Confessions of a Traffic Cop

[Nick R]

Well per the New York State DMV website, the only "states" that if I get a ticket in it affects my license is Quebec and ontario. So if I get a speeding ticket in Canada it shows up on my license. But if I get one in vermont or Pennsylvania it doesn't.

http://www.dmv.ny.gov/tickets.htm

Quote:
If I get a ticket for a moving violation in another state, do I receive points on my NYS driver license?

The NYSDMV does not record out-of-state violations committed by NYS drivers in other jurisdictions. The exceptions are alcohol-related violations, drug-related violations, and moving violations committed in Quebec or Ontario. Under special agreements, traffic convictions in Quebec or Ontario are recorded on NYS driver license records and carry points. Except for violations in Ontario and Quebec, points are not added to your NYS record for out-of-state violations.

 

[SwampSurvivor]

What some of the local yokels used to do was tailgate you. A lot of people got tickets for speeding up or brake checking them.

 

[Texan4Life]

Interesting, but every cop is different, in each state, and town.

I wish we had cops like him around here. 5 mph over is all you better be doing and in a nice non-suspicious vehicle.

 

[buster]

Originally Posted By: Texan4Life
Interesting, but every cop is different, in each state, and town.

I wish we had cops like him around here. 5 mph over is all you better be doing and in a nice non-suspicious vehicle.


+1

 

[yonyon]

The article mentioned evading. For what it's worth, I've found that if you scoot and park legally on the street and wait for the cop to pass a couple of times you can flash your lights at him and get away with a [censored] ticket like a seatbelt or some such. If he only passes once and then disappears then he isn't looking for you. It's worked for me every time and saved me a few points.

 

[Jarlaxle]

Originally Posted By: Miller88
What some of the local yokels used to do was tailgate you. A lot of people got tickets for speeding up or brake checking them.


Every time this happens, I am tempted to brace against the headrest and STAND on the brakes with both feet!

 

[Pop_Rivit]

I think I'll continue to do what I've done for the last 40+ years-simply drive the speed limit (weather permitting). No accidents, no tickets, never a concern about law enforcement at all.

Originally Posted By: Jarlaxle

Every time this happens, I am tempted to brace against the headrest and STAND on the brakes with both feet!


How very mature of you.

 

[SteveSRT8]

It would be fine by me if everyone follows ALL the traffic laws instead of selecting one or two and then ignoring others.

Some of the folks opining about speeding need to realize there are laws pertaining to obstruction of traffic as well!

 

[DBMaster]

^Hear, hear!

 

[The_Eric]

Originally Posted By: DBMaster

I have felt for a long time that they need to drive around in unmarked cars and try stopping people for doing the stuff that REALLY promotes accidents. These things would include, failure to follow lane discipline (poking along in the left lane without passing), extreme tailgating, failure to attain adequate speed on an entrance ramp to merge smoothly into traffic, passing in the right lane while approaching an entrance ramp with a line of slow traffic entering the highway, driving for miles with the turn signal on, and driving a vehicle with a host of obvious mechanical problems that make it unsafe for any public roadway. This is just a partial list. But, I guess it's much easier to just spend a few thousand on speed detection equipment and sit on the side of the road waiting to collect some money. There is a whole industry built up around speeding tickets so we have jobs to protect! Right?



AMEN!

It can be really dangerous doing that! Especially on the I35/Hwy30 on/off ramp around here. People just putting along like some mindless grazing farm animal, blithely cruising into 70+ mph traffic.

 

[DBMaster]

I see it multiple times, every day. Dumb-pokies entering the highway at 40 mph. Asinine!

 

[supton]

Yes, morons entering traffic are a menance.

I dunno. On two-lane roads I think it's best to go with the flow. Above or below the limit. Speed differentials are problems. OTOH if the roads are clear it's best to do the limit. They got set for a reason, and most two lane roads are multi-use, and often have turns which don't have the best visibility. But some of the worst driving I've seen on the highway was done by people doing the limit or less--it's as if they are doing anything but driving. Sure, I've seen some bad driving by fast drivers, but usually they are very focused on what they are doing. I let them pass, of course.

Sometimes I wonder if driving faster isn't a defense mechanism. You never know who on the road is going to make a mistake, and ram into you (unintentionally, of course). If I was the slowest vehicle on the road, then every other vehicle might be the one not paying attention, and attempt to merge into me. If I'm going with the flow, then it's whatever car is next to me; and I've maximized their chances of doing something boneheaded to me. If I'm the fastest vehicle, then the I've changed the risk, as I'm spending the least amount of time around other vehicles. [But I've obviously raised the risk of me making a boneheaded mistake, or getting nabbed by the law, so fastest isn't the place to be.]

