homepage Forums SimHQ Community Community Hall Speeding Ticket Rant

Wrong - speedometer error well above a 1mph margin is known to exist even on brand new cars.

But I could see tightening up past the currently accepted and usually observed 5mph minimum grace window when it comes to school zones.

Anywhere else if a cop ticketed you for 4mph over the limit - that's a jerk. But I could see it in a school zone.

Start talking 2mph over and my support of that concept drops to zero though.

No, really; the fact that you wrote that you believe that a person should be fined $1000 for going 1 M.P.H. over the speed limit is indisputable proof that the world would be a better place without you. I wish you all the worst. Bad day, totalitarian.

Do you really think it's OK to speed in a school or residential zone? Or are your reading comprehension skills just that bad? Speed all you want on the interstate, freeway, or highway, but 1MPH over in a school or residential zone and you get slammed so hard it makes your head spin. All you have to do is drive the speed limit and you get to keep your $1000. It's really not that hard of a concept to understand.

Is that what I said? Next, you're probably going to suggest a death penalty for going 55 M.P.H. over the limit. I will then, of course, protest that suggestion, upon which you will no doubt ask me if I think it's okay to go 55 M.P.H. over the limit. And that, obviously, isn't what I was saying at all. What I was saying is that the proposed penalty is absurd. Only a totalitarian thug would smile and nod at such a ridiculous notion. If it weren't for the fact that there are always an evil few who find such draconian measures reasonable (usually the people who push laws restricting as many freedoms as they can), it would be quite humorous. Like goose-stepping, your suggestions would be laughable if the thought of the results didn't overshadow the humor.



"Kettle, you're black." You're the one who keeps putting words into my mouth. Note that my "sob story" about my citation (a calm statement of fact, actually, made in response to another's) had nothing to do with my condemnation of your horrible idea (and also nothing to do with my appraisal of cops and their abuses). Had I never received a speeding citation in my life, had I never even exceeded the speed limit, I still would have reacted in the exact same manner to your fascist proposition (and would still have berated the police for their crookedness). Your attempt to link those unrelated events was unfounded and erroneous (and likely malicious and dishonest as well).



If the majority of the people are criminals because of a law, then that means that the majority of people do not want that law in place. The prevalence of speeding infractions is proof that democracy has failed; the will of the people is not being carried out by the government. (Speed laws are far from the only proof of this, needless to say.) Were the people to actually vote on whether or not the speeding laws should be as they are, it is certain that these laws would be made less strict. Most people do not think that the speeding laws are reasonable. But those in power disagree with them, and so the will of a few is imposed on the many. That is not democracy.

Such a friendly person you are. Is this the type of behavior on the forums that SimHQ now condones?

Back on topic...

Just been zapped by a hand-held speed gun on the main road through my area...

Speed limit is all of 20 MPH. Was I speeding? No... 'coz I saw the tiny warning sign the police had put up. Not easy to keep the car down to 20 when you're going down a hill...and my Triumph is 40 years old. It requires you to actually use muscles when operating the controls...

Cheers!

No we do not. Benny, stop it now.

This is a little goofy. Particularly the seizure/sale aspect of it. And what exactly is "driving to endanger" anyway? Sounds like a judgment call to me.

Besides, if you don't want kids getting hit by cars, tell 'em not to play in the street.

Two unimportant, partly off topic questions:

1. Is it legal in the US for radio stations to warn motorists about speed traps? If so, do they do it?

2. Why do you call all police(wo)men "officer"?
I would expect police(wo)men have ranks similar to the military IOW private, sergant (sp?), lieutenant (sp?) etc? And some of these would be officers and some not? Does one say "officer" to err on the safe side? Or are only officers allowed onto the street?

Huh, good questions.

I don't have any definite answers, but my guess is no to the first one (it's not legal), but I will have to call a station and see what they say.

On the second one, I think they are considered officers of the law, like people in courts can be considered officers of the court. It's not a rank, but a type of association with that function.

How do conclude that most people do not want the current speed laws in place? Was there an Ohio poll I'm not aware of?

Although the word "criminal" is technically accurate, I don't think it carries as much weight as someone who received the criminal award for a B&E as an example.

I am for raising the trucker limit to 65 mph however.

