's all over with radar too (they look like little camouflaged birdhouses), so if you go past one a little too fast, it quick snaps about 3-5 pics of your car and liscense plates and sends them on over to the ticket people. A little while later you get your ticket in the mail. I've never been pulled over yet....usually the police around here are lenient for about 5-7 over, but 10 or more and they'll go after you, this is because our police here in GR don't get comission or require revenue from tickets. The outlying suburbs around the city are way more risky, as they DO get revenue from them, they'll pull you over for being 3-4over. Scary. The Grand Rapids police are pretty diesel friendly too....I had one sitting right behind me at a light at night, and my little "plume" rising up behind me didn't cause a problem, nor did the very visible plume I was making upon takeoff.....so that was good at least.
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  #7  
Old 01-02-2005, 12:06 PM
I told you so!
 
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Location: Motor City, MI
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What frosts me is that most police watch traffic by sitting on the side of an empty road watching for speeders (fishing), while people who make boneheaded moves in heavy high speed traffic are ignored. Guess which driver is more dangerous to the public at large?

Fishing is easy. They would do the public a better service if they would work a littler harder and catch the drivers that were truly a danger on road.

Most of my fines were for speeding on an open road. In heavy traffic I'm one of the more slower cars, because I value my life.
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  #8  
Old 01-02-2005, 12:19 PM
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The police in Cape May have nothing better to do. A tourist town and you were in the wrong place at the wrong time. Until about 4 years ago I Also seem to be in the wrong place an the wrong time. Then a friend told me about these little metal police decals. You screw them into your license plate. They say MEmber Fraternal Order Of Police. I never get pulled over or get a parking ticket with this little gem. Now I don't drive 55 in a school zone but they police seem to pass you by for any minor infractions. You can go to ebay and search FOP they usually sell for $20-$30.

jm
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  #9  
Old 01-02-2005, 02:04 PM
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Location: Bay Area No Calif.
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Who said: " Anyone knows a 300D 85 is not fast?"

I was doing 80+ in a 70 MPH highway (I20 in West Texas) in my '85 300TD when I came up on a Texas Patrol Car in the slow lane, doing 70. I managed to spot an off ramp which I took right on his heels as he passed it I slid off (braking heavily)
An '85 300D is fast enough to get you a ticket anywhere.
Cops are there to serve, but they rely on an income from tickets, some are under quotas to fill a number of tickets in a given period of time to please HQ or the local city/county that need money (these days who doesn't?)
If you need/want to exceed the speed limits you must keep alert to stay alive, as well as avoid getting caught.
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Last edited by dieseldiehard; 01-02-2005 at 03:16 PM.
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  #10  
Old 01-02-2005, 03:04 PM
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peace out
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: California central coast
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Every chance you get, make certain you look into traffic school. In my state you can get a ticket dismissed every 18 months; no impact on license or insurance.
They say it is a 8 hour class, but if you do it online, and you are smart about it, you can do it faster. I did mine in 45 minutes!
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  #11  
Old 01-02-2005, 03:21 PM
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Write to the chamber of commerce where you got the ticket and explain why your not going to be spending your hard earned $$ there next year...
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  #12  
Old 01-02-2005, 03:37 PM
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Has this thread got anything even remotely to do with the purpose of this forum?

Kevin
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  #13  
Old 01-02-2005, 03:57 PM
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Join Date: Mar 2004
Posts: 27
tickets

In Febuary 2004 I was let off a 98 in a 75 with a verbal warning near Belen NM. I had just bought the 300e and did not realize I was going that fast. If you are polite and literate, and calm, don't argue, and treat the cop with the respect deserved by someone who gets shot at, you have a chance of pulling this off.

I got another ticket on the Sandia resevation. I was not speeding, and fought it in court. I used to work in a court, and had some clue as to what I was doing. I did discovery, prepared my case, and was ready to go. By the time I walked out of the courtroom, I had picked the police department to pieces, made the cop look incompetent, and had reduced her to the point of tears. Case dismissed. I'll never forget the looks I got from the other cops, and the other people in the courtroom.

Another time, I got a ticket for driving very fast in my Pantera between Las Cruces and T or C. I talked my way out of reckless driving (The cop was the only other vehicle on the road) I pleaded not guilty, and rescheduled my court date 4 times, and when I finally made it to court almost 2 years later, the cop didn't show. The judge was not happy about letting me off the hook for total disregard for the posted speed limit, but he had no choice.

Over the years, I've gotten off more tickets than I can count. The secret is to have a strategy for speeding, and a strategy for when you get pulled over, and a strategy for what to do if you do get a ticket.

FWIW, I never drive fast in town, or if there's other traffic. If I kill someone, It's only going to be little ol` me.
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  #14  
Old 01-02-2005, 04:24 PM
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peace out
 
Join Date: May 2004
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Quote:
Originally Posted by KCampbell
Has this thread got anything even remotely to do with the purpose of this forum?

Kevin
I would say that, yes, the thread is related; and no, your response is not.
What is the point of blasting a good conversation that people are enjoying and learning from?
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  #15  
Old 01-02-2005, 04:54 PM
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"Blasting"? Man, if that's blasting you don't get out much

There's an open discussion forum that seems like a better place to ***** about being caught breaking the law, that's all. It's not like speeding is limited to diesels after all.

Kevin

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