Didn't go a single week....

...before I got a blasted ticket in a school zone , a full two blocks from my house:o:. My street pours into a school zone, but I can't see the zone signs from my street. Anyway went down a block, noticed the flashing light, slowed down, but it was too late:pale: . The :pig: got me doing 33 in a 20 school zone. I'm so PO'd, as there was NO ONE on the street, It was almost 9AM and the schools were all in session at 8:45, so there was no crossing guard, and no students in sight, no cars going 20 to tip me off, nothing.

Oh yea, I had a flat tire when I went to leave the house this morning as well.

I should have stayed in bed.

I know there are come of you PD or ex-PD guys here and I don't mean to offend you, but I've got to be honest. Except for on TV, I've never seen an officer do anything but right tickets. Nothing ever gets recovered when its stolen, I rarely here of theives getting busted, when I've called them for help it's never there. I really see today's PD's as being little trols out collecting money on the streets, from otherwise law abiding citizens.

a friend of mine had just gotten a new SE-R Spec V, he got it at around 7pm the day before. it was around 4pm and he got a ticket doing low 30s in a school zone. he hadnt even had the car a full 24hrs. LOL.

I will second that, I even had one handcuff me and beat the crap out of me once(before Rodney King) for something I didnt do.
I have never gotten anything out of my tax dollars except for a wanna be Barney Fife with a chip on his shoulder, remember there is a very fine line between cops and crooks (someone very wise told me that a long time ago, and it has proven to be true).
Sorry to hear about your run in, I was also pulled over on the 4th of July for changing lanes 100Ft from an intersection, again there was just me and the cop on the road and I used my turn signals and was not speeding.
Funny thing is I knew he was going to pull me over regardless, it cost me $275. to keep it off my driving record.
At least my insurance wont go up for the ticket though.

All those on this Forum who don't know that cops are extra tough on speeders in school zones, please go directly to Drivers Education. :scratch:

Turbo, you were going over 50% higher than the speed limit in an area (only two blocks from your house) that you are very familiar with, in a zone that everyone in the known world knows the police are particularly unforgiving in. I don't understand why you are surprised and PO'd about the result. The policeman (or :pig: as you so colorfully put it) could have let you off, but was under no obligation to.

If this was a "D'oh, I did a dumb thing, and now I gotta pay for my stupid mistake" thread, I'd be sympathetic. But it appears to be one of those "It wasn't my fault, and look how stoopid the other guy was" cop-bashing threads that I have little patience for. I see this one heading for the Locker real soon... :???:

When's the last time you encountered a really happy and polite garbage collector?

I've known some really stupid people in law enforcement. I've also known some really good people in law enforcement. Unfortunately, most of the good people eventually get messed up by dealing with really bad people. They have the worst job I can imagine and most are never given the tools to deal with getting :nutkick: all day long.

Genuine courtesy seems to go a long way with all of them. Guilty or not, every time I've been stopped, I've tried to remember that. Every ticket I've been given covered 10 others I should have gotten.

IIRC, in most states, speeding in a school zone is considered not just speeding, but Wreckless Driving, and it can cost you the privilege of driving. Remember, the kid who is running late is the kid most likely not to look both ways before running across the street or not using the pedestrian crosswalk. ;)

I used to teach those classes that cleaned offenders' driving records. My favorite excuse for 'why I was speeding' was 'I was in a hurry'. My favorite reply was, "After the officer gave you the ticket, how much later were you?"

You can choose your actions, or you can choose the consequences.




My company's new safety slogan is

STUPID
HURTS

I have to agree with Onething on this one...

I got a speeding in a school zone (recently)... While being polite didn't get me out of the offense (hey... I WAS guilty after all), he was very cool and carefully walked me through all the needed steps to have the ticket dismissed through defensive driving.

I personally think that being polite back to the guy made him not notice that I didn't have a front plate.8-)

Remember, I was once married to a lady police officer and I got to hear her side of things quite often.

My advice, give 'em a brake and be polite.

I also agree with one thing....just slow down....and be polite :D

I have been pulled over 8 times in my few years of driving. One time I was on my way to a race, and I told the cop that. The only ticket I have ever recieved is one for my sticker being out of date, and it got dismissed. All I had to pay was a $10 court fee. I have found if you are perfectly honest with the policeman, you will stay on thier good side. 8 times and no tickets, all for being honest.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Dave04

I was once married to a lady police officer...

