Got a Speeding Ticket Today :(

The only law there should be is one for dangerous driving not just speed

 

Too subjective. Who determines what is wreckless? Same situation as speeding IMO. I like the 100+ mph lane. It wouldn't be open for debate that way. For me... I don't want to speed because I have a car capable of doing so. I don't want to speed because I want to break the law. I don't want to speed because of any other reason then I want ot get where I am going as quickly as possible. With the airports needing a 1-2 hour pre check in time both ends of the flight, pick up luggage, etc.. it is eaiser and sometime quicker to drive from say Pittsburgh to NYC than it is to fly.

 

Uhhh, "no speed limit"?

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speed_limit#Germany

 

Too many ignorant people in here. Let people be responsible for their actions? That is why there are laws to keep order and protect people. As you said you will be the first to go 125 mph down a center lane with no speed limit. what happens when you cras, and you will at some point, where does all the debris go? Flying into another lane with people just minding their business traveling along and they get killed because you are being reckless.

As I said many times before, too many wannabes in here that could never hack being cops. You hate cops when the law is enforced on you but love them when you need them because someone slashed your precious tires or some lame s h it.

 

The cop bashing thing is all based on personal experiences. I have had no bad experiences with Cops. I have friends that have....All your attitude does is complicate the issue.

Most of the cops I know. My cousin in law included, are under achievers. They make very little money and they do a job I would never think of... I am not sure why anyone would wear a badge except for the power it gives them. What a crappy job, dealing with domestics, drug dealers, no thanks. Life is too short. I for on am thankfull for all Cops.... Someone has to do it, glad it is not me.

One other thing I think is interesting... I have never had a friend that is a cop.... I have met many of them, but don't seem to relate on any level... I have always thought that was a little strange... I have a couple of guy's I went to high school with that turned out to be cops.... I was never freinds with them either.... Not sure why...

You should take a look at yourself and your posts and see how your attitude is helping the situation.

Not sure how you have all those nice things on a cop's paycheck??? Your wife must have a great job. Or you have a great second job....

 

http://www.copswritingcops.com/dotm/

Apparently, Cops do not like to get tickets either.

The "Dick of the Month" linked above is a cop who writes another cop a ticket, for trivial things, like speeding.

The above site is dedicated to exposing the bad cops, who expect other cops to follow the law.
The old, "Do as I say, not as I do" thing.

 

was wondering when this post was coming.

 

it's a brotherhood. one that apparently extends to friends and family. Never could understand how you could drive 20 over the limit and then go out that same day and screw up someone else's life for doing the exact same thing.

 

Under achievers? Maybe you come from Hickville with 3 officers. Most depts. these days will NOT hire you w/o at least a AA degree. I guess it depends on what you call very little money, I personally do quite well for myself on my little salary. A look at myself? When people start bashing YOU and YOUR profession and start namecalling for no reason other than there utter extreme ignorance--then you tell me how your attitude will be.

Yes, I am a police officer--there are good and bad---Just like EVERY job in this world--So why do I have to read posts calling me a PIG? just because of my profession? Is that fair? You know why you amoung others bash the police??? Because you are have no outside world experiences---Go on a cruise, travel the world and wake up...If you don't like the police and goverenmet here in the US--Go live in Afganastan

INice things I have acheived from working hard--Not that's it's any of your business---And I am divorced--no wife to help support me! But I guess I shouldn't own a Ferrari because most of us are under acheivers....Get a freakin life--You are clueless about the real world!!

 

From CNN.com 11/23/07:
http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/meast/11/23/iraq.main/index.html

I, for one, am very happy with our US policemen, thanks guys!

James in Denver

 

As far as calling the State Attorney General,well...

It would be very easy to find a traffic cop in Maryland that drives a Ferrari 355..

If you still are a cop, then you're taking more then just an apple, from the local grocer, or a free cup of coffee at Dunkin Dounuts!!

Always remember if a cop violates your civil rights, bring a law suit against the township right away.

The township has to pay all legal fees in any civil rights case, that's federal law.

In the end the cop will be fired because of the ol' cliche "Heads will have to roll"

 

Where have I been? For the past 18 straight years I have been in the Federal Republic of (West and later, Reunified) Germany at the behest of the US Government and NATO. Even been in East Germany a few times.

