Got my first ticket...

[Impureclient]

At least somebody gets it finally. We all have guns in America, so lets do it ourselves. Hooray for guns! I have a "couple" extra ones if anybody needs to borrow some.
In fact, since we are all getting crazy with our guns, lets all go up into Canada and take it over with our guns.
Did I mention I like owning, shooting, collecting, and even talking to my guns?
Sometimes they talk back.

[ajaxthebetter]

The job of a police officer is the assess the nature and gravity of each situation and act accordingly. Waiting in tricky spots to write tickets to those coming to/from work is harldy a quality assessment of justice. It was a rolling stop. The guy had one ticket. Assess the risk of the driver and let them off if they are of little harm with a warning. Pretty simple.

Grabbing drunks and throwing and sending them away for the night I am fine with. Grabbing junkies I am fine with. Those are noble. A guy with scarcely any infractips to speak of rolling through a sign? So noble.

And no, we can't police ouselves: that is my point. Stop lurking at stop signs and go under your local underpass and affect many people's lives, not just one. But I get it. The stop sign is easy. Going under the overpass is hard.

[Impureclient]

My last ticket I received was a rolling at a stop sign...at 11 PM with no traffic in site for at least a mile in all four directions. Pitch black with nobody around or so I thought and then *pop* goes the red and blue hiding behind some building.
That is why people mostly have issues with police. They are for the most part decent people doing a hard thankless job but sometimes they try a little too hard.

[Bergen23]

Originally Posted by Impureclient

My last ticket I received was a rolling at a stop sign...at 11 PM with no traffic in site for at least a mile in all four directions. Pitch black with nobody around or so I thought and then *pop* goes the red and blue hiding behind some building.
That is why people mostly have issues with police. They are for the most part decent people doing a hard thankless job but sometimes they try a little too hard.

Or they were simply told to go out and do their job and give tickets to people who break the law...

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by stevesnj

Just stop at the Stop sign's with the white border around it. Easy

the white border thing is a myth. Everywhere. A stop sign means stop regardless of what border it has. If they don't mean stop it is a yield sign. The white border is just a new type of higher visability sign and eventually they will all be changed to that style.

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by Impureclient

My last ticket I received was a rolling at a stop sign...at 11 PM with no traffic in site for at least a mile in all four directions. Pitch black with nobody around or so I thought and then *pop* goes the red and blue hiding behind some building.
That is why people mostly have issues with police. They are for the most part decent people doing a hard thankless job but sometimes they try a little too hard.

Traffic signs do not only apply when you want them too. So what it was late and you didn't see anybody the sign said stop. Not stop if you think you want too. I don't understand how a debate on receiving tickets for not obeying the law is even possible.

[Bergen23]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

Traffic signs do not only apply when you want them too. So what it was late and you didn't see anybody the sign said stop. Not stop if you think you want too. I don't understand how a debate on receiving tickets for not obeying the law is even possible.

Because entitlement

[Impureclient]

Or they were simply told to go out and do their job and give tickets to people who break the law...

If you promised me you would give me a weeks worth of what you earn if I ran out right this minute and came back within the hour of no less than two county sheriff or city police cars on video from my phone as I pace them going well over the posted speed limit on the road right out in front of my home, I would. I wouldn't have to cherry pick either. Police do not follow traffic laws just like the rest of us don't 100% of the time. The problem is EVERYBODY breaks traffic laws. They are written so that we all ride a thin line of following them so they can pull us over to search our vehicles, collect fines, or sometimes to simply harass. You don't need to look hard on Youtube to watch many videos of that fact. It's not if somebody will break traffic law, it's how often they will. In most cases, it's every day and several times at that. I do every time I pull out of my driveway with "illegal" tint. Oddly the sheriff patrol cars by me have similar dark tint to keep the heat out also. No big deal... There is a time to give tickets and there is a time for looking the other way or possibly giving a warning. OP didn't deserve a ticket.

[ajaxthebetter]

Hmm. I don't see it as a debate on breaking the law and the legality of it. It is illegal. Rather, is it the best possible use of their time as an enforcer of the law?

Save for egregious situations, it could be argued that an officer's time would always be more valuable elsewhere than citing petty infractions. That is hard to deny, in my opinion.

[Impureclient]

Traffic signs do not only apply when you want them too.

Tcoat, you never received a warning before from the police? If you did, did you argue for them to give a ticket instead?
One of the last times I got stopped for speeding(not many since having a radar detector)...maybe 55 in a 45...I asked the motorcycle highway patrolman how he got me without my radar detector coming on.
We got to talking and he even let me try his radar gun out on traffic and showed me he was sure it got me. He told me to take it easy and left me with a warning. Not every offense has to be a ticket.

[Bergen23]

Originally Posted by ajaxthebetter

Hmm. I don't see it as a debate on breaking the law and the legality of it. It is illegal. Rather, is it the best possible use of their time as an enforcer of the law?

Save for egregious situations, it could be argued that an officer's time would always be more valuable elsewhere than citing petty infractions. That is hard to deny, in my opinion.

