Caught by the cops

College Confidential Community
21

<p>Actually...I'd HATE to be a cop, and I have no cops in the family [a lot of engineers and doctors though, hahaha...I guess that's what you get when you're born asian]. I DO, however, want to become a lawyer one day...don't really see what this has to do with anything, though.</p>

<p>Besides, I don't think YOU necessarily are a rebel-wannabe; I just think this idea is a bit cliche. I mean, really, I can sympathize with the whole some-cops-suck-ass bit, but it's a bit far-fetched to say ALL of them are horrible, stereotyping creatures that are out to do nothing but get harmless, innocent citizens in trouble.</p>

22

<p>Well, the job cops are forced to do... is rather crappy unless they are improving somebody's life, or helping somebody improve their life... pulling somebody over for piddly stuff, and then throwing the book at them is not helping out their life... just ****ing them off, IMO.</p>

23

<p>well sometimes the piddly stuff can matter a lot...I mean someone's got to do it, right? 'Cause that broken headlight could cause an accident on the freeway when that guy's changing a lane...big things like massive crime and stuff...it's harder to catch, which is why you see 'less' of police action on that. They ARE working on it, but the people you see out and about are typically field police officers, who are there precisely to do the piddly things. The hunting of criminals and stuff is another part of the police force, I believe.</p>

24

<p>Among the government (both state and federal)activities these days, about 90% is a waste of both time and money.</p>

25

<p>**** the police...</p>

<p>just appear in court, most cops around here don't show up</p>

<p>make me happy, cops are just power trips.</p>

26

<p>"Among the government (both state and federal)activities these days, about 90% is a waste of both time and money."</p>

<p>Id say about half and half for federal...believe me, I know.</p>

27

<p>FYI - if the court finds you guilty they may offer you traffic school (CA had this option 25 years ago - don't ask how I know that) ... which if you attend wipes the ticket(s) off your record. The fee for the ticket is not usually the big issue ... it's the bump in your insurance rates for 3-4-5 years that is the killer. I'd suggest it's definately worth the time to head to court to try to reduce the penalties as much as possible ... and be honest don't try to bull the judge.</p>

28

<p>^they still have that, I believe.</p>

<p>And, I do believe government is a BIG waste these days. I mean, 5 million dollars to right a report on why people speed? I could have told you for a buck fifty!</p>

<p>And, for the guy who said the government wouldn't do something without a reason: HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. HAHA.</p>

<p>That is what most of the government is: an endless, useless, bureaucratic POS that does things without reason or logic.</p>

29

<p>makemehappy is just trying to play angel's advocate.</p>

30

<p>I think speeding, driving without or with broken headlights, and running stop signs (that especially--****es me off to no end when I am in the middle of taking my right of way and some idiot just zooms across) are perfectly legitimate reasons to get ticketed,.</p>

31

<p>I think it's all relative... if you're speeding in a residential neighborhood and doing like 30 over the limit, yes.. that's dangerous... but if you're out on a country road, nobody around for many, many miles, and you're doing 30 over... duh, who cares? except for some quota hungry pig.</p>

<p>If you just blatently run a stop sign, and blow through it.. yep, dangerous... if you just creep through the stop sign and don't come to a 100% 5 second stop or whatever, I think it's getting technical for a cop to pull someone over for that.. and yes, it's a quota thing.</p>

<p>Headlights have to be looked at with the same judgement, IMO... and some people don't have all the financial means to always fix that stuff right away... and they may even be completely honestly ignorant to the situation.</p>

32

<p>^not speeding. Speed doesn't kill, dumb drivers who don't concentrate on the road kill.</p>

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<p>
[quote]
, for the guy who said the government wouldn't do something without a reason: HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. HAHA.

[/quote]

S'kind of trivial, but I'm a girl...hahaha yeah...just to clear it up :P And yes, I am attempting to play 'angel's advocate', as 311Griff suggested.</p>

<p>
[quote]
Speed doesn't kill, dumb drivers who don't concentrate on the road kill.