Bursting Your Bubble: This occurred in 1990. I was coming home from a Wine Fest south of the town in which I live. I was the Designated Driver, my wife the Designated Drunk for that event. The Polizei had a "Lets Stop All the American Plated Vehicles & Every Xth German Plated One" OP going. Profiling is perfectly legal here as you know. You catch allot of Bad Guys that way (wake-up America), but it sucks to have, or be whatever “the flavor of the day” is, and you are innocent. I got pulled over and joined the queue of 3 or 4 other stopped cars and about 12 officers. During the course of my conversation with the nice officer (and I really mean, nice) something happened. I did not see exactly what, and a Polizei Officer was pulling a guy right through the car side window. And he was not nice about it. A couple of others ran over to assist and cuff the guy. You said so yourself below ... (as long as you don't start it...and “starting it” can be as simple as non-compliance). I was about 50+ meters away, did not see the start of it, and I was not about to ask the cop standing in front of me what happened. The officer standing in front of me wanted me to take a field sobriety test and I offered to go immediately to the breathalyzer. That shocked him a bit. Blew a 0.0, smiled, shook his hand and off I went. People getting pulled out of cars and slammed on the ground happened here. Had a few soldiers get nailed by the Polizei but after the dust cleared in every case the American provoked the officer in some way. You learned quickly to respect and obey, and all was well. And we will not even discuss former "East German cops" many of whom who became "German cops" upon unification and their methods for a few years after reunification. I have friends in major Eastern Germany's city's Polizei Depts too. Oh, how some of the older ones miss the Good Old Days.......

I Whole-Heartedly Agree: The Polizei are fantastic people. I never meant otherwise. Sorry if you misunderstood; I should have made myself more clear. I too have never witnessed a Polizei officer “start something.” But I have seen a couple of them “finish something.” I have been pulled over in excess of 20 times in 18 years and never once had a bad experience. The Polizei are far from evil, but even today, they do not have to put up with the crap US cops are forced to, before they, the Polizei, do something. My home is right next door to two Polizei Officers and their families. Great guys, wonderful folks. There is a cantina where the Polizei of Heidelberg and surrounding area breakfast and lunch immediately below my office where I work. Again outstanding people. My work brings me into contact with all kinds of Law Enforcement professionals from across Eastern and Western Europe. Never met a single one less than totally professional.

Did a double-check with one of my cop neighbors. Hey, I can be wrong once in awhile. He said you are right to a degree. Germany has toned it down in the past 10-12 years. They are not quite as quick to resort to force to establish control of a situation. They are trying to be more American-like, "kinder, gentler." And he believes it’s only a matter of time before the cops/cities are going to start getting sued and losing and then almost all respect will be gone, similar to the US. The younger people in his view already do not respect the Polizei as much as they did years ago, especially the non-Germans. In the long run this shift will create more dangerous situations more frequently. Only time will tell.

I hope I have cleared up any misunderstanding.

Good Luck in your studies. My German wife is also an engineer.

V/r,

mwr4440

 

HUH? Not sure what your point is...but in regards to Filing a law suit---If you are treated poorly and your rights were violated then I also encourage you to make an official complaint against the officer and bring any lawsuit you deem appropriate.. Like I said before there are good AND bad officers like in every profession in the world... The bashing of ALL officers just because they have the same profession is uncalled for and very ignorant...I had a plumber that did very poor work and then cursed at me---I guess I should bash ALL plumbers because that's how the one acted that I met..Anyone else realize how assinine that statement is----No different than some of the above posters---Chicane, lxcoupe, silvertt, 964rs etc....

 

If Wiki is to be believed, autobahns, of which indeed MOST (I've seen figures from 50 to 70%) are unrestricted, account for less than 2% of Germany's roads...

 

What I find amazing is MOST of the cop bashers here have less than 50 posts and less than a year on this site-Take a look at earlier posts and see for yourself-Could it be they were on other sites and spread there hate there and got banned? Could it be they are new to internet forms and just ignorant of how to act and respond to people? Maybe they are just young, stupid and don't know how to talk to people like the police? Could it be a few friends joining here to just troll and cause trouble? Not sure what it is, maybe they have just never needed the police in any matter of there life. Maybe they have got several tickets over the years for doing wrong and can't admit there mistakes, but instead cry and whine about the bad police man. Just very curious how you can have a bad experience from someone in a profession then come out and bash ALL those in that profession---My opinion is they are immature trolls who have gotten busted speeding, running a red ilight, etc and instead of admitting there mistake---bash the authority who caught them----They have nothing better to do...But what do I know I am just a lowly public servant....This will be my last post in this thread--The ignorance I can not stand anymore!!!

 

My understanding is that while there are some roads that have unrestricted speed limits, the Germans strictly enforce the posted speed limit. It makes some sense that if you have some places where you can speed legally that people would be more apt to obey the limits elsewhere.

and perhaps Germans just may be more law abiding, not so prone to question authority or see how much they can get away with as some Americans are (the wild west, revolution, and all that)

 

Keep reading all the way to the bottom.

Germany does have speed limits.

 

Whoa-Boy. Be careful. I am a Newbie here too and I try very hard to mind my Ps & Qs and be respectful. Suggest you do the same.