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[Way Off Topic ON]

There's a joke here somewhere about Dave04 and handcuffs.... but I'm not going there right now. ;)

[Way Off Topic OFF]

Blackzx, where do you live?
in my neck of the woods court fee's have went up by $165.00 and you can be nice all day long it aint getting you out of a ticket.
LOL
Before everyone freaks out!, I know court fee's are not the same across the board, in some towns the fee's are higher = crooked elected officials...who empower crooked apointed Judges who set fines.... but that can be fixed, and I plan to cast my vote next election for anyone but who is in office now.

Rant off

either way you can take defensive driving OR take differed adjudication probation to keep it off your insurance.

Whitesboro, Texas 3,000 people. It's inbetween Sherman and Gainesville

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Treibenschnell

[Way Off Topic ON]

There's a joke here somewhere about Dave04 and handcuffs.... but I'm not going there right now. ;)

[Way Off Topic OFF]

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You, sir, are too kind... ;)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Treibenschnell

[Way Off Topic ON]

There's a joke here somewhere about Dave04 and handcuffs.... but I'm not going there right now. ;)

[Way Off Topic OFF]

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http://www.spotlitemagic.com/spotlit...rge/GC7230.jpg

I don't know Dave so I won't make a joke....I'll just post this pic!:lol:

You're right, Police don't do anything but write tickets. All they are is another source of revenue for the city, otherwise Dallas would not have made #1 in crime in the Nation for the 7th straight year!

Last time I got a ticket was around the corner from my house for inspection and swerving around a broken sprinkler head. As soon as he let me go, I came around the corner and scared off 3 cars full of kids that vandalized 3 neighbors' houses. :x

Between my friend owning a small business and catching people in my car, we have put probably 20 people in jail and the Police did nothing except taxi them to jail. That is all they do most of the time, someone else has to do all the hard work and then they call the Police to pick up the trash.

I've had around 15 tickets dismissed and only 3 on the record. Kind of funny how I went 5 years with no tickets and then within 7 months after buying a sports car I get 3. :sad:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Billy Blaze

I will second that, I even had one handcuff me and beat the crap out of me once(before Rodney King) for something I didnt do.
I have never gotten anything out of my tax dollars except for a wanna be Barney Fife with a chip on his shoulder, remember there is a very fine line between cops and crooks

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Don't even get me started on that! lol I'm a gun collector and been harassed and handcuffed a dozen times only to be released after 2 hours of nonsense when a supervisor is called out to tell them they are wrong and I am right! I had one female cop in Carrolton tell me that she didn't know that law and it wasn't her job to know them all! :mad:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Kestrel

Turbo, you were going over 50% higher

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% your talking %. Then why do they even bother pulling you over for 71mph in a 65, that’s only 9% over the speeded limit. Give me a break :roll:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Kestrel

than the speed limit in an area (only two blocks from your house) that you are very familiar with, in a zone that everyone in the known world knows the police are particularly unforgiving in. I don't understand why you are surprised and PO'd about the result.

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While you are of course entitle to your opinion. Let me rephrase this. A full two hours prior to the incident, I took my own son to school, because the H/S starts at 7am. I went and worked out, then went home and showered and left my house at 8:45 am for work. I went half way down my street, only to have to return to my house to put air in my completely FLAT tire. I then left my house and drove to the end of my street which spills right into the middle of the school zone, were no FLASHING signs are visible. It is now right at 9:AM. Crossing guard that is always present at the end of my street is gone, no cars on the road, no pedestrians in sight! In this case it is ridiculous that he stopped me at all as I only went a block and a half when I saw the lights still flashing, where I promptly slowed to 20mph. I didn't see the :pig: until he pulled me over several blocks later.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Kestrel

The policeman could have let you off, but was under no obligation to.


If this was a "D'oh, I did a dumb thing, and now I gotta pay for my stupid mistake" thread, I'd be sympathetic. But it appears to be one of those "It wasn't my fault, and look how stoopid the other guy was" cop-bashing threads that I have little patience for. I see this one heading for the Locker real soon... ??:

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You see it your way, I'll see it mine. BTW, at the risk of losing and it going on my record, I will be taking this to court, so we will see how it results. This is not a "protect and serve" case. This is nothing more than highway robbery!

If I was a irresponsible driver then I wouldn't be 10+ years without a "speeding" ticket. And while I respect your opinion, I must say that your "holier than thou" attitude a put off.

As for my opinion on the PD's of this country; I've needed help on several occasions, one of which was when my office was robbed, and have never got squat, nor an even half-hearted attempt; yet the very next day I see a speed trap, utilizing 10 cops, right in front of my business. It's easy to see why they don't have time to investigate any REAL crimes. I find it very offensive when PD's ask for more money to hire more officers, to fight crime, when all they do is hire more highway robbers.