[/quote]

I don't think you can accurately say that--the reason people say speed 'kills' is because when you're traveling at 120 mph, things happen at a MUCH faster pace than if you're going at 65 mph. You have more time to react, more time to press the brakes, to swivel out of the way, etc etc etc. It's like being drunk except the opposite: your reaction time isn't slowed, it's the time you HAVE to react that's cut down, because you're going so fast.</p>

34

<p>^Ummm, lets talk about Germany then.
They have the Autobahn, on which you can go as fast as you want on rural highways and up to 80-90 MPH on urban freeways. Most people take advantage of this. However, Germany has a much lower rate of accidents than does the United States. Why? THEY CAN DRIVE PROPERLY! </p>

<p>They don't tailgate, they don't go high velocities around curves (they also tend to be better at science, especially physics, so maybe that contributes?), they don't "weave" to impress people, they use blinkers, they don't blare their music for the next car's passengers to hear, they don't talk on their cells while driving, shave, or any other crazy crap you see on our freeways. </p>

<p>Yet, they still have less accidents per capita than we do, but we're forced to go slower speeds. Hmmmm....</p>

<p>Do you even know WHY the government originally posted the 55 MPH speed limit in urban areas, and later in rural areas in the 1970s? It wasn't for safety... IT WAS FOR FUEL EFFICIENCY! The same reason we have the "minimum" speed limit of 40 MPH. Scientists at that time said cars perform at their highest efficiency points between 40-55 MPH. So, the US DOT enacted these highway speed limits to reduce the amount of fuel we consume, not for our safety as popularly believed.</p>

<p>However, many groups such as MADD campaigned to keep these speeds in place, until the 90s when it was raised to 70 MPH on rural roads (in most states... the federal government has given total control over the interstate freeway/highway system to state and local jurisdictions, so speeds vary), and kept at 55 MPH in urban areas.</p>

<p>Many states would raise the speed limit, however, the federal government will not fund road projects in states where highway speeds exceed 70 MPH.</p>

35

<p>
[quote]
However, Germany has a much lower rate of accidents than does the United States. Why? THEY CAN DRIVE PROPERLY!

[/quote]

It also could be due to the fact that they all drive at that speed, and so a) they're used to it, and b) everything else is happening at the same speed. If only one car is going twice as fast as everything around it, there's bound to be some problems, whereas if everything else is going the same pace, it's fine. It's like riding 70 on the freeway versus riding 70 on a residential street. That's why some police pull over people who drive too slow on the freeway...because the other cars are driving too fast in comparison to them.</p>

<p>And as for the original purpose--I had no idea that was why, but I don't see how it really makes a difference in the long run. MADD certainly didn't campaign to keep it there for that reason. Sometimes the inspiration for things does not end up being their reason for staying that way.</p>

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<p>Actually, they do have varying speeds on the Autobahn as in America. It can range from a slow 50 MPH to a fast 90-100 MPH. If someone's going too slow, you pass them. Simple enough. That's why freeways have multiple lanes. However, NEVER EVER tailgate. I don't care how slow someone is going, that is just stupid. That's generally where going too fast hurts you. That and going around sharp curves. If you go to a decent drivers ed course, they'll tell you when not to go fast. And, in Germany, you HAVE to take courses like this, and believe me... THEY TEACH YOU TO DRIVE WELL IN DEUTCHLAND.</p>

<p>Now, when I said speeding is fine, I'm not talking on residential roads... anyone who speeds on a residential road generally has self-confidence issues, haha. I'm speaking more on freeways, open highway, and roads that have A)Limited Access and/or B)No pedestrian activity.</p>

37

<p>Well, what I was more referring to was that 100+ is on the list of speeds to expect in Germany, whereas in America, seeing someone driving that fast is somewhat of a surprise. And you hit upon another good point--because people in the US aren't used to 100+ speeds, they don't cover it as well in drivers ed, except to say that you shouldn't do it. Of course, there'll always be the dumbos who still drive that fast despite warnings, and they're the ones who, I suppose, "ruin it" for the rest of us. I don't know if it's possible to pinpoint where the "problem" arises, but either way: it's probably not a good idea to speed until your speed is legal.</p>

38

<p>Haha, tell that to the residents here and you'll get pelted with rocks and garbage. Speed-limit listed, but not enforced, haha.</p>

39

<p>I believe in Montana, many signals read "Use reasonable speed" during daylight hours.</p>