quote:

Originally posted by 2000Z-71:

quote:

Originally posted by FN in MT:
Contest it and demand a Jury trial. IF that is within Your rights in CO. NO Prosecutor or Judge will panel a jury for a +3 speeding violation.

I'd love to contest it but it's not a realistic option. It would probably cost me 4-5 times the fine in gas and lodging to travel from Phoenix to show up for court in Colorado not to mention the time involved.

Would you have to be there in person?

Could you get a local attorney to deal with it for you?

This is probably a BS ticket given to a vehicle with out of state license plates just because the chicken shit cop is confident that you will not return to go to court and dispute it.

Do you belong to AAA or similar motor club? If so, maybe an inquiry to their legal assistance department might help. As I recall, they do reimburse attorney fees. At least they did when I was a yoof and made a habit of driving to fast.

You have to blame it on the management. Liberalism has taken over a lot of city/county/state law enforcement agencies.

Things got so hot in Fairfax County that the police chief left and took a job in Montgomery County, MD. Many times I called and reported crimes and they did nothing. The taxpayers have footed the bill for all the lawsuits and coverups of crime or poorly trained officers.

The last time I reported vandalism, the officer wrote it up as a neighbor dispute when I briefed him on the ongoing situation. Little did I know that the previous owner moved because of the white trash neighbors as his wife describe them.

Then there are the Judges that are liberal and fail to enforce the law. Also some are poorly trained and do not understand the operation of the old radar guns. One Judge in Charlottesville said that he was in the Navy and knew all about radar.

I hate to see or hear stories like this. What these assholes that do shit like this don't realize is that 99 percent of the population's only contact with the Police is usually through a traffic stop. How we treat them and if we do or do not write them a ticket goes a long way to establishing a positive image with the public. I've said it before and I'll say it again. If you do this type of BS quit your job and apply for a job as a revenue agent because that is all you are. Real Policemen across this nation do not look upon you as a brother or a real Policeman. Stop being a tool or a suckass for the politicians who want revenue.

Cited for three over?

a) You were moving faster, and the guy thought this qualified as cutting you a break?
b) It's an alternative to citing for something else that carries a bigger bill?
b) The guy's a douche?

I never got the point of "a" or "b." Cite the proper violation or cut 'em loose.

HOWEVER: I last worked traffic before bodycams and Civil Rights consent decrees.

There shouldn't be a revenue generation aspect of law enforcement at all.

The priorities of both are diametrically opposed and often in conflict.

And the idea that the fines themselves do much to retard behavior-x is bunk in most cases.

Probably a new guy. He probably still believes that speed is a primary cause to all crashes. Your lucky Z... he probably saved your life.

I wouldn't even turn around on you unless you were 15 over...

two exceptions were:

- 10 over if I was looking for drunks

- I had been told to slow down the traffic in a particular area, but I never wrote them..

I didn't consider writing tickets as a revenue generator...working speed was a means to an end to get drunks off the road.

Most of the time there is simply no need to cite for anything under 8-10mph over. It is like shooting fish in a barrel on an interstate highway.
However there are reasons that Troopers do this.
One, could be that the highway has been designated as a TARGET ENFORCEMENT area, because of traffic deaths.
Another might be that the trooper or the troopers have not been writing enough citations. There are no quotas, but there are records that indicate what the normal amount of tickets are that are usually written per shift/wk/mnth.
Or it could be this guy is just a bully with a badge or maybe he thinks it is his job to save peoples lives??

Aquabird:
I used to write my share of tickets. Saving peoples lives? I could not even get them to change their habits.
Example:
A group of concerned residents publicly (at a council meeting) presented a signed petition bemoaning the fact that many people were speeding around the kids waiting for the school bus in the AM. It was alleged that the PD was coldly indifferent to this threat to the children.
My Captain then assigned me to the neighborhood and told me to deal with the problem as I saw fit. I took the petition with me.
The first morning I set up the radar and directed enough microwave energy into the area that you could warm up your coffee as you drove by me.
Many people were ignoring the kids and the 25 mph speed limit. I flagged them all down and gave them the speech and told them I would be in the neighborhood until this situation resolved itself. Nice guy, right?
So what went on the very next day? Same people, same violations. And you guessed it.... many of my scofflaws were PETITION SIGNERS. I joyfully cited them all, including a husband who was followed about 10 minutes later by his wife. Both had signed the petition. Long story short, after about a week of this, I had cited about 80% of the petition signers. I think the rest of them wised up and used another route to escape me.
As Paul Harvey used to say, here's the rest of the story:
Everyone quit bitching about the speeding for the remainder of the school year but began complaining about it again once school began. Only this time, they managed to get speed bumps put into place. A speed bump cant give you a ticket. All the petitioners were happy! All the rest of the residents were pissed! And snow removal was complicated and less efficient due to the speed bumps.
Bottom line: You can write all the speeding tickets you want, but unless you are citing people in the same area, at the same time of day, each and every day, you have not accomplished a thing.

