Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Road Kill Of Another Kind

Speaking of road kill . . . I have discovered that I am living under martial law in my new town. Cops are EVERYWHERE! Especially everywhere where you don't want them to be, like parked surreptitiously behind trees in the morning when you're driving your kids to school and need to break a few rules of the road to get them to class on time.

I fired off this picture last week. When I first saw this traffic cop, I was in the right lane, coming from the other direction, and when I made the turn, he startled me because there he was all of a sudden, off his bike and hiding behind a tree with his radar gun.

Isn't that entrapment or something?




What I'm ticked about is that these cops are going after moms in mini vans who are maybe driving a few miles over the speed limit. Big whoop! It's not like anyone is really speeding because there are so many cars going to the same place, the same school, there's no room to go very fast. Simple physics.

About a month ago, I was ticketed on this very street for driving only five miles over the limit. FIVE MILES! Down in Orange County, you were driving too SLOWLY if you were driving only five miles over the speed limit.

This highly patrolled, small town is going to take some getting used to for this former Southern Californian who was used to breaking traffic laws and getting away with it.

Here's another shot of the Enforcer. Looks like he's going to fire on me with a real gun for taking this picture, doesn't it?










8 comments:

Jouda Mann said...

Let me add some perspective.
This guy wanted to be a police officer. He wanted to catch bad guys, and put criminals in jail. And now, he gets to do that, but because of municipal politics being what they are, he is also responsible for creating revenue. And the easiest place to do that (and quite possibly the most lucrative, since fines tend to double in school zones. Gotta protect the snowflakes) is in school zones between 7 and 9 am.
Now, Johnny Law knows that you aren't a hardcore criminal. But he's in a precarious position, since he has a quota to meet. (Yeah, yeah, they tell you they don't have quotas. I call BS.)
So he's mandated by his boss (or bosses, if he reports directly to the city council) to create revenue -and pay attention here- in a city in the state with the biggest deficit in the Union, in the biggest recession in history.
I would continue to go by him for about a month, making sure that everything is done within the law, and then, one cold Monday, pull up to him with some muffins (never donuts) and coffee, and thank him for what a wonderful job he's doing.
Sure, you and he both know it's a bribe. And it won't get you out of a ticket for a gross infraction. But it just might make his day better, give him something to be grateful for on an otherwise shitty day, and make him remember when he pulls over this mom in that car, that she should get off with a warning.
Also, contact your local branch of the Highway Patrol, and donate whatever it takes to get one of those (CHP?) stickers for your car. My wife hasn't gotten a ticket in 6 years, despite being pulled over several times.

Lynn said...

Jouda,

You are absolutely right about this crackdown on mini-van-driving moms being a fundraising effort for the city. I get that. Don't like it, but I know where all the pressure is coming from. Not sure I agree with you that a dozen muffins are going to get me a free road pass. See, it's not always the same guy out there, so I'd be having to bake quite a few bribes to feed everyone on the force. It's a BIG force, as you may recall from my blog. But I do like your creative thinking!

BTW . . .I have no idea what you're talking about regarding those bumper stickers. You donate money and then you get a sticker that you paste on your car to earn favor with the CHP, is that it?

Jouda Mann said...

Well, yes, that's the idea. I'll tell you how it works here in TX. You donate money, you get a bumper sticker or a clear window sticker that's pretty exclusive, not something that you can just pick up at your local farmers market or grocer. This one is hit or miss, since in rural TX, dope cooks have taken to obtaining them by calling in a donation over the phone, and the cops are seeing through it. probably not a problem for you, since your cute little sweater vests don't really scream "meth lab"
Periodically, a municipality will have a local "help us buy new cruisers", where you can get something more exclusive, again for a modest donation, usually below $20.
By far the most effective way is what my wife does. Her brother works for the coalition that provides legal representation for municipal police officers when they do something like beat the hell out of child molesters.. *cough cough*.. I mean he fell on the way to the car, chief. They have very exclusive stickers, that you can only obtain from someone who is IN the department, and they give it to you. A donation won't cut it.
She mounts it to her windshield above her inspection sticker, since they always look there first, and the only time in six years that she has gotten a ticket is when she forgot to get a new sticker from her brother that year.

Jouda Mann said...

Maybe you should have a post that asks your dear readers the creative ways they have gotten out of tickets?

Lynn said...

Jouda,

I think the only "dear reader" I have is YOU! But I do like your idea of asking the blogging universe how they get out of traffic tickets. I'll post that tomorrow. Thanks for sharing your brainstorm.

BTW . . . I have never owned a sweater vest in my life!

Jouda Mann said...

Oh no? Then what's that you're wearing in your profile pic?

Lynn said...

It's a dress!

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