I believe that democracy has a duty to be responsible to the citizens. I feel that democracy can actually go to far, and can actually run amok. Good democracy is a careful balance between freedom as well as being mindful of the common good - and the common safety. The before mentioned school zone I think is a very good example of this. Is it too slow? Many likely think so. I actually do - I hate going that speed. Is it a good idea though, absolutely. People's opinions are very difficult to judge in matters such as these. People, especially parents think that such zones are essential. But given the sheer number of people who get pulled over in those areas would suggest otherwise. As such, the speed limit of a school zone is not based on public opinion but rather on studies. This is one example where a law flies in the face of the actions and acceptance by the public.

It does not take a poll to notice that the great majority of drivers drive over the speed limit. I have been able to count since long before I was able to drive.

The speeding laws are not as they are because the people have said that it should be so; the laws are as they are because the people were not consulted.

Interestingly, at the government-funded driving class I attended, the government-sponsored driving instruction video stated that driving the speed limit when the majority of drivers were speeding is more dangerous than speeding with them.



That's not good democracy; in fact, it's not democracy at all. It is "daddy knows best" rule, a concept found in every type of oppressive government but never in a democracy. Look up the definition of a democracy and you should see why your suggestion is incompatable with the word.

The problem is, lots of people DO vote for those laws. They usually think, "Lower speed limit? Yeah, there are lots of crazy drivers out there that should slow down. I'll vote for that."

But the part that they don't consiously add, but really think is, "Slowing down is a good idea for everyone but me."

So they vote for the laws but figure it's OK if they break them. So my guess is if you ever do poll people, most probably would say that they think the existing speed limits are good, but then would not really drive any differently.

It's like the old George Carlin line - "You ever notice that anyone who drives more slowly than you is an idiot, and anyone who drives faster is a maniac?"

Yeah, anyone can do their own poll on the subject of speed limits, and I'd bet serious money that at LEAST 90% of people would agree that speed limits are mostly too low, and mostly imposed for revenue purposes rather than safety purposes.

The big exceptions (in my eyes) are curvy mountain road limits (these always seem sensible and in tune with reality), and all the 25mph limits - those always seem to be either school zones, residential streets, or narrow and/or crowded downtown roads.

But almost everything else is a money grab, period.

The problem with raising the speed limit for trucks beyond ~60mph is that they do disproportionately more damage to the road surface as they increase speed.

Anyone remember the guys who got arrested a couple of years back for sitting in their yard with a sign telling there was a cop sitting down the street with a radar gun? I can't remember what they got charged with but it was thrown out since the sign was encouraging people to obey the law or something like that.

Back where I lived in IL the police were kind of creative about catching speederes... Sate Farm HQ is on a fairly major highway through town, but it was stoplights and stuff too. So they dress up in suits and stand near the crosswalks by State Farm right around rush hour/end of the workday for most people. So when you are coming up at 50+ mph it looks like someone waiting to cross the highway on the way home from work...but they have radar guns and clock people and then radio to patrol cars a little farther down the road. I think I only saw that once when I was there, but my brother (who still lives there) says they do it all the time.

Ok, now a question for you guys who are cops: Say I have been pulled over and let go several times but no tickets. Is there a record of that that will come up next time I get pulled over and my license and tags get checked? I am curious since I work in a bar and I leave right around closing time so I have been pulled a couple of times for random reasons but once my record came back with no warrants and they saw my uniform I have been let go. I always wonder if it is something like oh hey been pulled over X number of times...looks like someone is due for a ticket.

At the very most, the officer will record a traffic stop, time and location in his productivity log for the day...Perhaps note the plate # and that a warning was given for his own future reference... Its not likely that the stop will be recorded electronically so as to show up on the patrol cars terminal the next time you get stopped.... so in short, no... as long as you didnt get a ticket the last time the stop wont show up on the car's computer the next time. As long as its not the same cop, youll prolly look at another warning.

Just how much "extra work" is involved with a speeding ticket anyway?

We've all heard for years the theory of "cop let me off with a warning, probably didn't want any more extra paperwork that day".

What's the actual (or approximate) extra workload?

Why is it illegal, in some places, to warn other motorists that there is a speed trap? Here, if you flash your headlights to warn of a speed TRAP you get a ticket.