quote:

Originally posted by 2000Z-71:
Back in my home state of Colorado. A lot has changed since I've lived here but some things haven't. The Colorado State Patrol still doesn't have a sense of humor and takes their job very seriously. In the middle of nowhere today south of Ft. Garland on Colorado 159 I was cited for 68mph in a 65mph zone, yes 3mph over. In the words of the officer, "Even 1mph over the limit is still a violation."

In high school I was involved with the Explorer program with the county sheriff's department. CSP was deservedly the butt of many jokes, I don't think anything has changed. The immediate thoughts that come to mind is that it's the end of the month and out of state plates make for an easy target. But honestly, I think the trooper was just that much of a Dudley Do Right.

Wow. That's pretty lame.

Here at least, while TECHNICALLY, even 1mph over is a violation, it would NEVER be entertained in court. We are typically instructed not to even bother with under 10 mph over (no, again, TECHNICALLY, even 1mph over could be a violation but who the hell has time for that???)

I suppose if it were coupled with other unsafe driving behaviors but damn...

I typically answer, in a 10 hour day, 15 to 20 calls for service. If you do the math, that is 30 to 45 minutes for EACH call including drive time.... Considering drive time at traffic speeds for non emergency calls where i have to obey all traffic laws can be upwards of 10 minutes.... Well... do the math...

I wish to god I had time to even run a lot of traffic, much less sit roadside and look for speeders... Even so, with the little time I get to do so, why in the hell would I waste time on someone going 1mpg over?!?!?!?

I'd have to check, but pretty sure the last time I wrote a speeding ticket was 2013....

Look... If someone is driving like a total jerk, and being unsafe, then I'm all about pulling them over and writing a ticket if needed. That is the point of traffic enforcement. To combat unsafe driving. Be it aggressive speeding, weaving in and out, talking/texting and not paying attention, swerving, etc.... but 3mph... good lord man... I've personally owned cars that have that margin of error. That's just silly.

But, as 46and2 says... Let's stop "creating revenue."

Let's change it to mandatory jail time for traffic offenses (for the sake of argument).

Lots of things in years past were all jail time, instead of fines...

how about this...

You get a ticket for speeding, or other traffic offenses. You get a court date (and therefore tie up the courts with a bunch of minor cases that push back more serious cases. after all, if they hear your traffic case, they have to delay the murder, or shooting, or robbery case that is also pending.)

If found guilty, then you pick a weekend within the next 30 days. You voluntarily serve from Friday at 5p,. til Sunday at 8pm in the county jail for that ticket, but pay no fine, no court costs, and no other fees. Nothing other than that 2.5 days in jail.

I'll promise you that we won't have many people going over the speed limit....

(I'm not actually advocating this policy, only pointing out that society as a whole has advocated fines as an alternative to jail.)

It might be more effective for many misdemeanor crimes.... Look at MO law for example..

For a local level offense of "stealing" which shoplifting falls under, you would need to steal over $750.00 worth of items for it to be a felony. Generally, the penalty for this is a $100.00 fine, and even for first of sometimes second offenses, they allow you to take a class that waives the fine, and you don't do a day of jail, don't pay a penny of a fine, and might pay a few bucks for the class... that is IF you get caught...

Seems worth the risk for some people, considering how few we actually catch...

Maybe if it were mandatory jail time, people would actually stop, as opposed to calculate "risk vs. reward"

Just saying...