Of course it's the best possible use of the TRAFFIC divisions time...

There is simply no argument for this. You break the law while driving, you're taking a gamble. Go right ahead and record cops breaking the law. Send it into your local politician. Cops are humans too. But, I've never seen a cop fly by me at the rate of speed some other traffic does. Sure, maybe some cops throw their lights on so that they can go through a red and get their coffee sooner. But really, at the end of the day, how does that affect YOU? Am I the only one on here who had my father teach me at a very young age "Son, if something doesn't affect you, don't raise a fuss about it". There's plenty of real world examples I could give, but again, at the end of the day, it doesn't affect me, so I don't care. But then again, I also vote in every election and I go to town hall meetings so that my voice can be heard (I love democracy). If you do that, you can help to shape where your community is headed.

In addition to that, I have actual experience in the LEO world and military experience. I know what it's like to have everyone hate you, until they need your help. I've been out in public in my army uniform and been spit on (in my mess kit, no less) been called a baby killer, etc. Give the fucking boys in blue a break, they have it even harder than I did.

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by Impureclient

Tcoat, you never received a warning before from the police? If you did, did you argue for them to give a ticket instead?

I have had 100s of warnings and only 1 ticket and your logic is not applicable as it would indicate I had a say either way. The traffic laws are there to save lives and they do exactly that. If you wish to judge the validity of an issued ticket based on one side of the story told by a total stranger on the Internet that is fine but I think the broad statement that all laws are just made as a fund raiser is asinine. I am not saying for one second that they don't get used that way but that is not what they were written for.

I will now gracefully bow out of this conversation because it has come up a dozen times before and no amount of evidence or common sense will convince those that are sure they should be able to do what they want when they want that it is just not real life.

[ajaxthebetter]

Originally Posted by Bergen23

Of course it's the best possible use of the TRAFFIC divisions time...

There is simply no argument for this. You break the law while driving, you're taking a gamble. Go right ahead and record cops breaking the law. Send it into your local politician. Cops are humans too. But, I've never seen a cop fly by me at the rate of speed some other traffic does. Sure, maybe some cops throw their lights on so that they can go through a red and get their coffee sooner. But really, at the end of the day, how does that affect YOU? Am I the only one on here who had my father teach me at a very young age "Son, if something doesn't affect you, don't raise a fuss about it". There's plenty of real world examples I could give, but again, at the end of the day, it doesn't affect me, so I don't care. But then again, I also vote in every election and I go to town hall meetings so that my voice can be heard (I love democracy). If you do that, you can help to shape where your community is headed.

In addition to that, I have actual experience in the LEO world and military experience. I know what it's like to have everyone hate you, until they need your help. I've been out in public in my army uniform and been spit on (in my mess kit, no less) been called a baby killer, etc. Give the fucking boys in blue a break, they have it even harder than I did.

The point is, if we are expected to give them a break, then are we not equally as deserving?

IE: a warning instead of taking from the man 170 dollars for a momentary lapse in judgement. Give the man a break. He wasn't flying about. He rolled. He observed. Determined it was safe. Proceeded. You never know ones financial situation. Perhaps that 170 dollars takes meals away from kids.

My point: it's a two way street. I get what your saying. Hope none if this comes across as confrontational. I agree with most of what you said. However, you asked how does it affect YOU, then speak of democracy (helping others). I people only took stands against what affected them, there would be much less progress in this world. I know this is moving away from traffic infractions, haha, but your point seems a bit contradictory to your own actions--which are admirable.

My comment about traffic cops being a joke was a bit harsh--I do however think they could utilize their skills in more pressing areas.

[Bergen23]

Originally Posted by ajaxthebetter

The point is, if we are expected to give them a break, then are we not equally as deserving?

IE: a warning instead of taking from the man 170 dollars for a momentary lapse in judgement. Give the man a break. He wasn't flying about. He rolled. He observed. Determined it was safe. Proceeded. You never know ones financial situation. Perhaps that 170 dollars takes meals away from kids.

My point: it's a two way street. I get what your saying. Hope none if this comes across as confrontational. I agree with most of what you said. However, you asked how does it affect YOU, then speak of democracy (helping others). I people only took stands against what affected them, there would be much less progress in this world. I know this is moving away from traffic infractions, haha, but your point seems a bit contradictory to your own actions--which are admirable.

My comment about traffic cops being a joke was a bit harsh--I do however think they could utilize their skills in more pressing areas.

Para 1: No, why should the lawman give you a break after you've broken the law in front of him? He wouldn't be doing the duty he was sworn to carry out

Para 2: If that 170 is going to keep the man from feeding his kids, maybe he shouldn't be driving and should be using public transit instead. Driving is a privilege, not a right.

Para 3: How is that contradictory? I vote for the party that matches with my views. I go to town hall meetings to push issues which affect me. Back when I was younger, I attended every town hall meeting that had to do with my city getting a skate park and even wrote an essay about it and sent it to the mayor. Guess what, me pushing it helped my city get one. Both those things line up with what I want.

Para 4: Where else should traffic cops use their skills? Busting drug rings, a la Miami Vice?