 

[Jarlaxle]

Originally Posted By: Pop_Rivit
I think I'll continue to do what I've done for the last 40+ years-simply drive the speed limit (weather permitting). No accidents, no tickets, never a concern about law enforcement at all.

Originally Posted By: Jarlaxle

Every time this happens, I am tempted to brace against the headrest and STAND on the brakes with both feet!


How very mature of you.


About the thirtieth time of a pushbar 6" from the bumper with hi-beams blazing, it starts to get really irritating! A cop pulling this stunt on her is directly responsible for my wife selling her motorcycle.

 

[97prizm]

I call [censored] on ticket quotas as well. I was a sherriff cadet with the Boulder County SO for three years. They never had a "quota". It was a good perspective on they day to day of a sherriffs officer. I totally understand not giving out tickests willy nilly as every bit of paperwork handed out is time after your shift processing it.-

 

[PandaBear]

Originally Posted By: gfh77665
Its the corrupt insurance companies. The insurance lobby gets what it wants, and they paid a lot of money to buy the laws we got.


You can say that, or you can say the "small government" mentality has made our society so lax and undisciplined that insurance companies are doing what a government should have done in the 1st place.

Smoker health insurance premium, safe driver discount, and lots of commercial properties safety codes are all "mandated" by the insurances but perfectly legal to do without. That tells you how much a sloppy person's / business' "freedom" cost those who are disciplined.

 

[Tempest]

Originally Posted By: PandaBear

You can say that, or you can say the "small government" mentality has made our society so lax and undisciplined that insurance companies are doing what a government should have done in the 1st place.

Smoker health insurance premium, safe driver discount, and lots of commercial properties safety codes are all "mandated" by the insurances but perfectly legal to do without. That tells you how much a sloppy person's / business' "freedom" cost those who are disciplined.

They are simply incentivizing the purchaser to make choices that will lower their rate.

 

[PandaBear]

Originally Posted By: Tempest
Originally Posted By: PandaBear

You can say that, or you can say the "small government" mentality has made our society so lax and undisciplined that insurance companies are doing what a government should have done in the 1st place.

Smoker health insurance premium, safe driver discount, and lots of commercial properties safety codes are all "mandated" by the insurances but perfectly legal to do without. That tells you how much a sloppy person's / business' "freedom" cost those who are disciplined.

They are simply incentivizing the purchaser to make choices that will lower their rate.


Which is because the lower rate candidate have statistically low payout due to their choices in live (i.e. sport cars vs family sedan, young single male vs middle age married male, etc).

There's nothing political about this, we all make choices that may impact our risks of payout.

 

[Bladecutter]

Originally Posted By: PandaBear
Which is because the lower rate candidate have statistically low payout due to their choices in live (i.e. sport cars vs family sedan, young single male vs middle age married male, etc).

There's nothing political about this, we all make choices that may impact our risks of payout.


I hate to point out the obvious, but I've owned a variety of cars, from sports cars to family sedans. I have yet to crash a single one of them into another vehicle, and cause an insurance company to make a payout on my behalf to another motorist. I also have a clean MVR.

I've also been single my whole life, so why do I have to pay more than a married person, who has accidents and tickets every year in a similar vehicle?

Makes no sense to me that driving record means less and less each year to car insurance companies.

BC.

 

[PandaBear]

Originally Posted By: Bladecutter

I've also been single my whole life, so why do I have to pay more than a married person, who has accidents and tickets every year in a similar vehicle?


Who said you are paying more than a married man with accidents and tickets every year?

You likely pay more than a married man with no ticket or accident ever, and own a variety of cars, but I highly doubt you pay more than a married man with lots of accidents and tickets.

The probability of accidents between single vs married are likely independent from the probability of accidents between many accidents / tickets vs none.

http://www.wyzant.com/Help/Math/Statisti...robability.aspx

Quote:


When two events are said to be independent of each other, what this means is that the probability that one event occurs in no way affects the probability of the other event occurring. An example of two independent events is as follows; say you rolled a die and flipped a coin. The probability of getting any number face on the die in no way influences the probability of getting a head or a tail on the coin.

 

[Vikas]

Why have example about die and a coin? Why not stay with two die or even have two rolls of the same die? Does getting a six on the 2nd roll in anyway depends upon having NOT got the six on the 1st roll?

HOWEVER, I bet the insurance company absolutely believes that if you already have an accident, the probability of having another one goes UP and actually charges you more. I