I still remember the CSP officer that plowed into my gate shack, Gate 4, Ft Carson, 1977. He was speeding in a blinding snowstorm. That "shack" must have been built to withstand nuclear attack-and the car folded up nicely. Soon thereafter he wrote me for "exhibition of acceleration," which is a license suspension. The judge, being just, suggested I go get an international driver's license and transfer to Germany. She re-scheduled court until after I had the other license.....ah, the good old days.

I travel I-76 to Nebraska often, it's a 75 mph road and I always keep the cruise at 82,never had a problem even around the known Julesberg/ Sterling areas which must have great donut shops somewhere.

My Chevy Cruze has such lousy throttle response that it's virtually impossible to keep it within a 3mph speed range.

Just one more reason to avoid Colorado.

quote:

Originally posted by zoom6zoom:
3mph is generally considered within the mechanical margin of error. It's a BS ticket.

Yep. It is.

Remember that he was the most qualified guy they hired.

Must be trolling for revenue for the state and trying to get his quota up to quantify the reasons to keep his sorry ass employed.

Yep, sounds just like the Oregon Road Tax!

Heading south on US 97 last fall just south of La Pine, doing the same speed as prevailing traffic... 64 in a 60 zone.

OSP coming north threw on his lights when about 300 yards from me, and initiated a J turn. I'm watching all this in my rearview mirror. When he stays behind me, I pull over to the shoulder.
Lower right side window, wallet up on dash, hands on the steering wheel to make it comfortable for him.

Despite that, he wrote me for 64 in a 60 zone. Cost me $168.00.

After this wonderful encounter, and I had my license/registration/POI safely back in my possession, I informed him that I was retired WA State Patrol, and I thought he was a prick for writing 4 over on an open highway... What bullshit! I'd have a tough time shaving if I had worked for a jurisdiction with policies like that, 'cause I wouldn't be able to look at myself in the mirror!

It is a damn shame and a travesty that so many LE organizations are more of a Tax Collector than an adjunct to safety in this day and age.
Don

quote:

Originally posted by Fredward:
I still remember the CSP officer that plowed into my gate shack, Gate 4, Ft Carson, 1977. He was speeding in a blinding snowstorm. That "shack" must have been built to withstand nuclear attack-and the car folded up nicely. Soon thereafter he wrote me for "exhibition of acceleration," which is a license suspension. The judge, being just, suggested I go get an international driver's license and transfer to Germany. She re-scheduled court until after I had the other license.....ah, the good old days.

I don't understand this. If you were in a stationary structure and the trooper was at fault, why didn't the judge call this farce for what it was and, at the very least, throw it out?

quote:

Originally posted by newtoSig765:
My Chevy Cruze has such lousy throttle response that it's virtually impossible to keep it within a 3mph speed range.

Just one more reason to avoid Colorado.

And Chevy's.

quote:

Originally posted by marksman41:

quote:

Originally posted by Fredward:
I still remember the CSP officer that plowed into my gate shack, Gate 4, Ft Carson, 1977. He was speeding in a blinding snowstorm. That "shack" must have been built to withstand nuclear attack-and the car folded up nicely. Soon thereafter he wrote me for "exhibition of acceleration," which is a license suspension. The judge, being just, suggested I go get an international driver's license and transfer to Germany. She re-scheduled court until after I had the other license.....ah, the good old days.

I don't understand this. If you were in a stationary structure and the trooper was at fault, why didn't the judge call this farce for what it was and, at the very least, throw it out?

Two different incidents, unrelated other than by the people involved and the trooper being a dick hole.

quote:

Originally posted by MikeinNC:
I wouldn't even turn around on you unless you were 15 over...

two exceptions were:

- 10 over if I was looking for drunks

- I had been told to slow down the traffic in a particular area, but I never wrote them..

I didn't consider writing tickets as a revenue generator...working speed was a means to an end to get drunks off the road.

Winner!!!! Have a guy in my dept. that is nothing but traffic. Nothing else in the world matters except traffic. Can hardly function as a cop if not in a traffic context and is all about writing chicken shit tickets. A while ago someone checked the stats and found that he and I were neck in neck in traffic stops. However, I wrote maybe a quarter of the tickets he did and had a metric crap ton more warrant, dope, dui, weapons, etc... arrests. Stuff I think cops should be doing. Traffic is a means to an end in my opinion. Now the traffic specialists and the motor cops will disagree I am very sure.