From your # of posts here and your profile (lack thereof) I can guess a couple of things.

Most importantly you appear to be very ignorant of life and making money. Ignorance is temporary, stupidity is forever. I am giving you the benefit of the doubt.

In America, a Cop with a Ferrari, so what? Any moderately to highly successful person will tell you that money is the most easily renewable resource in the world. It ain't so much a function of what you make; it’s a function of what you spend. Most Americans just cannot comprehend that. The average American has a $1million+ go thru their fingers in a lifetime and they cannot manage to grab hold of even a nickle. And that one reason we are the world's debtor nation. And in America, that is criminal. You do not appear to know how to make money in this land, Sir; shame on you.

Maybe 285Ferrari, like a very good friend of mine (he tends a bar partime, started with nothing and is today worth in excess of $2M at 37 yrs old) made tons of money in the market investing in stock options. He works a bar just because he likes people. Was a successful Wall Street broker but hated the job. Last week my friend cleared $24K for 2 "weeks of non-work." Needless to say I am "going to school" with him to learn how too. He called me up when he closed his positions and I went to his modest one-room appt and celebrated with a cheap-a** 5 Euro bottle of Champaign. Asked him once why a one room appt? He said, "I can only live in one room at a time so why have more and besides I have better things to do clean a huge *&%*&%*& house."

Maybe he's a "Kept" Man (wish I was). Again, so what?

Maybe 285Ferrari made his fortune elsewhere early in life and became a cop later-- following his heart and giving something back. Ever heard of Pat Tillman? I am certain the vast majority of Americans thought Pat was just plain crazy. BS! He felt a duty to repay a debt to God (for the grace of being born an American) and to Country (THE Land of Opportunity). Maybe 285Ferrari did the same.

Maybe it was something entirely different. Who Cares?

Where you appear to have crossed into the "Stupid Zone" is saying that someone here is corrupt because they, occupying a lower station in life than yourself (a Cop) in your opinion, have something you probably don't. There may actually be a crime in there somewhere, but I am not a lawyer. I am a professional US Army Reserve Soldier and Dept of the Army Civilian and I own a Ferrari and a house in a foreign country, and I could buy an F-355 for cash. SO what? I am a cheap A**ed SOB. I choose to spend my $ on other things (Read: save and invest).

And before you go down that "stupid" road again, I just had my recurrent TS Security Clearance interview/investigation and I told them about the Ferrari and gave them a copy of the bill of sale. They already knew about my house and bank account. I'd bet 285Ferrari has already been investigated concerning his Ferrari, especially if he comes from a large jurisdiction.

So I'd have to say you have a lot to learn-- assuming you are just ignorant.

Very Respectfully,

mwr4440

P.S. Don't get any splinters from that block of wood you are carrying around on you shoulder either.

 

Stew:

Take a look at an earlier post of mine. I'd have been better off calling the ACLU, since when I found the stolen property, told the cop about, he did nothing.

I don't do much criminal defense, an occasional speeding ticket or two. The point that everyone seems to miss is that the speeding limits are generally too low, and the police, and the insurance carriers profit from it. People going 80 miles per hour, with the flow of traffic, don't deserve tickets, but they hand them out, and it's just for the money. I didn't mean to imply the police get the money directly, but if they are generating money, the legislature is hard put to tell them no when they want a raise or new toy. California has a good many more Highway Patrol per mile than Nevada, and the difference is revenue, yet the murder rate in a lot of our cities keeps rising, because the police coverage isn't sufficient. The only answer is that the police are just another source of revenue.

As for the rights being taken away, you need to read a few of the recent decisions regarding search and seizure. Apparently, with the current court, the term probable cause has become meaningless. That's a shame, because it's the first step to a police state. As for someone's comments about rights being taken away in the 20s & 30s by the liberals, I think they need an additional course in our history. We got a good portion of those rights from the Warren Court, and Earl Warren was a republican, as I recall. You should read a few of those cases, might get a better insight into why we have some of the laws that we currently have. You might want to start with Rochen v. California (lead directly to Miranda).

We have too many cops collecting revenue, and not enough working at controlling crime. It's easier, you can justify bigger salaries, and it's a lot less dangerous.

Art

 

Yeah, that was respectful.

 

I think you would be surprised how much money an officer makes. One thing I did not mention here before is my brother-in-law is an officer and he does pretty well. I know for a fact that he makes more than some of the salaries people on this fourm posted about what doctors make. He does work a lot of overtime though.

 

remember ladies, it ain't that hard to own a 328,348,355. even i can do it.

 

Yes,

Germany has no speed limit on just over half of its autobahns. And the speed limits they do have are indeed rigorously enforced. Cameras are everywhere and Radar/Laser detectors illegal. Between a 1K and 5K EURO fine if you get caught with one.

