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mrbigstuff wrote:
[quote=JoeH]
Local police on your Interstate? here that would get them escorted away as being outside their jurisdiction. Only the MA State Police can operate on the Interstate roads doing traffic enforcement.
Of course on local roads more than a few speed traps get set up by town cops at various times. Even get to see our university cops setting up a few speed traps when I drive in to work each day.
say what? UMass? which college cops have enough staff to do that?
Most police departments are understaffed these days, so they have to think about maximizing the effect of their efforts-- from that standpoint it makes sense that they'll want the "speed traps" visible at times when the most motorists are on the road. Unless you believe that police are only motivated by things like maximizing revenues, and don't actually care about trying to improve public safety, in which case there's probably nothing anyone can argue.
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mrbigstuff wrote:
[quote=mattkime]
not a problem if you follow the law.
yes, that is correct, but his point is that it makes a bad situation (heavy traffic) all that much worse because everyone slows way down when they see flashing lights (and they're supposed to, it's just another thing to add to the delay in rush hour).
Agreed. It has absolutely nothing to do with the law. They recently put up "aggressive driving enforcement" signs all over a stretch of road here. You know what it does? It makes everyone drive 5 to 10 miles UNDER the posted 45mph speed limit. That is NOT following the law. That is fucking things up for everyone. The same with blue lights. Traffic pretty much comes to a halt when anyone sees blue lights. That's the opposite of safe.
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A while ago I decided to try and obey the speed limit of 50mph on I-4 going into Orlando. It was the scariest and most dangerous trip in years. I was clearly creating a hazard, had drivers overtaking on both sides, and by that I mean on the hard shoulder! Gesticulating as though to fire a gun, tailgating within inches. It was clearly a very bad idea so I speeded up to a much safer 70mph and went with the flow.
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Yeoman,
The fact that all of that happened when you decided to obey the law is pathetic. Definitely a reflection of the attitude of today's drivers and it ain't pretty.
Robert
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yeoman wrote:
A while ago I decided to try and obey the speed limit of 50mph on I-4 going into Orlando. It was the scariest and most dangerous trip in years. I was clearly creating a hazard, had drivers overtaking on both sides, and by that I mean on the hard shoulder! Gesticulating as though to fire a gun, tailgating within inches. It was clearly a very bad idea so I speeded up to a much safer 70mph and went with the flow.
Yep. You will get run over in Atlanta if you stick to the posted speed limits. Been that way since I was a kid (and probably longer than that).
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Every thread about driving always ends up a laundry list of reasons why automobile drivers should be allowed to go out each day and cause accidents. We take car accidents for granted when in fact almost 100% of the time they are caused by someone beaking a law by speeding or running a light or not using their turn signal etc. But everyone uses the "it's all about revenue" complaint to justify their anger at not being allowed to break the law.
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The extra enforcement I could be due to school just starting. The police in this area usually wage an awareness campaign about this time.
As for speed limits we can disagree all day long. Many area are posted too slow and drivers disregard the speed limit such as in yeoman s experience. Personally I drove a length of road this weekend, right before grand view for those who know me, that is posted too high. Go figure. Oh, and driving into cascade locks I received a speeding warning. Totally my fault. Trying to figure out how to get on the bridge, which seemed to be hidden, and didn't slow down enough.
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revenue.
slowing traffic to a stop (while others have a "look") has a negative effect on efficiency.
But good at showing presence.
I don't think anyone gets a wake up when they see someone else get a ticket.
They step on the gas and away they go.
if you're tooling thru the school zone, yea - have a ticket.
but if you're doing 65 in a 55 on a hiway without lights, feh.
the deterioration of our local roads slows most people and the volume of traffic itself.
That and newly installed traffic circles that many seem to not understand the concept of.
but what other way do police in cars have to validate their existence? revenue.
in the same guise, intersection cameras and shortened yellow light times.
All of these will stimulate an economy I'm sure.
Many cars speed thru the intersection of the rail station I use. Never seen one ticket give.
But parking tickets for cars without stickers.
“Art is how we decorate space.
Music is how we decorate time.”
Jean-Michel Basquiat
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Fritz wrote:
revenue.
slowing traffic to a stop (while others have a "look") has a negative effect on efficiency.
But good at showing presence.
I don't think anyone gets a wake up when they see someone else get a ticket.
They step on the gas and away they go.
How does showing presence lead to revenue?
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Black wrote:
[quote=mrbigstuff]
[quote=JoeH]
Local police on your Interstate? here that would get them escorted away as being outside their jurisdiction. Only the MA State Police can operate on the Interstate roads doing traffic enforcement.
Of course on local roads more than a few speed traps get set up by town cops at various times. Even get to see our university cops setting up a few speed traps when I drive in to work each day.
say what? UMass? which college cops have enough staff to do that?
Most police departments are understaffed these days, so they have to think about maximizing the effect of their efforts-- from that standpoint it makes sense that they'll want the "speed traps" visible at times when the most motorists are on the road. Unless you believe that police are only motivated by things like maximizing revenues, and don't actually care about trying to improve public safety, in which case there's probably nothing anyone can argue.
mrbigstuff, yes at UMass. Even with cop shortages due to budget cuts, they always manage to set up a number of speed traps every week. At times I think it is so someone can use their "toy" they got a year or two ago, a Dodge Charge pursuit car. That or during good weather, the police motorcycle.
Black, if it was about safety they would be setting up in locations that would slow down traffic where there is a lot of pedestrian traffic crossing the road. Instead most of the time they are set up where the road is clear, and few pedestrians cross. And there is the one favorite location about 100 feet past a small speed limit sign that marks the end of a 40 mph zone and the beginning of a 30 zone.
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