Of couse I could just adopt your attitude and just pay and accept what I find an injustice. I’m sure many did just that in Germany in WWII. However, if your position were to be the popular opinion in 1945 then I suppose we wouldn't have prosecuted the Gestapo officers for what they did. After all, they were all following orders by their government and their lawmakers. ...Where do we draw the line at just accepting the crap that our officials throw at us?

Oh, and while I wasn't rude to the officer, I only answered his questions with short and precise answers. I'll be damned if I'll sweet to a guy reaching into my pockets for $200!

Turbo Duane you have just earned my respect, it's refreshing to see that I am not the only one that can tell something is a miss with not just this situation but a lot of things.
I wont go there, but I applaud you for standing up for what you believe is right.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by TurboDuane

Of couse I could just adopt your attitude and just pay and accept what I find an injustice. I’m sure many did just that in Germany in WWII. However, if your position were to be the popular opinion in 1945 then I suppose we wouldn't have prosecuted the Gestapo officers for what they did. After all, they were all following orders by their government and their lawmakers. ...Where do we draw the line at just accepting the crap that our officials throw at us?

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Did you really just compare you getting a speeding ticket for speeding to the holocaust? :scratch:

Wow.

Chuck

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ccage

Did you really just compare you getting a speeding ticket for speeding to the holocaust? :scratch:

Wow.

Chuck

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Tyranny, oppression, prejudice, and abuse of power no matter how large or small in scale are still tyranny, oppression, prejudice, and abuse of power.

Yes, his comparison may be a bit of an overstatement but not irrational; although traffic police operate very similarly to the Gestapo, especially the infamous Dallas police and their never-ending scandals.

While I wouldn't go so far as to compare revenue generation with the holocaust, I do understand your frustration. To hear DART complain that they can't afford to provide better security at their light rail stations (where a friend of mine was recently brutally assaulted) while I pass at least half a dozen motorcycle cops giving out HOV lane citations every day on 635 makes me want to vomit. And don't even get me started on the "efficiency" of dedicated HOV lanes... :evil:

Anyway, back on topic. I probably pay more in "voluntary velocity taxes" than most on this board, but the one place I don't speed is school zones. Yeah, even at 9:30 when I already know the kids are in class. If the light is on, I'm slowin' down.

And don't forget that around 80% of traffic fatalities occur at speeds below 45mph. So there is no legitimate or rational explanation for the excessive speed traps and sports car harassment.

Iain, when I came upon the lights I slowed. Anyway, I'm obviously upset about this but I do feel that I'm rational, so lets have a little fun.

A Mock Trial right here on DFWMiata.com. Since Kestrel is obviously on the prosicuters side, we'll make hime the Procecutor; I'm obviously the Defendant.

Pour through the above post, and place your ballot on Guilty or Not-Guilty. The outcome of this mock trial will help me evaluate whether or not I am in the wrong; or if I should proceed to fight the ticket.

I'll return with some photo's in the next day or so along with some diagrams of the situation and I'll make my case. Upon Kestrel and I making our case's I'll open up the polls so everyone can cast their ballot.

May justice prevail :joker:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by TurboDuane

...My street pours into a school zone...

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by TurboDuane

...Anyway went down a block, noticed the flashing light, slowed down, but it was too late:pale: . The :pig: got me doing 33 in a 20 school zone...

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Um, guilty?

Chuck

Start a new trial thread with a poll.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by TurboDuane

The :pig: got me doing 33 in a 20 school zone.

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I'd say if you were doing 33 in a 20, you must be guilty. Other than that, what are you planning to say to the judge?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by blackzx3_13

Start a new trial thread with a poll.

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Please don’t waste our time with a poll; You’ve really taken this far enough already.

In your initial post you admitted that you were in a school zone and that you were speeding. You even acknowledged that the school zone was only two blocks from your house and that you knew damn well it was there.

You broke the law and you got caught.

As Kestrel said, you’d have received quite a bit of sympathy if you’d have started this thread with something like, “I blew it. I didn’t realize the school zone was still active and got a ticket.” Instead you decided to post a rant about how unfair the system is because you got caught, then called police officers “pigs” and “trols” (sic) and lambasted them for enforcing the law.

Consider yourself very lucky that you live in a bubble where your only interaction with police is getting a speeding ticket. Good for you. But suggesting that police don’t do anything but write tickets is ignorant.

Furthermore, suggesting that police enforcing traffic laws has any relation to Gestapo persecution of Jews in WWII Germany is asinine. Since you admitted you broke the law, it’s apparent that what you’re pissed about here is the law, not the police. And though chances are good you’re either a) too lazy to exercise those rights, or b) afraid (rightly so) that most people will disagree with your forthcoming proposed modifications to school zone speed laws, there are any number of venues for you to exercise your rights to pursue changes in that law through our system of government. There were (obviously) no such venues for WWII era German Jews. Apparently you’ve confused “prosecuted” with “persecuted.” Look it up. Move on.