However, there is no way you can compare the total German Driving experience with the total US Driving experience in order to justify “No Speed Limit” Interstates in the US. It is comparing apples to oranges. Let me give a few examples and I am sure my German friends and American Friends who have lived in Germany can chime in here too. I am using generalizations both ways, but the premise of each point I do not believe anyone can really argue.

Roadways
- Autobahns: German autobahns are largely "open circuit race ways." The vast majority of them are fenced. The chances of hitting a large enough animal (deer, wild pig, cow) to cause an accident are very small. I have never seen one in 18 years. When an animal does appear on an autobahn (often making the evening TV news), the Polizei or some other agency goes out and catches the animal and removes it. Accidents due to animals on the autobahns are quite rare. Secondary roads (w/speed limits) are a different story.
- Interstates: Largely open (especially out west). My family has hit a couple of deer at night on the interstate. US Interstates are inherently more dangerous in that respect. Secondary roads are about equal with the German ones.

Licensing
- Germany: To go to "Driver's Ed," you must be 18 and it is damn expensive. The classroom classes are many and somewhat rigorous. You actually learn about things like coefficients of friction (adhesion and stopping distance); and learn quite a bit about the car in general (gear box, motor). The road tests are not easy and most students flunk at least one (my wife 1, her sister 2). Flunk and you pay again to take the test again. If I recall my wife paid about $1200+ for her license and her sister paid about $1500+.
- America: I grew-up out west and was driving solo at age 11. My brother at 9 with an adult in the car. Driver’s Ed taught me nothing about a car. Granted that was 25 years ago and I am assuming nothing has really changed. Nor was Driver’s Ed rigorous nor did anyone fail as I recall. Not necessarily bad as you read “Attitude” below.

Attitude (I am going to get flamed here)
- Germany: In Germany you practically have to have a license to take a dump. And getting those licenses ain’t easy. Average time to get a hunting license is about 2+ years for example. You learn about the ENTIRE ecosystem and are rigorously tested before you get to bust a cap on Bambi. However, when a German finally gets their license because of the effort/cost involved, they often then think they are experts. As we all know nothing could be further from the truth. But I do believe they are much more competent much sooner than US drivers. Further, German cars are true marvels of engineering. They truly are. But many seem to think that “safety” is built right in so they can drive 110mph (180Km) in a rainstorm and be OK. I call it the “Check your brain at the ignition,” syndrome.
- USA: My Driver’s Ed teacher taught me that no matter how long you have been driving, you will see and experience something you have never seen before, each time you get behind the wheel. Always caution, you are never an expert. That attitude as served me very well. Hope they are still teaching that way.

Congestion
- Germany: This is old data but about 85% of all freight in Europe is moved via road. Trains move people. I have witnessed lines of trucks miles long and stationary on the autobahn thousands of times. It is incredible. Germany is the center of Europe. Almost all freight moving from one corner of Europe to another, transits thru Germany. Before the Wall came down it was not nearly as bad. Now it is just plain terrible. There are very few opportunities these days to really use the “No Speed Limit” SAFELY. I work 134 miles from where my family lives. I am a Week-end Husband/Dad. My worst ever trip was 6 hours almost down to the minute. Three and four hour trips home or back to work are not unusual.
- USA: We are the reverse. Darn few trucks on the roads. Approximately 85% of all freight travels via rail. We maybe the center of North America but the freight travels by rail. Much less congestion.

I will not get into in this post:
a) Right of Way issues (Germans will die to exercise theirs, Americans will give theirs up to prevent an accident),
b) Using “The Law” (Germans) vs. using “Common Sense” (Americans) “Right on Red” was repealed in Germany in most places because Germans could not exercise common sense. However, there is also something to be said for “following the law.”
saving those and others for other posters.

There are many other areas of the total driving experience that could also be discussed. You just cannot compare the two out of hand.

Hope this leads to further discussion.

V/r,

mwr4440

 

Well Mark, thanks for the clarification. What got me a bit upset in your original post was that it sounded as if we lived in some kind of third world dictatorship here. I suppose your experience back in 1990 was indeed directly related to you being an American soldier - back in the days when there were US troops in our town (until middle of the 90s), there was an awful lot of trouble with drunken US forces. A friend of my father was (or is, haven't seen him for a long time) head of the local police officer's union, and I remember that he often told stories about big rows in the clubs and bars and the policemen (German as well as supporting military police, IIRC) having a hard time, getting injured themselves and so on. Although the actions you describe are far over the top, maybe it can be explained by those circumstances.... What I think is important is that no one has to fear any abnormal treatment by the Polizei, judging from the posts that followed yours, people are prone to believe the opposite... anyway, we've cleared that up now - thanks for the good wishes, greetings to your wife!