Speed Traps

[dazzleman]

I can't disagree on that, poor or over inforcement will hurt a department.  However, in order to get a driver license in almost every state one must pass an eye exam where they must be able to display a specific level of vision.  Here I think it is correctable to 20/200 or 200/20 (however they word that).  This means that you have to be able to see at a certain distance.  If you can pass that exam then you can see off in the distance to at least a specific distance.  If that is the case, and you are doing what the law requires, re paying attention as you drive, then you should in theory be able to see the speed signs in front of you.  In my opinion this defense is right up there with "I was in a hurry to get to work."  

I'm not trying to bait you or anyone else, I just don't agree with this line of argument.  I must repeatedly fall back on my - if you know that town writes tickets slow down.  
As for the people who faithfully try to abide by the law, you can almost every time "see" these people when you talk to them.  There are signals to look for to determine when a person is telling the truth, or at least being truthful (yes there is a difference).  A rookie or "young cop"  will likely have a harder time with this and will likely write more tickets.  A veteran, one that has 7 or more years experience, has a much easier time sorting out the crap from the cream. <_<

Hounddog, we'll have to agree to disagree on this minor point.

I know you're new to this site, but if you read back over my posts, you'll find I'm one of the more pro-police posters here.  So I am not at all one of those "those bastard cops gave me a ticket when I wasn't doing anything wrong" type of guys.  I freely admit that I've deserved every ticket I've gotten, plus many more.

But I do think you're a little unrealistic in thinking that motorists should see a speed limit sign way back, and be down to that speed, usually 20 mph or more slower than the previous speed limit, by the time they pass the sign.  In fact, it would probably be dangerous on a road with traffic for people to slow down that much that quickly.

By the letter of the law, you're probably right.  But LEOs should be looking to ticket willful offenders, not those who intend to follow the law and just didn't slow down enough yet.  This makes the police unpopular for a justified reason, unlike the usual unjustified reasons that people blame the police for the consequences of their own actions.

Where I used to live, there were a two "speed trap" towns.  They were known all around as places where speed enforcement was strict.  In all my years driving through them, I was ticketed only once in each of them, because I was pretty careful.

[TBR]

I am very rarely actually at the speed limit by the time a pass a sign, even if there is a reduce speed sign. I simply am not going to hit the brakes in order to get my speed down just a little bit sooner.

Anyway, what annoys me are when signs are hidden behind bushes. Obviously it isn't done on purpose, but if a bush grows up to a point where you can't see the sign behind it it should be the responsibility of the police to get that bush trimmed.

[hounddog]

I am very rarely actually at the speed limit by the time a pass a sign, even if there is a reduce speed sign. I simply am not going to hit the brakes in order to get my speed down just a little bit sooner.

Anyway, what annoys me are when signs are hidden behind bushes. Obviously it isn't done on purpose, but if a bush grows up to a point where you can't see the sign behind it it should be the responsibility of the police to get that bush trimmed.

It is the responsiblity of whatever road or city/village/township division handles that sort of thing, not the police.  OSHA is very clear on this issue.  After all, we aren't "trained" to use the tools necessary, puls most DPW/Road Commissions unions would flip out if they caught us doing that work!  

[TBR]

Yes because it takes a genius to work a pair of clippers . Also, notice that I worded that very carefully, I don't actually expect police officers to do it (though would it really hurt you all to get out of the car every once in a while and do hard labor? ) but they should make sure that it gets done.

There is one stop sign in my town that has been hidden for years and almost no one actually stops  there (though you have to take the intersection very slowly, but that is just due to bad road planning/building) because of it.