The height of jackass, however, is posting the fact that you broke the law to a public forum. Has it occurred to you that police officers or your insurance agent may read this forum? I wonder how your "case" would proceed if this thread were submitted as evidence?

As far as you going to court to try out your lame-ass arguments – like, “I didn’t see any kids around,” or “I couldn’t see the sign because I was entering from a side street,” or “there weren’t any other cars going 20,” or maybe even “the cop’s a pig/troll and should have been stopping some ‘real’ criminal instead of me” -- well, that’s up to you. Maybe you’ll get lucky and some technicality will let you off. Or maybe the judge has heard all that crap a thousand times already.

Just don’t ask everyone on this forum to pass judgment on you regarding this issue. I’m sure everyone already has.

Chuck

Quote:

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Originally Posted by TurboDuane

The :pig: got me doing 33 in a 20 school zone.

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http://www.newnavy.us/images/Police_...Cartoon_03.jpg"Guilty" as charged!!!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by onething

I'd say if you were doing 33 in a 20, you must be guilty. Other than that, what are you planning to say to the judge?

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:bs: The whole ideology behind creating laws is to protect citizens from one another. If there was nobody to endanger then what point is there to punish someone? I understand that cannot hold true to every circumstance in life but most laws should be enforce arbitrarily depending on whether the defendant actually endangered or even affected anyone.

From what I can understand, this is another case of ticket revenue collection. The job of the Police is to serve and protect and in this case neither are being done. I'm very curious whether the cop would have still pulled him over had he been in an SUV or minivan. I know that when I go out late on the weekends, I borrow my parents Maxima or Van cause I never get any grief from Police in those cars. :neutral:

i.e. The mandatory seat belt law.

Even though I will not even start my vehicle unless everyone has their safety belt attached, I am strongly against the law. The concept behind a mandatory safety belt law goes against my ideology on how a free society should be upheld. If I choose to risk my life then that should be my right so long as no one else can be directly affected. Of course if people are allowed to endanger themselves and die then the government cannot collect precious tax money therefore they usually do everything in their power to keep us alive as long as possible. Ever wonder why tobacco products get the shaft on taxes?

you make some valid points Icepenguin.
I am a pro free society person myself.
I still am not going to go there because I would get blasted on.
I will suffice to say that, I believe many things should be legal that are not and the people who make foolish mistakes that kill or hurt someone should have the book thrown at them.
I dont need anyone protecting me from me, never have never will.
Many people in this country dont care about the way it's run until they have something happen to them, and get no satisfaction.
We wont talk about imminent domain laws and foolishness like that.
I can tell you all this also hinges on the fact that the system works which is almost laughable to me, being a convicted Felon....yes thats right.
I will add that it's a long story, and for something I did not do.
I was young never been in trouble before and was ignorant to the fact that innocent people can be put in jail, I was talked into either pleaing guilty or spending time in jail anyway.
I will tell you that if you make a foolish mistake like I have that convicted Felons loose their right to bear Arms, Vote, Hold any real job, even own Body Armor.
For the rest of their natural lives, this can happen over a $200. hot check, this is said to make a point that the system is not fair, you are guilty until proven innocent...believe that.
I do not think you are going to get out of this ticket though.
I argued a case and won it for over 30 people once, but had photo's that supported that the law was not to the letter.
You are going to have a hard time arguing that because the steet dumps into the school zone, you shouldn't get the ticket...I wish you had a better angle, I know this was a mistake on your part and you would not have done this intentionally whether the Cop was there or not, unfortunately I don't believe thats going to be enough to win your case.
If it were me , again I would take differed adjudication so that it stays off the insurance.
Good luck, and keep this instance in mind...think about the way things really work.
Then Vote.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Billy Blaze

I do not think you are going to get out of this ticket though.
I argued a case and won it for over 30 people once, but had photo's that supported that the law was not to the letter.
You are going to have a hard time arguing that because the steet dumps into the school zone, you shouldn't get the ticket...I wish you had a better angle, I know this was a mistake on your part and you would not have done this intentionally whether the Cop was there or not, unfortunately I don't believe thats going to be enough to win your case.
If it were me , again I would take differed adjudication so that it stays off the insurance.
Good luck, and keep this instance in mind...think about the way things really work.
Then Vote.

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Now that's not true. You have a decent chance of fighting a ticket, unless you are in Mesquite, then you just show up for your guilty conviction and appeal to county court.

I've had about 12 tickets dismissed that I have fought on my own; of course many of them were such bad cases of sports car prejudice that I was guaranteed a win.

Speaking of being convicted while being innoccent, a friend of mine was convicted of a DUI without even having the keys in the ignition! She was sitting in the passenger seat of her car cause she couldn't get ahold of a ride. The same thing almost happened to another friend but the officer was nice enough to let him call a friend to pick him up. :evil:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Billy Blaze

...even own Body Armor.

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Just out of sheer curiosity... why would a normal, everyday person need body armour?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by riverracer

http://www.newnavy.us/images/Police_...Cartoon_03.jpg"Guilty" as charged!!!

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Like I said.......
How can you tell the judge your not guilty when you admit speeding in the school zone? :roll:
If you did the crime you should just pay the fine....

This thread needs to DIE..............:clap:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by riverracer

This thread needs to DIE..............:clap:

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:thumleft:

Chuck

I though someone said you lived in Mansfield but your location says Arlington. I know Mansfield is bad with keeping the lights on long after school has been in.

I doubt it is dismissed despite this though as the cities are doing whatever they can to raise their intake of money. :(

Well its the fact that I can't own Body Armor that peeves me.
I can't own a gun to protect myself against someone with a gun, and can't even protect my body from fatal injury if someone were shooting at me, even though its highly unlikely (maybe not considering some of the bars I play in..lol) I still don't think it's right.
that being said I have been shot at and stabbed before.
Keep in mind you lose your rights to these things for any Felony conviction, it does not have to be aggrivated or a gun, or violent crime....like I said there are a lot of ways to get a Felony charge.
Anyway this all happened when I was 18, 20 years ago...I don't believe I should be punished for something I didn't do, especially for the rest of my life. IMHO.
I will shut up now, after all this isn't about me, and I have come to the conclusion that if this can happen to a kid who had never been in any kind of trouble before and only being guilty of being too poor to hire a quality attorney,and just plain ignorant of the law...the system has some major flaws.
I am out of this from here on out.
Good luck to you Turbo, I wish you the best on this.
Stand firm in what you believe and gather your facts.
Let me know how it turns out.
You take good care too Icepenguin, I also think you have some good opinions...I would love the oportunity to discuss politics sometime privately with you.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by riverracer

Like I said.......
How can you tell the judge your not guilty when you admit speeding in the school zone? :roll:
If you did the crime you should just pay the fine....

This thread needs to DIE..............:clap:

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:bs: So, if I am driving 7 mph over the speed limit to keep up with the flow of traffic and I am boxed in between to cars in the far right lane and being passed by a minivan and a tahoe in the middle lane like I am standing still, do you think I am guilty and should pay the fine cause I did the crime? That is bs and you know it; if not then your view are against everything a free and just society is about IMO. I'm sure glad the judge didn't have the same rationale as some of you guys do, because that ticket I received in Austin was a classic case of targeting a young male in a sports car.

Almost nothing is purely black & white, there is a lot of grey area to deal with and this is right in the middle of it.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by icepenguin66

:bs: So, if I am driving 7 mph over the speed limit to keep up with the flow of traffic and I am boxed in between to cars in the far right lane and being passed by a minivan and a tahoe in the middle lane like I am standing still, do you think I am guilty and should pay the fine cause I did the crime? That is bs and you know it; if not then your view are against everything a free and just society is about IMO. I'm sure glad the judge didn't have the same rationale as some of you guys do, because that ticket I received in Austin was a classic case of targeting a young male in a sports car.

Almost nothing is purely black & white, there is a lot of grey area to deal with and this is right in the middle of it.

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THE MAN WAS SPEEDING IN A "SCHOOL ZONE" HE WAS NOT BOXED IN BY ANYONE....HE IS GUILTY....SO WHY DON'T YOU STOP BEATING A DEAD HORSE HERE....
HAVE A NICE DAY!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by icepenguin66

:bs: So, if I am driving 7 mph over the speed limit to keep up with the flow of traffic and I am boxed in between to cars in the far right lane and being passed by a minivan and a tahoe in the middle lane like I am standing still, do you think I am guilty and should pay the fine cause I did the crime?

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I was in almost the exact same situation!
I asked the officer, " . . . but what about the dozen cars that passed me?"
The officer said, "You were speeding, you were the one I came to first, so you were the one I stopped."

Was I profiled? I was, at the time, a 40 year old male caucasian driving a white Chevy 1/2 ton pickup.

I accepted responsibility for my actions :idea:

http://www.trimpe.org/jr/pictures/deadhorse.jpg

VERY NICE MICK...VERY NICE!!!!!:grin: